Proud Africa spirit wins at international awards

16 Mar 2015

Carat Division and Isobar, network brands of Dentsu Aegis Network Sub-Saharan Africa, have won bronze at the Global Dentsu Aegis Network Innovation Awards for 'Best Use of the Dentsu Aegis Operating Model'. The judges said that it was a "Great capture of proud African spirit and transferring it to an integrated campaign."

This accolade was awarded for the exceptional integration that the team displayed in working across the group's agencies, Carat Africa Division, Isobar and iProspect. It was one of over 900 entries submitted for the Innovation Awards in 10 categories.

Proud Africa spirit wins at international awards

Winning campaign

The entry 'Made of Black' was for the Guinness Africa campaign, which sought to reposition the brand in Africa and increase the brand's appeal to Generation (Gen) Y Africans.

It hinged off the insight that there is an African revolution underway - Gen Y Africans are carving their own path in life, like no generation before them. They are ambitious and optimistic, worldly but intensely proud of their African roots.

From this observation, the communications and media strategy was formulated - the team needed to credibly facilitate this existing movement and shine a spotlight on Gen Y Africans.

Carat Africa Division collaborated with MTV Base to launch the campaign at scale in an authentic way. It kicked off with a simultaneous takeover of MTV Base and 11 other syndicated channels across Africa, delivered across multiple channels and territories. All media supported the principles established by the MTV Base takeover and highlighted key campaign moments.

Isobar-created digital assets, facilitated direct engagement with the campaign - owned online spaces and gave consumers inspired by the campaign a platform to voice what made them uniquely 'Made of Black'.