The Brief
In this spot for ABSA’s Africanacity, we explore a myriad of visual styles to establish an emotional connection with a new generation of banking customers.
We needed to focus on creating a memorable and recognisable campaign that would differentiate from other financial institutions. The aim was to familiarise the audience with the term “Africanacity” a word that was not in the cultural lexicon.
The Idea
Our thinking was “How do we make this term land?”. We needed to create a mechanism to teach people how to pronounce and spell “Africanacity and forge brand association with the tagline. Africanacity is “the distinctly African ability to always find ways to get things done.”
The idea was to gamify the experience of learning the new word. We broke up the word into syllables and created tappable Instagram, stories. These stories were then tailor-made to suit other social media platforms. The viewer would tap forward and back to reveal the unique artwork and the pronunciation of each syllable to sound out the word Africanacity. By doing this they create a tangible first-person interaction with the word. Visual cues were used to reinforce the pronunciation.
The Process
The development of the visuals involved utilising interesting typographic explorations. The golden thread of each exploration was “the distinctly African ability to always find ways to get things done”.
The key inspiration was functional African artworks which are very adaptable and multi-use. If an artist does not have access to the raw materials they augment what is available to transform it, redefining an object’s purpose.
We explored various visual creative pathways including wood printing, 3d printing, mixed media and paper art, beadwork, Ndebele painting styles, neon lightboxes and water systems to give each board a unique, handmade look and feel.
The final campaign encapsulates all our bespoke visual collateral including a new colour spectrum. It’s an arresting array of visuals that demands a viewer’s attention whilst remaining brief, fun and memorable. All whilst fitting snuggly within the timeframes allowed on social media platforms. The viewer is constantly and consistently engaged throughout. Special care was taken to create a narrative that differentiates from conventional retail banking campaign norms.
The final campaign was something ownable for Africans and the African continent and was able to move the viewer to engage with the media in a first-person perspective – a powerful way to communicate and establishing brand equity with the brand.
Credits
Production
Agency
FCB Africa
Creative Directors
Collette Wasielewski, Loyiso Twala, Thithi Nteta
Group Account Director
Roxanne Singh
Digital Creative Director/Strategist
Hayley Zara Doron-Weil
Producer
Alex Hope-Bailie
Wondermerk
Creative Director
Colin O’Mara Davis and Graeme Carr
Producer
Angela Muthuma
Editor
Warwick Allan
Post Production
Mushroom Media & Wondermerk & Chocolate Tribe
Post Directors
Graeme Carr & Colin O’Mara Davis
Designers, Animators & Online Artists
Graeme Carr, Colin O’Mare Davis, Gerard De Jager, Terence Holt, Zenè Stoltz, Johan Schepers, Rob Van Den Bragt, Tiaan Franken
Colourist
Graeme Carr
