About the campaign

We wanted to change the behaviour of all South Africans when it comes to saving and money. Specifically, we wanted to turn the spotlight on the psychology behind our culture of conspicuous spending – a culture that is driving the country into debt.

We challenged hip hop heavyweight, Cassper Nyovest and presenter-model-actress and MC. Pearl Thusi to save money as conspicuously as they usually spend it; to twist their VIP lifestyles.

Using own, paid, earned and shared media we designed a 2 phase pre (teaser) and post (reveal) 360-degree social experiment.

With an upfront unbranded seeding phase, using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and key online publishers, our celebrities sparked interest with their huge fan bases on their small yet significant shifts in spending behaviour.

We revealed the campaign concept: Firstly, by placing Pearl on the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine, in a minimal investment hessian sack dress. This extended into a deep dive of her involvement with Sanlam and broader financial awareness.

Secondly, we hosted a launch party for Casspers newest track; the message of which is “Mr Madumane (Big $pendah)”

Thereafter, we wrapped the nation’s largest Sunday newspaper in a 4-page lifestyle wrap detailing the campaign.

All PR, digital, social and publisher partners then unveiled the collaboration. The ultimate message being “it's not what you have, it's what you do with it that counts”.

Key outdoor holdings nationwide drove the URL and hashtag: #conspicuoussaving, where the message and story played out online.

Challenge

In National Savings Month, Sanlam challenged two key SA celebrities to twist their VIP lifestyles.

They traded spending for noticeable saving to encourage South Africans to live within their means, proving you can bring it without breaking the bank.

Solution

How we see others spending can affect how we save. We are bombarded with images of conspicuous spending daily. The truth is, few of us can afford the glamorous lifestyles full of stylish swag we see projected in every newspaper, magazine, social feed and movie. But we still try. If we live beyond our means, we’ll never have enough money to really afford the lifestyle we aspire to. 

We wanted to turn the spotlight on the psychology behind our culture of conspicuous spending – a culture that is driving the country into debt. 

As Wealthsmiths™ Sanlam believe that it’s important to make saving a priority so you can turn your income into sustainable wealth. After all, it's not what you have, it's what you do with it that counts.

Results

A fully integrated campaign was designed to:

Create national awareness of the issues around conspicuous spending and launch the counter-remedy concept of conspicuous savings – a Sanlam initiative.

Educate South Africans on the impact of their conspicuous spending during National Savings Month, providing relevant and relatable insights and content to get people reflecting on their own behaviour. 

Generate public interest around the concept of conspicuous spending (pre) and conspicuous saving (post) to drive high levels of engagement and encourage participation across online campaign channels. 

Position Sanlam as the leading voice on the topic of saving during National Savings Month and further entrench the credibility and expertise of the brand, and its commitment to encourage South Africans to reconsider the way they spend and save. 

Generate a positive return on investment (production and media) for the campaign, setting a benchmark for future education campaigns with a secondary lead generation call to action.

• 105 million impressions served across all mediums
• 640,000 documentary video views 
• 1.1 million social engagements
• +21,000 campaign page visits
• 22% email open rates
• 82% key message penetration in earned media
• 93% Positive or neutral brand sentiment in earned media.
• 86% Brand mentions in earned media.
• 54% Category share of voice over period.
• Estimated R14.8 million earned media exposure vs paid media of R2.5 million = 5.9 : 1 earned vs paid.