#BeTheStud campaign makes a difference for charity

Craig Stack

"The race was designed to run for one hour," says Scott Canny, marketing manager of Sportingbet. "We underestimated the passion and involvement of the followers - Craig Stack from MyCityByNight; Cale Pissarra from JustKickingIt; Sasha Martinengo from Ballz Radio and Dylan Moore, Mr Cape Town, were across the finish line in 20 minutes!"

"The campaign has clearly illustrated the strength of social media in South Africa," says Canny. "The immediacy and personal involvement along with the belief that an individual can make a difference, drives social media campaigns like this. The virality was evident in the race itself, pushing #BeTheStud and a number of its participants to trend locally and nationally."

An innovative virtual event

The campaign was conceptualised and implemented by SportingbetSA and its two agency partners - award winning PR company, Greater Than, and top digital agency, Virtual Architects. Built to mimic the stages of the Durban July, it kicked off with a weight announcement, led up to the final field announcement, the gallops and the hashtag-driven virtual Unofficial Durban July 14th race.

The first of its kind, #BeTheStud was a hashtag-driven virtual horserace built to mimic the stages of the Durban July. Each of the 'horses' was handicapped, much as in the Durban July, but as opposed to carrying actual weights, they were handicapped by the number of mentions needed to win the race according to the number of followers each had, to ensure they all stood a fair chance to win and support their charity of choice. The final field was announced the day after the Durban July final field, and a parade ring went live on the BeTheStud website the same day.

"The stages of the campaign have been a huge amount of fun for all involved," says Canny. "The weight announcement saw 10 models posing in horse-onesies horsing around for the camera. We used the announcement to educate people around what this stage means in the Durban July as well as in our race."

Valuable exposure

"Our three winners are a perfect example of how the horses were weighted and how the underdog always stands a chance to win," says Canny. "First place winner, Craig Stack, has just under 3500 followers and had to get 150 mentions to cross the finish line; in second Cale Pissarra at almost 10,500 followers also needed 150 mentions and Sasha Martinengo at just short of 50,000 followers needed 350 mentions."

#BeTheStud was trending locally in Cape Town, Joburg, and Durban, and nationally in South Africa, raising the profile of the race and by extension the charities selected. Of the R15,000 up for grabs from Sportingbet SA, Craig Stack won R10,000 for the JAG Foundation; Cale Pissarra won R3500 for the Dirty Seagulls Foundation and Sasha Martinengo, sneaking in 2 minutes ahead of Dylan Moore, won R1500 for Cupcakes 4 Kids with Cancer.

For the formal Durban July on Saturday 6 July Sportingbet SA ran a Pick 8 competition with the prize of R1 million. The person who could pick the finishing order of the top 8 horses in the Durban July stood a chance to win the prize.

To see the final results of the #BeTheStud Unofficial Durban July 14th race, go to www.bethestud.co.za.