Keep soccer spirit flying

Offload excess baggage

The Salvation Army is encouraging the returning 450 000 international visitors who would rather take back their souvenirs than their warm clothes to donate those clothes, as winter begins to bite in South Africa. Industry partners - kulula.com, British Airways (operated by Comair), Europcar and Protea Hotels have teamed-up with Sappi to sponsor the drive.

The partners have designed 100 customised 'Get your kit off' collection bins and placed them in high volume areas across the country such as international departure halls, Protea Hotel foyers and Europcar depots. All clothes collected will help the destitute, homeless and abused; rejected pensioners and single parents who cannot support themselves and their children.

"Today's harsh economic climate and high unemployment rates have had a dramatic impact on homelessness in South Africa. The Salvation Army has provided accommodation to many of these needy people over the years and the donations from the 'Get your kit off' campaign will go to good use," explains Captain Garth Niemand from the Salvation Army.

Sappi's marketing manager Graham Futter adds that, "Much as the World Cup will leave its legacy for the country through economic development, increased exposure overseas and positive promotion of brand South Africa among locals, we see this initiative as an opportunity for our international visitors to leave their own personal legacy behind through the donation of their extra clothes."

In addition, while the campaign is largely aimed at foreigners, it is open to all South Africans who want to participate in the worthy cause. The campaign will run between 11 July and 31 July 2010.

Flags to riches

Nashua Mobile has come up with a way to recycle the leftover flags that the South African supporters have waved so enthusiastically for the past month. It has dedicated bins in each of its store for collection of flags. These will be given to charities to be repurposed and sown into useful items such as duvet covers, pillows cases etc.

The initiative forms part of the company's 'Fly the Flag for South Africa' campaign, which saw it and many local celebrities rally behind South Africa and the national team.

"The past couple of weeks has been an exciting time for our country and should be remembered long after it has ended so we thought of the 'donate a flag' initiative. We believe very strongly in the importance of giving something back to the communities where we do business. This particular project will benefit disadvantaged people throughout South Africa, in line with our commitment to play a role in uplifting communities and people in need of help," says Doug Mattheus, marketing director.

Buttoning down good cheer

Kicked off by advertising agency Draftfcb South Africa, the Keep Flying campaign is aimed at proving the international research, which shows that all host nations suffer from post-event depression, wrong. Keep Flying buttons, designed and produced as part of the campaign are now available for companies wanting to embrace the initiative.

The buttons in production are one example of how companies can demonstrate their commitment to the country and to keep the nation's collective sense of accomplishment strong. Already, several Draftfcb clients have ordered thousands to hand out to their staff as part of internal communication drives.

Draftfcb's Group CEO John Dixon added, "We also want to hand out 100 000 of these buttons around the closing festivities, but need sponsors to achieve this goal. When you place your order, doubling it so that we can add those to our tally is a great idea, but so too is committing to a larger production run. Of course, all buttons come attached to a card on which the sponsoring company's logo will be printed."

Any company wanting to do so should email the quantity it requires to and the agency will respond with a quote and give an undertaking to deliver the buttons within four working days. Go to www.keepflying.co.za for more information on the campaign.