New TV licence campaign moves into brand building

"Over the years, TV licences have permeated into South Africans' lives. We want to match this pervasive use of our products and services with a similar level of emotional affinity towards our brand," explains Mike Rubenstein, marketing manager of the Audience Services Division.

"The campaign is heart-warming and shows that for less than R1 a day, our audience is educated, entertained and informed. We needed the audience to see the ultimate end benefits of paying their TV licence, and how doing so can touch and make a difference to their personal lives," he adds.

Emotive bond

This campaign marks the division's move towards brand building beyond selling a product and building trust. Audience Services believes that the strongest relationships with licence holders are those grounded in emotional connections, and that an emotive bond will further cement the importance of TV licence fees, and will portray the SABC broadcast culture of total citizen empowerment.

The campaign will air on all SABC stations, in several print publications, and on prominent billboard sites throughout the country.

"The campaign needed to appeal to all South Africans who watch television, and needed to highlight and drive awareness of the returns and rewards reaped by paying your TV licence," says Clinton Bridgeford, of Y&R.

He says a TV licence is a grudge purchase, as most people do not see the rewards. "It was a challenge to convince consumers that their TV licence money is money well spent. If you compare R1 a day to going to the movies, attending a soccer match, buying a DVD, CD or book, it's incomparable. For R1 a day you can be informed, entertained and educated. It was our challenge to get this across to the consumer."

Three executions

The campaign features three executions, each striking, simple and effective. The first one highlights social awareness programming, portraying a war veteran, highly decorated, with the unmistakable red aids ribbon on his pocket. The copy reads, "For only 62c a day, know what's worth fighting for" and goes on to describe the informative programming offered by the SABC, ending "Pay yours and the battle is half won."

The second shows a classroom of enthusiastic children and is captioned, "For only 62c a day, no-one gets left behind." It shows the value of the SABC's educational programming, which gives our growing nation the tools to build a better future, ending "Pay yours and let's move forward together."

The last features a sporting event, featuring people with their faces brightly painted with the South African flag. "For only 62c a day, the passion lives forever" - showing that TV licence fees provide sports programming that excites, entertains and inspires the nation, from young to old. "We chose 'Pay yours and keep the fire burning," says Bridgeford.

Rubenstein concludes, "The relationship with Y&R is a particularly new one and this campaign is the first we have produced as a team. I am extremely proud of the work and the campaign accurately reflects the essence of the TV licence brand and clearly communicates the core message around the value of paying a TV licence."