Boomtown takes home an Assegai

The winning team from l to r: Tim Jones, Andrew MacKenzie, Brittany Moore, Gary Welsh, Senzo Xulu

Boomtown Strategic Brand Agency has achieved its second award this week. Following its CLIO award, last night it was annouced that the agency won an Assegai for its Dream Starter campaign for Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU).

A fully integrated campaign, Dream Starter was part of the University's Open Day 2012 to engage with its potential students, and discover their dreams and ambitions. Interest post-open day was generated using social media, QR codes on posters and encouraging Instagrams to accompany dreams, and students could see dreams become a reality on the NMMU YouTube channel.

"NMMU is about realising dreams and equipping students for successful futures. This campaign made it real and contributed to a definite increase in applications to the institution", said Pieter Swart, director of marketing and corporate relations at NMMU.

Kayla Draai was one of the lucky dreamers. Wanting a career in braodcasting, NMMU gave here the opportunity to experience her dream. Kayla was flown to Cape Town where she spent the morning on the SABC3 Expresso show, and was even given an opportunity to present the weather.

Boomtown creative director, Andrew Mackenzie said of the campaign and its win: "The campaign followed NMMU's brand essence of aspiration and helping its students achieve their dreams. Working with the University has been truly rewarding, and the creativity we are allowed to run with and results we achieve excites the whole team. Having multiple touch points and ways to submit a dream meant me managed to reach a maximum number of students in a creative way."

Boomtown really did deliver with its award-winning campaign. With an estimated media value of R581,000 and an ROI of 444%, the campaign was a success for NMMU too. Applications increased by 22%, meaning 29,748 new NMMU students are about to make their own dreams come true.

The creative team behind the award-winning work consisted of: Andrew Mackenzie (executive creative director), Tim Jones (creative group head), Senzo Xulu (art director), Gary Welsh (copywriter) and Brittany Moore (account manager).