Atoll Media repositions Vodacom at the cutting edge

Best Live Music Performance winner Ready D

The 4U Performance Awards was conceptualized by Atoll Media as a turnkey solution to Vodacom's marketing need. Using SA's three leading youth magazine titles as well as strategic media partners GO! and 5FM (sourced by Atoll Media), the awards were driven through a multi-layered communication platform.

Vodacom's sponsorship of this initiative is a reflection of the network's desire to make a real contribution to the grass roots of contemporary youth culture. The result is that Vodacom managed to truly grab the consciousness of the most influential sector of the South African youth. This was achieved by driving and rewarding performances in youth culture.

Buddy Chellan by photographer Barry Tuck - winner of Best Artistic Contribution

The boom both globally and locally in the expressive subcultures of surfing, skating, snowboarding, bmx, fmx, hip hop, kwaito, punk/ska, rock, design, graffiti, photography and street art, provided the foundation for these awards. Vodacom set out to reward individuals in five different award categories - Most Radical Performance, Male Rider of the Year, Female Rider of the Year, Best Live Music Performance and Best Artistic Contribution - with a total prize purse of R150 000.

The Vodacom 4U Performance awards were made accessible to the broader youth market by encouraging interaction through the website and sms voting. This resulted in tangible reader interaction with the brand.

"Vodacom challenged us and we responded with a concept," says Atoll Media managing director Craig Sims. "And the result is a subtle, but significant realignment of the 4U brand at the cutting edge of South African youth culture, as well as a direct contribution to those responsible for pushing the limits."

As the Vodacom Performance Awards move forward, it is certain that they will become the yardstick by which the evolution of South African Youth Culture is measured. In 2006, we look forward to more nominations, more public participation and a greater contribution to the grass roots of SA Youth Culture, while Vodacom is sure to cash in on the positioning that it has achieved from the sponsorship of these awards.