Platinum Seed was responsible for the content strategy, social media management, content marketing, website design, and development of the campaign. The agency helped Russian Bear Vodka break away from marketing that only uses endorsements from influencers – and made consumers the real stars of the brand.

The #IAMNEXT campaign ran from December 2016 to March 2017. It was the culmination of a two-year collaboration between Russian Bear Vodka and the hip-hop artist Riky Rick. It gave consumers the opportunity to submit their own rap lyrics on the website, as well as on Twitter and Instagram using the #IAMNEXT hashtag.

The top three entrants performed their lyrics in a video, which was posted to the brand’s social media accounts. The overall winner, Sicelo ‘JRetta’ Ngozwana, received a Russian Bear Vodka bottle with his image engraved on it. While 50 finalists won limited edition bottles, 50 randomly selected voters of the competition also received bottles.

media update’s Nikita Geldenhuys asked Elliott, Platinum Seed’s MD, and Clay, the agency’s media manager, about the challenges that user-generated content pose and the opportunities in fusing music and social media marketing.

#IAMNEXT combined music, musicians, and songwriting into a social media campaign. What opportunities does this combination offer local marketers?

The #IAMNEXT campaign was set in motion to find a lyricist and give them the opportunity to have their lyrics on a ‘one-of-a-kind’ Russian Bear bottle. The top three finalists who were chosen just happened to be multi-talented and each has other forms of creative backgrounds.

In 2017, we see brands looking for multi-talented individuals to head up their campaigns. Normally, the big-hitters get the top spots, but what Russian Bear is planning to achieve is to find artists we can expose at a commercial level via digital platforms and relationships created in the industry.

This is about empowering consumers through brands, as opposed to just using celebrity or influencer endorsements.

How did your team overcome the challenges of working with user-generated content?

We implemented a vetting process to ensure we saw all lyrics entered before they went live on the website. We did ask for family suitable lyrics and that’s what a lot of fans entered as they got very creative around our official #IAMNEXT hashtag.

You just have to be aware what your fans are posting on your timeline at all times. True fans will always find the best in your brand.

Why did you choose Instagram as a platform for people to submit content?

Instagram is [one of the fastest-growing platforms] in South Africa… and to not utilise it would have been a waste. Educating people on how to enter was a communication challenge. We received videos, pictures with lyrics written on it, and even recorded songs.

How key was social media to making this campaign work and why?

With a limited budget, digital is the primary way to achieve targeted reach as well entries. This was a completely digitally led campaign, so not tapping into Russian Bear’s existing social media communities would have been a waste.

The targeting capabilities of paid social media, with constant optimisation, were key to delivering the best ROI for our client.

You mentioned that your team doesn’t see this campaign as a once-off activation. How do you plan to take this concept forward?

Keep an eye on the Russian Bear social media page on Monday, 15 May 2017 and find out what #IAMNEXT 2.0 has in store for fans.

See more of Platinum Seed’s work at www.platinumseed.com.

The #IAMNEXT campaign took a different approach to influencer marketing. Webfluential’s Kirsty Sharman thinks this is crucial. Read why in our article, SA brands need to evolve their approach to influencer marketing.