New campaign for Metropolitan builds on South African pride in achievements

Metropolitan brand executive, Belinda Faulkner says that the business goals for the campaign were clear. "We wanted to illustrate how we as an organisation have evolved, how we are meeting the needs of our customers and providing them with an enhanced service.

"When we started a research project that would help us gain a deeper understanding into the psychology behind the financial decisions made by our market, our goal was to ensure that we continued to meet our customers' needs and provide them with products and services they truly needed. The research results were instrumental in also developing this campaign. We gained a much better understanding of where our market is emotionally.

"We realized that as South Africans, we have come such long way, we have achieved quite a bit over the past few years and it is time we acknowledged those milestones, so we can look forward to the journey ahead. That revelation marked the birth of our campaign: 'South Africa you've come a long way. Now let's go even further'.

"Not just a proposition"

"This brand campaign is not just a proposition, but we truly believe in helping our customers and their communities to confidently shape their future towards economic freedom. By partnering with the group, we can take them even further on their journey to reach their financial goals."

Eric D'Oliveira, MD at 140 BBDO, says that the campaign is much more than just a re-launch of the brand, but rather an appeal to South Africans' pride in their achievements, despite the daily struggles they face.

The TVC flights on South African television screens in August. "The TVC acknowledges the everyday South African, who is working hard to provide for his or her family, enabling their children to be educated, providing a home and working towards leaving a legacy," says Ivan Johnston, ECD at 140 BBDO. "The strategy supports the key pillars of the group's foundation - a track record of 114 years and an unrivalled level of service and delivery."

The outdoor advertising component features transport branding and billboards. The outdoor advertising has been created to communicate local and community-focused messaging. Johnson says an example of this is the billboard being placed in Soweto. "The group already has a strong awareness and client base in Soweto, so the billboard will read, 'Soweto, you've come a long way. Now let's go even further'."

"We believe that it's the right time for us to be communicating with South Africans with this strong and emotive messaging. 140 BBDO understands the ethos of our company and our new partnership has resulted in us being able to launch this campaign proudly," concludes Faulkner.