It’s a ‘tribal’ face made up of symbols that represents the Afrikaans ‘tribe’ and the traditions that anchor it: a braaivleis, a rugby ball, mielies, a potjiekos, a doily, a braaivleis, tongs, a pocket knife, a windmill, a fish, a lamb chop and so on. Turn the cardboard insert over and to find a multitude of insights about the Afrikaans market and Afrikaans Ad24 reader.
The first thing that you notice is the red tongue (with a koeksister on it) that reads, ‘trek hier’ and when you do, the yellow sunshine eyes change to red and white with a heart that reads, ‘Afrikaans praat met my hart’.
George Rautenbach, creative director at Sunshine Gun, Ads24’s creative agency, explains what inspired the infographic: “Afrikaans speaking people are different. Of course that can be said of any community that speaks the same language, but somehow, Afrikaners are really different. Our infographic insert set out to celebrate this ‘differentness’. Also, it is important to note that our brief was exactly that, to portray the uniqueness of this community. What better way than to shake up preconceived notions among our trade customers about this Afrikaans speaking community with a card that reaches out to you with its tongue.’ (and speaks to your heart).”
Rautenbach continues; “To present a never before considered version of this Afrikaans reader community to our trade customers. We wanted to represent, through the mnemonics used to construct the face, how our readers have depth. We set out to create an experience that would interact with our audience in a surprising and delightful way.”
He goes on to explain that innovation in print means “Someone has pushed the boundaries, it means something has been elevated to an off the page, invoking a memorable (cue glorious angel sounds) ‘aaahh moment’. Innovation in print talks directly to using the medium to do something creating a ‘never before experience’. When advertising can make customers reach out and engage with its message, and when customers are rewarded with a surprising outcome for their effort, then you’ve done something innovative.”
“To innovate in print simply means to capture value in a new way. It has less to do with the pressure print has been facing to reinvent itself, but in exploring print’s existing potential. Reaching millions of eyeballs is one thing, what to do with those eyeballs is where there is space to innovate. Creating a brand message that captures, engages and ultimately influences those eyeballs, is the best way to get a high return on investment,” says Marise van der Lith, creative project manager at Ads24.
‘Innovation in action’ is Ads24’s campaign pay off line explains van der Lith, as it showcases print as the captivating and interactive medium that it has always been: “Talking the talk is no longer good enough when it comes to traditional media, by showing what can be done, we put our money where our mouth is.’
Tiaan Liebenberg, portfolio manager at Ads24 says; “The Ads24 mantra is ‘Reach beyond numbers’. Part of this is to ensure that we provide advertisers with different options in which to target our readers.” Ads24’s Afrikaans market bundle reaches over 3.2-million unduplicated readers through both print and digital, this includes Netwerk24 and Media24’s Afrikaans newspapers Beeld, Die Burger, Volksblad and Rapport.
Advertising in print means you pay for a captive audience, Waldimar Pelser, editor of Rapport says, “Our readers pay and, therefore, they pay attention.” Liebenberg concludes; “Imagine having a theatre full of people, with no production – an entire audience is waiting to be entertained and nothing happens. It is time for us to put on a show – people are watching. Leveraging off this captive market by creating adverts that have impact, develops appreciation for brands.”
*Source: Source: AMPS 2014AB, Effective measure May 2015, Futurefact 2014, Forum24.