Dentsu Aegis Network claims 3 Golds at the AMASA Awards

Image taken from AMASA 2018 Awards Gallery – Gareth Jacobs Photography

Koo Govender, CEO for Dentsu Aegis Network South Africa commented on the Networks success, “We are immensely proud of the awards won by the Dentsu Aegis network of agencies at AMASA 2018. Our teams at DAN work extremely hard to ensure that our clients receive the best quality of work and dedication to each campaign. Winning four awards at AMASA is a phenomenal accomplishment and is testament to the loyalty, work ethic, dedication and creativity from our employees and the media owners that we consider part of the DAN family. Congrats to our team. We look so forward to continued success across our network.”

Red Star won two Gold awards, one in the Best Use of Technology category truly living up to the Dentsu Aegis vision of “Innovating the Way Brands are Built”. They won together with AdColony SA for the Heineken SA - UEFA Champions League campaign in partnership with creative agency M&C Saatchi Abel Cape Town. The challenge was to promote two key UCL TVC assets within an online environment and drive the campaign idea – SHARE THE DRAMA. By the utilisation of the Aurora Video Technology – They produced an interactive video ad on mobile which allows users to tap their screen to jump between the two TVC assets. This innovation is a first in SA, therefore demonstrating thought leadership for Heineken. The use of Aurora video drives unique interaction rates up almost seven times and leads to three times higher on video completion rates and a unique reach of over half a million people.

The second Gold award for Red Star was won for the Soweto Gold (HEINEKEN SA’S first mainstream beer in SA) Launch in the Best Tactical Use of Media category. In partnership with creative agency OFYT and media owner Owakhe Media, Wi-Fi wall murals were erected with built in WIFI hotspots. With the high cost of mobile data in South Africa, Soweto Gold took the initiative to empower township communities by giving them access to free internet using OOH Wall Murals. With data taking priority for the Soweto Gold market, they fueled the “Brotherhood” positioning and advertised on the splash screen, whilst sourcing details of their consumers. The brand went a step further by covering the monthly rental which was paid to home owners as a source of income for their branded walls. Fifteen airbrushed wall murals blended into the community for an additional twelve months and was placed in high pedestrian intersections or at key on /off trade taverns to ensure sufficient dwell time to access the free Wi-Fi.

According to Ilsa Gräbe, Communication & Engagement Manager for HEINEKEN South Africa: “Finding new ways to disrupt in an attention scarce economy means we can cut through the clutter and engage our audiences in a relevant, entertaining and more valuable way.”

Dentsu Aegis Network, Loxyion Conexyion & Greater Than won the Highly Commended award in the Best Integrated: FMCG category for the Russian Bear Vodka #IAMNEXT campaign. Originally launched in 2017 - they set out to build a first of its kind, fully kitted mobile recording studio which they could literally drive into the hood, to Russian Bear consumers to unearth the freshest hip-hop talent. Giving hundreds of undiscovered rappers their first chance to step into a real sound booth and record. They sent the truck to 50 different venues in four regions (Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KZN and Gauteng) to unearth hidden talent. In 2018 they needed to take it further – it had to be next level!

They partnered with Kid X and Gobi Beast who facilitated the process and ensured the best of the best was captured and recorded at each session. But they weren’t happy with only providing booth airtime, so they decided to Partner with MTV Base to ensure maximum exposure for the aspiring rappers and of course the Russian Bear brand and its consumers. This partnership was used to promote and curate the #Iamnext sessions in each town. Individual rappers had to buy a bottle of Russian Bear to enter and were given informal airtime on MTV Base that assisted with building their profile that ultimately would be decided by a fan based vote on digital channels. The winner has been announced and he will receive a music video, produced by MTV Base and featured on the channel soon!

Earlier this year Dentsu Aegis Network SSA dominated at the African Cristal Awards winning Media Network of the Year for DAN SSA, Media Agency of the Year for Vizeum Ghana and 2 x Grand Prix, 2 x Gold, 3 x Silver, 2 x bronze for exceptional work produced across their owned network. These award wins are all a testament to their local and regional capability and strength of their operating model working together to collaboratively solve client challenges.