Retailers are relishing the trend of feel-good marketing, using consumers’ real stories to show how their brands have integrated into their lives.
Jet did so a few months ago with the #JetDenim ‘Denim doesn’t discriminate’ campaign, which Jet's head of marketing, Jerry Anthonyrajah summed up as follows: “The essence of this new marketing direction follows a bigger global trend of leader brands that are moving towards celebrating imperfections to capture the extraordinary in the ordinary.”
Ackermans', having just celebrated its 100th birthday, has similarly commemorated the milestone with emotive commercials crafted by agency Ninety9Cents that tug at the heartstrings.
The TVCs tell the story of Pretty, Teboho and Vivian respectively.
Janine van Deventer, marketing manager at Ackermans and Morne Strydom, creative director at 99c share how the ads came about and why they work in celebrating Ackermans’ century of business.
Van Deventer: The reason Ackermans' was able to achieve this incredible milestone is because of our customers, as well as our employees. It was important for use to pay homage to these people, and make sure their stories were told in a real and authentic way. Most importantly, we wanted to communicate this milestone for what it is, and that is a human story, not a brand story.
Van Deventer: The values instilled within Ackermans' is to bring quality products at affordable prices. It was not easy choosing which stories would be translated into commercials, but we believe that the selection truly showed how Ackermans' brought value to the lives of many by simply doing what we do every single day. Each story highlighted and paid tribute to the role of the mother – our primary customer, and thus an important focus for us.
Van Deventer: We requested stories in print media, via our Facebook page, as well as through our website. We also used ‘The Sound of Ackermans’ (our in-store radio) and our Ackermans' Magazine. Together with our agencies 99c and New Media, our marketing director Louise Hamman and myself read through every single story, which was finally filtered down to three. It was an arduous process due to the volume of stories received, but it was important to us that each story received a fair chance as our customers had taken the time to write to us. So a time-consuming process, but also an extremely heartwarming one!
Strydom: The truth is, it was really hard to select the final three because there were so many that could easily have been used. We were always looking for stories that captured a genuine relationship between the customer and the Ackermans' brand; stories that felt honest and heartfelt – and so many of the submitted stories qualified. At the end, it came down to which ones would best transition into a script and eventually into a 45-second TV spot. Even then, there were about 12 or 15 that could’ve been used. It was a very difficult decision!
Strydom: In a perfect world, we would’ve used the actual people. But of course, not everyone can act, and often when you put someone in front of a camera, with huge set lights shining on them and a large production crew watching them intently and a director barking orders at them, they freeze up. There are also budget considerations – with non-actors, often more filming/studio time is required, which can drive up the cost. It was critical to us that we meet the story owner, get a sense of their lives and personalities, and then choose an actor who could do justice to their story. Our story owners were thrilled with the outcome, so hopefully that means we did a good job!
Strydom: In terms of impact, it depends entirely on the commercial. A humorous commercial resonates deeply and engages the viewer, as can an informative or heartfelt one. If the ad is good, and fits the brand’s tone, it works. So why did we choose heartfelt over humour vs informative? Decisions of tone are driven by the brand. Ackermans' as a brand is one that wants to speak to the heart. When it comes to their retail tone, it is light and fun and informative, but at the core, it is a brand with a deep connection to the heart of South African families. These spots needed to connect with that, and I believe they did.
They certainly did. Click through to the official press release for more and to view the three TVCs in full, follow Ackermans' and 99C on Twitter for the latest updates, and listen to Van Deventer and Strydom go into more detail about the campaign in the Cape Talk interview embedded below:
