With a database of 8000 mailable records and a total campaign investment of under R120 000, Action Ambro's ‘Local is Lekker' campaign secured a 17% response for client and generated substantial additional revenue running into millions of rands for Vodacom, coupled with increased cellphone usage and activation.
“Our challenge was to introduce Vodafone Passport to the market and educate consumers that this offering would replace their existing roaming service. Through Vodacom's international alliance with Vodafone, this is the only service of its kind available in South Africa and hence our emphasis was focused heavily on promoting a local, homegrown angle. The greatest challenge was that most international travellers on a Vodacom contract already had the Vodacom World roaming service; however, we needed them to convert to the Passport package in order for them to qualify for the local rates,“ explains Andrew Ambrogioni, MD and founder of Action Ambro's.
“We developed the ‘local is lekker' theme which all South Africans understand and that smacks of homegrown products, services and national pride. It plays on the fact that no matter where you are in the world, there are things that you get at home that you don't find anywhere else in the world. Now thanks to Vodacom Passport, you can even take your local cellphone rate with you when you travel anywhere in the world,” says Ambrogioni.
Action Ambro's also had to communicate a second message – ‘Talk longer for less' – which the agency actively demonstrated by way of a brochure with a die cut device that, at first glance, shows a short version of a conversation: ‘What you said with your current international roaming service'. When the recipient opens it, a full-length conversation is revealed with the message: ‘What you could've said with Vodafone Passport'.
“Instead of going into a lengthy explanation of the product we could simply ‘show-and-tell' in an easily digestible way,” Ambrogioni.
The campaign was entered into the prestigious DMASA Assegai Awards held at the end of last year, winning a Silver Assegai for Action Ambro's in the direct mail category. Ambrogioni was also nominated Direct Marketer of the Year at the same awards.
