A filmmaker from Italy has been awarded the Grand Prize in the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council’s Get Wildly Creative About South Africa people-inspired nation brand advertising contest, which was powered by Zooppa, a global social media network of nearly 60 000 creative enthusiasts.

Known by his Zooppa user name, Booris, the aspiring director used his own journey to South Africa (SA) to fuel his call to “stop using old maps to discover new lands” in his video “One and Eleven.” The Get Wildly Creative About SA online ad contest was run by the GeoBranding Center of the CMO Council and sponsored by the International Marketing Council (IMC) of SA, custodian of Brand SA, in partnership with SA Airways and SA Tourism.

The campaign sought to develop fresh ideas and dynamic creative content, presenting SA’s brand face to the world following the global media spotlight and influx of visitors to the country during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. More than 10 000 Internet users have viewed contest information and over 400 contestants submitted creative work across three categories including video, print advertising, and online banner display.

Booris, as grand prize winner, will receive a cash award along with a trip to SA. The winner of the print campaign, known by his Zooppa username, PIKNIK, depicted SA as a nation who would only accept colour difference based on what colour soccer jersey a person sported. Both award winning campaigns will be featured on the GeoBranding Center web portal (www.geobrandingcenter.org) and will be showcased in media partner portals globally. 

"Capturing the essence of a brand in an intensely captivating and engaging campaign is one of the most challenging tasks facing marketers promoting nation brands,” stated Donovan Neale-May, executive director of the CMO Council. “This collective of creativity has produced a level of inspiration and diversity in message, all centred around core values that embody the brand of South Africa. It was truly amazing to see the variety of content, difference in view, yet singularity of idea that brand of South Africa is one of diversity, inspiration, hope and aspiration."

The entries were judged by a panel of marketing experts, luminaries from SA travel and tourism and notable voices from SA media including Anitha Soni, chair of the IMC Board of Trustees, Elaine Youngleson, Managing Director of Club Med, Gregg Truman, VP of Marketing for SAA, Andre Shearer, CEO of Cape Classics Wine, Noah Greenhill, Chief Marketing Officer of JSE Limited, Jade Maletsky, Group Marketing Head of Strategy for Liberty Group, Leanne Manas, Morning Live Anchor on SABC, Imann Rappetti, Anchor of ETV News and Current Affairs, Jacqualene Humphries, Chief Marketing Officer of Neotel, Heather Third, Director, Special Projects Africa, Microsoft, and CMO Council Africa Chairperson, Connie DeLange, Group Executive, Marketing of Dimension Data.

Find your news in a flash at www.sabcnews.mobi