How Engage Joe Public put the spotlight on fraud with the #SKELM campaign

media update’s David Jenkin spoke to Engage Joe Public’s managing director, Keri-Ann Stanton, about the story behind the project.

What did the brief for the #SKELM campaign require and what was the basis of Engage Joe Public’s approach?

With the prevalence of fraud and banking crime increasing in South Africa, and targeting individuals from all walks of life, the protection of citizens is vital. The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) has a mandate to ensure that South Africans do not fall victim to these types of crime.

In 2016, SABRIC took the bold step of launching an awareness campaign that did not make use of conventional or traditional methods. This strategic move gave birth to the successful ‘#SKELM’ campaign, which reached more than 100 million opportunities to see.

We took a cue from SABRIC’s mission, vision, and values to create a persona that ensures South Africans are made aware of the consequences of reckless behaviour. It was important to execute the campaign to draw attention to the subject of fraud which most consumers would rather avoid.

The #SKELM video is perhaps best described as chilling – like the trailer to a scary movie. How was that achieved?

The #SKELM persona we created came with a specific corporate image, the tone of which aims to bring to life the criminal mind. Through #SKELM, we had to jolt consumers into realising how scary fraud can be, it can happen to anyone at any time, and criminals continue to find new ways to beat the system. The video clip you refer to was created for internal use at a stakeholder dinner to bring the persona to life using a specific look, feel and tone. The aim was to ‘scare’ potential fraud victims. 

The decision to name various banks in the ad and deride the security of their apps was a strong move. Was that all in line with fighting complacency?

As mentioned, this was used at an internal event with the major banks. The banks work very closely with SABRIC to fight fraud, so the aim was not to point fingers, as the banks are already doing a lot to help fight fraud. The aim of the stakeholder dinner video was to be a reminder that we should all continue to play our part and illustrate just how easy it is for anyone to get their hands on our personal information. This was used as a visual way to showcase our campaign to the stakeholders, it was definitely not an attack on them.

How was the #SKELM tag put to use on social media?

We brought #SKELM to life on billboards, radio, digital, and social media in a disruptive manner. We recruited DJs to start speaking about fraud on their shows, which contributed exponentially to the reach of the campaign and used their social channels to promote #SKELM.

On social, we created a separate Twitter account where @Skelm_SA trolled the internet through community management, reinforcing the message consumers saw on billboards and heard on radio.

An always-on content strategy on SABRIC’s Facebook and Twitter pages ensured that whoever @Skelm_SA spoke to was educated to wise up against fraud, communicating one single idea: you’re being watched.

For more information, visit engage.joepublic.co.za. 

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Interested in learning more about Engage Joe Public’s award-winning work? Read more in our article, The campaign that won Engage Joe Public Gold at the PRISMS.