Bussing in the festival

Khanyi Mlambo, Director of Group Sponsorships at Standard Bank, says: "The above-the-line campaign of our Jo'burg Jazz Festival ties in directly with Standard Bank's commitment to the rejuvenation of the city of Johannesburg.

"The festival itself is being held in the Newtown Cultural Precinct and the focus of our sponsorship is linked directly to supporting this part of the city. It makes sense then, to invest our media budget in avenues directly linked to the city."

Key elements of the campaign, which has deliberately employed traditional city-based advertising outlets, are the use of billboards on motorways around Johannesburg, advertisements on motorway video screens, as well as Forecourt TV at petrol filling stations throughout the city.

Mlambo says the use of high volume urban-based advertising avenues is part of Standard Bank's drive to engage with its customers in new ways: "We are always looking for ways to offer an experience of our brand in unique environments - and this is one way of doing it.

"Of course, we are also committed to innovation in advertising across all levels of Standard Bank and the festival offers us a great opportunity to live up to our brand promise of 'Simpler. Better. Faster.' The bus-wrapping for example is evidence of essentially a simple approach that adds novelty and drives awareness in an inventive way."