Hair salons campaign wins MediaCom SA and Cell C gold

Source: © baucemag baucemag The Cell C Extension campaign found its insight in the heart of South African culture – hair salons

Hair salons: trusted influencers

The campaign came about after Cell C faced changing customer needs and behaviours.

Mediacom SA had to find a new way to interact with digitally-averse consumers in a face-to-face environment.

The interactions also had to drive awareness about Cell C’s products and offerings in a manner that guarantees brand visibility and increases brand and product consideration.

The Cell C Extension campaign found its insight in the heart of South African culture – hair salons.

Customers spend up to eight hours to get their hair done. Consequently, salons are cornerstones of their communities and stylists are trusted influencers.

Using this understanding, MediaCom SA transformed hundreds of salons across the nation into a new network of Cell C advisors.

They were trained by regional sales teams during weekly visits to each store, where updates were given about new products.

These salon owners were also incentivised to act as advocates for the company by providing grants for new equipment, such as hairdryers as well as free airtime and dongles, which assists to reduce their operational costs.

Innovation leads to industry impact

Post campaign research found that 100% of customers could recall the Cell C branding and offerings, 90% of customers had a positive experience with the brand, and 80% of customers would consider switching to Cell C.

Even more impressive is that Cell C’s NPS rose from June 2020 to February 2021, overtaking the telco company that was in second position.

According to Kantar BrandZ SA, Cell C now ranks at 19 on SA’s Top 30 Most Valuable Brands.

True collaboration

“This campaign was a true testament of the impactful collaboration we have between Cell C and MediaCom.

“It is because there was a seamless alignment of values, insights, and purpose that our team was empowered to drive influential change,” says Oscar Onyach, strategic account director at Mediacom SA.

“Our partnership with MediaCom is centred around growth, and the results of our strategic responses to market shifts bear testament to the growth ambition that we share,” adds Hazel Chimhandamba, executive head of marketing at Cell C.

The Best Direct-to-Consumer category requires a brand to directly reach consumers in a way that is strongly aligned with brand identity while demonstrating positive business-to-consumer engagement, drive customer loyalty, and show increased purchasing behaviour.

The campaign also won silver in the Best Response category and a bronze in the Best Campaign for a Local Brand category.

Held annually to celebrate the most outstanding media campaigns from around the world, the Festival of Media Global Awards (FOMG) provides a platform for media and marketing companies around the world to showcase and celebrate their work.

With events in Singapore, New York, Milan, Miami, and London, the FOMG awards have been upholding global industry benchmarks for the past 15 years