How Brand inc made Nashua’s new campaign a winner

Farmers, educators, wine makers, doctors, sports brand managers, engineers, entrepreneurs, government employees – you name it – told their stories from the comfort of the blue couch.

Part of Nashua’s successful 'Real People. Real Solutions' drive, telling a story from the customer’s point of view lent massive credibility to both the brand and the marketing campaign.

“We wanted an idea that would be visually beautiful and simultaneously break through the clutter,” says Brand inc creative art director, Judd Quy. “Often shots of real people can be done so badly that it has no stopping power out there in the media it is placed in. We pored through magazines and studied other testimonial type campaigns around the world to understand what works."

Quy adds: “While brainstorming ideas late in the office one day, we took a coffee break on the comfortable couch in our office’s reception. This sparked the idea of having a visual “mnemonic” that could appear in unusual places with customers relaxed and proud to tell their stories.”

The campaign kicked off in May and will run through to October of this year and the agency is already in the planning stages for phase two which will run into 2016.

The well-travelled couch shows that people don’t associate with payoff lines, they connect with people. By hero-ing the customer in all the executions, they were shown how important they are, and the campaign has been a resounding success with both Nashua and its customers.

“We didn’t want a generic campaign to be rolled out across the country,” says Nashua’s brand manager, Jessica Midlane. “The blue couch idea amplified the unique, localised, authentic stories of our individual clients who are already recognisable in their own communities and industries. They became the faces of the campaign."

“When people and technology come together, great things happen. That’s what we wanted to showcase – that ultimately Nashua is about real people and real solutions,” she says.

The campaign has also further strengthened the relationships between Nashua head office and the franchises, as the stories being told are all linked back to the service that the individual franchises are providing for the customers in all of their cities and towns around South Africa.

“It was an incredible experience to scour the country hearing hundreds of success stories told by such passionate business men and woman from all walks of life and industry,” says Brand inc creative group MD Chris Heaton.

Brand inc rolled out a successful formula for doing multiple photographic shoots across South Africa that allowed them to take place in numerous locations with a very small crew, and the agency churned out 104 pieces of unique artwork, including billboards and print ads, in a relatively short space of time.

“This demonstrates the power of the Brand inc creative machine lead by Judd Quy and Craig Strydom,” continues Heaton. “Judd is an exceptional artistic talent who remains very hands-on. His ability to conceptualise and finish a piece of art in highly pressurised and limited time is unrivalled in this crazy industry. Likewise, Craig’s creative direction and copywriting ability is of the highest level. He was an absolute asset to the success of the campaign."

“A special mention must also go to the efforts of a fantastic client services (CS) team, led by CS director Maude Crookes, and the Nashua account manager, Munzi Makuvhka. These ladies go out of their way to assist the client 24-7 and their strategic understanding of the Nashua brand and business is what keeps everything together," says Heaton.

“Brand inc has been working with Nashua for over 10 years and their marketing department is made up some very dynamic and innovative creative spirits that are so committed to building a powerful brand in such a cut throat industry. Together we have an incredible working relationship, made up of an always collaborative approach backed by a lot of trust that creates results beyond compare,” he concludes.

It seems as though better business starts with a conversation and a blue couch. Nashua has even gone so far as to place a blue couch in every branch reminding people on both sides of the counter of the core values of the brand. Ultimately, many companies could learn a thing or two by turning the camera towards their customers and listening to their story.

For more information, visit the Brand inc website.