Brand SA ads in Economist top 10

23 May 2006

Adverts promoting Brand South Africa have been voted among the 10 most memorable by European readers of leading international business publication The Economist.

The adverts were developed by ad agency TBWA Hunt Lascaris for the International Marketing Council of South Africa – a public-private sector partnership set up to market SA – to attract investment and tourism to the country.

The survey, conducted by Objective Research to assess the reading habits of Economist subscribers, randomly asked readers to score adverts according to whether they remembered seeing them, on the one hand, and whether they recalled reading them, on the other.

Renault, Rolex, Cartier … South Africa

Twenty three percent of European readers who completed the questionnaire recalled seeing the International Marketing Council’s (IMC’s) adverts, putting them in 10th place on the “notable” scale.

Other adverts making the top 10 promoted consumer brands such as Renault, Rolex, Cartier and Lexus and financial management service companies and banks such as HSBC, UBS Wealth Management and West LB.

On the “reading” scale, indicating how effective an advert is in motivating someone glancing at it to read it, the IMC adverts moved up to 5th position – with other country adverts, for Bulgaria and Wallonia (Belgium), coming in at 9th and 10th respectively.

‘Witty … unexpected’

Readers of the IMC’s adverts, which highlight the potential for investing in South Africa, described them as “informative”, “witty”, “interesting”, “appealing” and “unexpected”.

Commenting on the research, IMC CEO Yvonne Johnston said: “We’re very excited by these findings. Clearly the International Marketing Council’s strategy to inform thought leaders is generating interest.

“Our creative and original adverts mean we’re able to cut through the advertising clutter and grab the reader’s attention with the message that South Africa is Alive with Possibility.”

SAinfo reporter