The toolbox syndrome

For years we have heard how we are in a digital age and that it is the way of the future for brands to play. In the process of attempting to embrace this thinking, many agencies try to force digital into the marketing solution or campaign simply to tick a box. We jokingly refer to this as the "toolbox syndrome". I will have a microsite, social media presence, mobi site, blog, forum, Google, online advertising, e-newsletter and a widget, please. Throwing every digital channel at audiences without a clear strategy for each digital platform can often do more harm than good and with budgets squeezed and demand for increased return on investment, this could have disastrous results, writes Greg Norman, digital creative director of Tequila.

This said, we must mention the challenge for South Africa to deliver coherent broadband solutions. With this squashed ability to deliver rich online content in a way that more robust broadband countries may do. This in turn has had an effect on the interactive maturity of our audiences and their interaction with brands across popular digital channels.
This has played for us and against us, forcing the need for tighter digital strategies and focused integration with conventional forms of media to allow for increased levels of interaction with campaigns. Audiences, more than ever, want to be engaged and offered true value in the spaces in which they play and not bombarded by marketing jargon and empty promises. The proof is in the pudding. More than ever, people are ready for increased strategic interaction and unique digital experiences. Hail broadband!

Tequila recently helped launch the largest global campaign to come out of Africa, Standard Bank’s Moving Forward campaign.
The brief: Making the right connections. We connect the right bits, at the right time, right place, in the right way in order to unlock something better / create opportunities that move you forward.

The challenge: How do we launch Standard Bank's new positioning, Moving Forward, within the digital space and offer value that enforces the new brand positioning?
The solution: The television and print campaign focused on showing how Standard Bank can help customers make the right connections, thus helping them to move forward. Digital, particularly online and social media, is an extremely personal space and we need to respect the fact that customers / consumers make a choice with regard to engaging with our content or not.

The launch campaign spoke to a broad audience and that is where we saw a gap for digital to fill. How can we tell your story?
Taking the iconography and the overall art direction, from our above-the-line partner and adapting it to suit the digital space, we designed a system where users could tell us about their current lifestyle. They told us a little bit about themselves and with this information, we showed them how Standard Bank could make the right (and relevant) choices to help them move forward.

We answered users' needs by offering an additional user-friendly and engaging layer on top of the typical banking portal website. We created incentive, in the form of a competition, provided some useful financial and product-related information to help complete the picture. Blue Connection's internal twitter/blog interface to help better connect staff locally and abroad.

A global microsite was created with Google maps. Pins geographically positioned showed Standard Bank's: country representation; the deals we have closed; the accolades we have won; news; and offering (CIB/PBB).

Using Google maps means you will be able to zoom in on any pin right to the location of, for example, something the bank financed in that area i.e. Lekki Bridge.
We used rich media banners to depict how Standard Bank makes the right connections by merging two online advertising spaces i.e. leaderboard and skyscraper advertising spots would build a bridge between each other to better connect these spaces and complete the advertising message.

For more information, visit www.standardbank.co.za/movingforward (Local microsite) or http://movingforward.standardbank.com (Global Microsite)  

Also visit www.tequila.co.za or contact Beverley Jones on telephone: +27 11 322 3208 or e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it