Staying locally relevant

The session was hosted by David Blyth and Khaya Dlanga from eatbigfish Africa, and featured Bridget Harpur, Head of Marketing at Volkswagen Group Africa, and Alex Goldberg, Creative Partner at Ogilvy South Africa – a partnership that has spanned almost 50 years. Their insights centred on how global brands can authentically connect with local audiences while still staying true to their international identity.

Understanding your right to play

At the heart of Volkswagen's success in South Africa lies a fundamental principle: transforming from "the people's car" globally to "the South African people's car" locally. This isn't just semantic gymnastics - it represents a profound shift in mindset that influences every marketing decision.

The key to achieving this lies in finding what the team calls "human truths" – insights so resonant that, when presented even in skeleton form, people immediately nod in recognition. These aren't surface-level observations but deep cultural understandings that make audiences feel seen and understood.

The Forever Golf campaign

A campaign that clearly illustrates this approach is VW's "Forever Golf" initiative. Rather than dictating how South Africans should view the iconic Golf, the campaign invited people to share the names they'd given their vehicles – names like Rabbit, Mashesha, The Vura, and Bum Jive reflect the country's linguistic diversity and cultural richness. The brilliance lay in recognising a truth hiding in plain sight: South Africans had already claimed ownership of this German car, making it thoroughly their own. The campaign simply celebrated this existing relationship.

The authenticity test

One of VW's tools for maintaining relevance is what they call the "logo test." After creating any piece of communication, the team asks: could we place another brand's logo at the end of this ad? If the answer is yes, they haven't explored what makes VW unique in the South African context deeply enough. This test ensures that their work is not only locally relevant but also distinctively VW. It highlights the difference between superficially adopting local trends and genuinely understanding your place in the cultural landscape.

Navigating cultural spaces without appropriation

The session offered crucial warnings about the pitfalls of trying to force relevance. "Brands can do themselves a disservice by trying to appeal to trends or cultural moments where they haven't earned the right to in that conversation," noted Goldberg.

Harpur added: "If there's a new word that's hit the lingo and it doesn't naturally fit with your brand, you're going to look like the 50-year-old Auntie trying to use young slang."

The lesson? Brands must earn cultural permission.

Measuring what matters

In an era of paid reach and inflated impression metrics, VW focuses on measures of genuine connection:

• View-through rates: You cannot buy people's commitment to view all the way through.
  
• Organic engagement: The conversations generated without paid promotion.
  
• Sentiment quality: Not just volume, but tone – the worst outcome being comments that say "You don't get us.”
  
• Shareability: Content that becomes earned media because consumers voluntarily amplify.

The ultimate measure of relevance is when your audience becomes your media channel, sharing your content because it resonates with their identity and experience.

The continental challenge

Creating work for multiple African markets presents unique challenges. VW's Touareg campaign needed to resonate across countries with different languages, driving orientations, and cultural nuances. The solution wasn't to create generic "African" content but to find universal human truths – in this case, ambition and dreams – while allowing for local expression.

The campaign used clever production techniques (obscuring whether vehicles were left or right-hand drive), diverse casting representing different African markets, and extensive testing with local offices. Every element, from wardrobe to music, was carefully calibrated to feel authentic without being exclusionary.

Staying true when markets shift

With Chinese automotive brands aggressively entering the South African market, other automotive brands are facing increasing pressure. VW's response is to double down on what makes it distinctive: safety standards, local job creation, quality testing, and deep cultural connection.

"The worst thing we could do is have a knee-jerk reaction and change course," stated Harpur. "We've got to stick to our storytelling and our deep connection to South Africans."

Brands as cultural contributors

Importantly, the session emphasised that true local relevance extends beyond advertising. VW's Night School campaign didn't just create awareness about the dangers of night driving in South Africa – it successfully influenced changes to South Africa's official driver training manual.

"That's putting your money where your mouth is," reflects Harpur. This transformation from marketer to cultural contributor represents the ultimate expression of local relevance.

Practical strategies for local relevance

For marketers looking to enhance local relevance, the session offered valuable advice:

• Don't assume anything about your market. Even when you think you understand, approach things with fresh curiosity.
  
• Use social media as real-time research; the comments sections, engagement patterns, and social listening provide immediate feedback on whether your work resonates or falls flat.
  
• Focus rather than fragment with limited budgets, and resist the temptation to spread the budget across multiple initiatives. Find that one thing and stick to it and do it properly.
  
• A platform-appropriate approach is important, as each channel serves a different purpose and demands different content. Your website provides credibility and information, while TikTok demands entertainment. Respect these contexts.
  
• Build on legacy without being trapped. VW benefits from decades of South African advertising heritage but doesn't rest on it. Each campaign must earn its place while building on established brand equity.

The path forward

For marketers navigating an increasingly complex landscape of global brands and local expectations, the VW case study offers a clear roadmap: understand deeply, act authentically, measure meaningfully, and contribute genuinely.

Local relevance isn't about superficial localisation or trend-chasing. It's about earning the right to be part of cultural conversations through consistent demonstration of understanding, respect, and value creation. When a German car can become so thoroughly South African that owners give it local nicknames and consider it part of their family story, you know you've achieved something special.

The key takeaway? In Goldberg's words: "The goal is to create work that people go, 'Oh wow, you get us.'" When you achieve that, everything else - from engagement metrics to sales figures - tends to follow.

This nine-part series is designed to offer practical, real-world insight for marketers navigating complexity, career growth, and creative leadership. It reveals how South African marketers can lead the way by building Capability, Value and Impact. To view the Marketing Masterclass series, visit Daily Maverick Events.