Home-grown TV commercial for NMMU

From the production crew and actors through to the locations and voice over, the 30-second advertisement which is set to flight on national television in April, is a proudly Eastern Cape production.

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University students (from left) David de Villiers, Thando Loliwe, Louis Zietsman, staff member Morris Matyila and Kuda Maybhonga.

International co-operation

"We're thrilled with this advertisement and how it's going to position Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University nationally. The university has over the past two years grown in national stature, but we need to further create awareness," said NMMU director of marketing and corporate relations Pieter Swart.

The advert also includes the voice of international actor John Kani, who still calls New Brighton home and is an NMMU honorary graduate. The music is by Ethan Rank, a former NMMU music alumnus.

Unlike traditional university advertisements, NMMU opted to appeal to people's emotions in sharing the "moment" when you turn dreams into reality. All five locations are in the Eastern Cape, two within the university.

Marketing campaign

The university worked with strategic brand agency Boomtown and production company Rooftop. Though the actual filming probably only took five full days of filming at the different locations, the final product took months of editing to ensure it captured the essence of prospective students making that bold decision in realising their dreams and aspirations by joining the university.

"Using our own students makes the final product so much more real," said Swart, adding that the television advert was part of a much bigger brand-building campaign that includes radio, newspaper and magazine, social media and billboard advertising."

A complementary viral marketing campaign meant that X number of people had already seen the NMMU advert with will run for six weeks, and then for a further six weeks from mid-year.

View the TVC