Keep Sasha Martinengo on the road via Caltex tweets

The 'Keep It Going' campaign, will see Martinengo drive from Johannesburg to Cape Town, broadcasting his show Gearz on Ballz visual radio live from the road for five days stopping at 20 Caltex filling stations along the way.

According to Marlin van Noie, creative director at digital agency Quirk, the campaign is running in three phases and is hosted on Facebook and Twitter. "Everything from what he listens to and what he packs to what he eats and how he gets there is in the hands of the public."

"Without public participation, he will be stranded, therefore he has to make sure his trip is engaging and entertaining for the 1600km if he hopes to get enough people tweeting to ensure he can fill his tank with the client's fuel."

Phase one and two

Phase one and two allows consumers the opportunity to win R10,000 for their participation in each phase respectively, with a further R4000 daily cash prize up for grabs for the duration of the five day road trip.

The campaign will leverage the new 'Going' brand TVC, which launched last month to coincide with the modernisation of the forecourts and the opening of new Freshstop convenience stores countrywide.

"The social media campaign aims to position the South African brand with the use of an interactive and engaging campaign that is relevant to the TVC and everything the client stands for.

"Throughout the trip, we'll be highlighting each forecourt that Martinengo passes through and why they play such an important role in every trip."

The company believes that how you get there is as important as getting there. "With this in mind, we used 'It's how you get there' positioning as a platform to demonstrate the reason for being. Our idea had to activate and be aligned to that and in turn, we came up with 'Keep It Going'."

Inspiration behind the campaign

The premise, 'We're going to keep his baby going for years and years,' played a large part in the inspiration behind the campaign, using old classic cars to demonstrate the benefits of the brand, while also talking to the emotional side of the relationship between a person and his or her car.

"From the beginning, we knew that the cars were at the centre of the emotional pull of this campaign. We decided to place the cars in settings that would accentuate them while showcasing scenery you might find on a typical South African road trip. We were fortunate to work with Gideon van der Watt, a great photographer who captured the classic cars and from this base, we composited surreal imagery based on real South African locations. We opted for a high contrast design (embellished and emotive imagery within a simplistic layout) to capture our audience's attention."

"The nature of social campaigns in general allows us to build on the idea behind the TVC and provide a platform to delve into the intrinsic brand. A social media campaign is the perfect complement to a good TV commercial."

Campaign timelines and rollout

The Competition runs in three phases until 8 December 2012 on Facebook and Twitter.

• Phase one (until 16 November): Vote for the car - choose Lucy, the 1996 Mazda MX-5, Ivan the 1978 Mercedes SL 450 or Grace, the 1958 Triumph 3a.
  
• Phase two (17-30 November): Driver assist - Tweet suggestions on what Martinengo should pack, where he should stop and what he should be getting up to.
  
• Phase three (3 -8 December): Road trip - Fill the tank with #keepitgoing tweets

Campaign Credits

• Quirk Cape Town: Marlin van Noie and Emma Carpenter Y&R (creative directors)
  
• Tin Can PR: Kisha van Vuuren and Debby Reader
  
• Chevron SA: Suzanne Pullinger (head of communications), Jill Koopman (brand & c-store alliance manager) and Bulela Mkandawire (brand specialist)

For more:

• Facebook: Facebook campaign and Caltex SA Facebook page
  
• Mobisite campaign
  
• Twitter: @CaltexSA and #keepitgoing