UK'shona Kwelanga - WhatsApp Drama Series
Sanlam
Issue 45 | December 2017
Agency
King James Group Johannesburg
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer Alistair King Executive Creative Directors Dan Pinch, Devin Kennedy, Matt Ross Creative Director Damian Bonse Agency Art Director Kagiso Tshepe Art Director/Stylist Leigh Vermaak Writers Bongi Ndaba, Dominique Swiegers, Emma Drummond, Kirsti Rivett
Production Team
Agency Producer Kim-Lara King Cinematography Yash Lucid Designers Guy Blackhurst, Miles Davis Digital Agency/Production Company King James Digital Editing Company Post Music & Sound Composition James Matthes Post Production Facility Post
Other Credits
Account Management Cara Bulteel, Jenna Pickford, Lameez Domingo, Sean Hanekom Strategist Lebogang Kodisang, Lesego Kotane Project Manager Christia Wollner Brand Representatives Jabulile Smith, Tendani Matshisevhe
Date
July 2017
Background
Many South Africans did not have funeral cover. This could cause major drama among family members when a loved one passed away.
Sanlam, an investments and financial services company, was known for savings and pensions but not for funeral cover, which could often come as an additional nasty surprise when a family member died.
Idea
A drama series was scripted and filmed exclusively for Whatsapp, the most popular digital platform for the target audience, who used it increasingly for family conversations. "Uk'shona Kwelanga", (or "The Death of Langa") told the story of a family struggling to deal with both the emotional and the financial ramifications of loss while planning their father's funeral.
Scripted by renowned writer Bongi Ndaba, head writer of several major TV shows in South Africa, and acted by well-known talents including Bongani Madondo, Linda Sokhulu and Thembi Mtshali, the series unfolded in real time over seven days. To make the drama even more gripping, it used WhatsApp features including voice notes, photos and film clips shot from the characters' perspective.
Messages came in through the day as the characters discussed arrangements and tensions started to show. Using WhatsApp is technically very challenging. The experience was achieved by using Broadcast Lists to create a stream of content that could not be interrupted by user comments (which were seen by community managers only).
A promotional campaign was launched to build an audience through traditional media, PR and a series trailer was promoted across social media
Results
Sanlam managed to earn the attention of the target audience by finding an innovative way of marketing – providing credible entertainment but with an important message.
- 30,500,000 Media Impressions via PR.
- 146% increase in leads conversion.
- 44,000 subscribers.
- 93% completion rate.
- 880,000 minutes of content consumed.
Our Thoughts
Drama series have been hosted on social media before, I think. "Skam" from Norway used Instagram to give extra edge to the characters; "Sickhouse" is said to be the first feature film to have run on Snapchat and there have been examples of film-makers using Skype. But I think this is a first for Whatsapp. Certainly a first in terms of branded content on the platform.
What is so exhilarating about this age of change is that almost as fast as someone creates a new platform, someone else will create a completely new way of using it. What started out as another way of texting your friends has turned into an easy and relatively low-cost way of sharing video.
With over 10 million users of Whatsapp in South Africa, King James' innovative use of the platform isn't a quest for novelty, it's sound media strategy.