and social research data as they enjoy their dates . You see the fingers that used to do the walking in the Yellow Pages directory nowadays swipe ; left and right , up and down with similar or value added intentions .
Witchdoctors , Tinder and How the World ’ s most eligible Bachelor Got Hitched
In my usual course of business , I came across a campaign on ’ The World ’ s most eligible Bachelor ’. Initially I thought it was similar to how some people express their love intentions such as marriage proposals on advertising billboards in strategic places . It also reminded me of one of my copy writers and designers who told me that he has very consistent clients from an East African country and an Eastern county in Kenya . They seek his services to develop marketing campaigns for their witch doctor services to solve political , love , money , theft and business problems . While such witchdoctors have advanced to adopt modern advertising media including digital , their more conservative competitors continue using Guerilla tactics such as signposts on roadside trees which I guess are still effective given their high prevalence in some areas of Nairobi , the City in the Sun .
In an article on Adweek , Angela Natividad wrote that , The world most eligible bachelor ’ s campaign was about Sudan , a 43 year old male living in a ninety thousands acres residence guarded by military trained security , surrounded by love but lonely without happiness . The ad describes him as one of a kind , the only one of his species remaining in the world . Some publications described Sudan as horny but he couldn ’ t mate . Still , he needed to leave a legacy of his species lineage in mother earth . To accomplish the mission he took to Tinder to get hitched . Sudan was the last remaining male northern white rhino in the world . Ogilvy Africa and their counterparts in Northern America developed the campaign partnering with Tinder to help Ol Pejeta Conservancy raise funds for research and technology . The funds were aimed at helping the Northern White Rhino breed through IVF like artificial reproductive methods .
A Tinder profile in over a hundred countries and forty languages was set up for Sudan whereby when the love struck single ladies ( or even gentlemen ) swipe left on him as if they have found their perfect match , they would then get a link in their inbox to donate for the cause . In their game plan , those who came up with the campaign acknowledged that this wasn ’ t the first use of Tinder in marketing ; they therefore developed their uncontested or white space a unique and fun way to use social platforms .
The campaign was backed up by radio , film and print executions . It got the global news media attention including BBC and Al Jazeera with some news anchor making fun of how this one of a kind horny fella needed love . This successful campaign got billions of impressions online and publicity equivalent value of millions dollars and $ 85,000 in funding for the cause . For once , unlike in the convectional dating world “ no one like me exists ” was not just another pick up line but one on which the survival of his subspecies depends on . Sudan died in 2018 popularly known as the World ’ s most eligible bachelor or the last man standing . The fundraising continues and one can still donate to ensure that the Northern White Rhino can roam the Jungle once again in future .
Warthogs and Why a Well Chosen Platform Can Help You Cut through the Clutter
An out of this world platform requires us to use more imagination than money in order to cut through the clutter and catch the eyes of a generation that has a lower attention span than that of a gold fish . Since we are talking about the ground ( and not water ) where street lingua tell us that , “ Kwa ground vitu ni different ” ( Swahili for - on the ground thing are always different from public opinion ) we can use the example of a land animal like the warthog . According one of my Safari tour guides in the jungle apart from its fame for ugliness a warthog is known for its short attention span . The guide told me that it is common to see a warthog being pursued by a predator stopping midway having forgotten why it was running in the first place .
Choose your platform carefully and guard it from predators of attention for your game plan to succeed . Remember the analogy of a headless chicken that moves aimlessly in any direction without meaningful purpose or the forgetful warthog that loses focus to become an easy meal to the more focused predator .
In case you happen to be the predator in your chosen platform there is a Red Bull energy drink advert meant for you . It features a gazelle taking the drink after seeing a lion in the vicinity . The other gazelle seems helpless knowing it can ’ t outrun the lion as if they are already cornered , but the Red Bull drinking one says , “ I don ’ t have to outrun the lion , I just need to outrun you ”. This tells us that in the jungle it doesn ’ t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle , outrunning the slowest gazelle makes a difference between having a delicious meal and sleeping hungry on an empty stomach . On the other hand outrunning other gazelles can save your life or make you someone ’ s dinner . When the sun is up you better be in your best running form because ‘ Joyces ’ have consequences .
Boniface Ngahu is a seasoned marketing research expert and runs the Talking Point column in Marketing Africa magazine . He is the Marketing Director of SBO Research . You can commune with him on this or related matters via email at : BNgahu @ sboresearch . co . ke , or follow him on Twitter @ bngahu