In 2015, Geometry Global was asked by Kagiso Media to pitch on a concept for East Coast Radio's 20 year birthday.

Kagisa Media wanted to strengthen the brand in the mind of current listeners by using East Coast Radio’s 20th birthday as a platform to launch a new positioning to generate awareness and create opportunity for engagement.

Geometry Global Strategy Legends identified an opportunity for ECR to show through its 20 years of experience to fill the gap in the market that takes international cultures and flavours and mixes it with the essence of KZN local. ECR has the opportunity to play in the spaces that make up their listeners global diversity, but stay local in terms of their listeners’ roots.

Which leads us to a platform that perfectly describes a radio station dedicated to playing in global spaces, but staying authentically local.

The big idea: So KZN.

KZN beats to a different rhythm. Things move at the speed of life that loves a good time. There is a warmth and a chilled vibe that you just don’t find in SA’s more hyped cities and provinces. The east coast has a culture all of its own and even its own language.

The line “So KZN” gives East Coast Radio a platform to celebrate everything that is uniquely KZN. ECR gives the people of KZN a way to connect to their unique culture. ECR’s playlists reflect this rich and varied culture with everything from R&B to the classics. Why should they be like anyone else when they can be their own great selves?

ECR is by KZN and for KZN. Only ECR has been “So KZN” for 20 years and counting. ECR is proudly KZN.

This idea is a riff of the game 30 Seconds. People have to call in to guess the meanings of words that are “So KZN” for their chance to win prizes. For example, this is a word that is commonly used to describe your house, home or where you hang out. Answer: pozzy.

As a follow on to this ECR could create a new segment:

KZN’s home-grown talent from DJs, musicians, designers, sports people and chefs to entrepreneurs and business people – and everyone in between – are given a 20-minute interview on “Trending Tonight”. This creates a platform to showcase ECR “So KZN” talent and inspire a new audience to tune in.

Every day for 20 days ECR showcases one “So KZN” word. People call in and make a sentence with the word to win prizes. An example of a winning sentence could be: “East Coast Radio plays the kiffest hits”. People also have to tune in to ECR to hear the ECR “So KZN” word of the day to unlock the prize of the ECR “So KZN” Ride. A dictionary of “So KZN” words will also be posted on ECR’s website.

ECR hosts 20 “So KZN” birthday events all over KZN to celebrate its 20th birthday. There would be “So KZN” food, music, celebs and fun promos to bring the idea of ECR “So KZN” to life. During a show, listeners tell the host why an ECR “So KZN” party should be held in a certain place. The DJ would decide which caller made the best case and would announce the winner on air. Each ECR “So KZN” party would highlight what is so special and “So KZN” about that specific place.

At each event, ECR could host various fun activities:

People upload 20 minutes of their music or mixes onto ECR’s site for their chance to perform a live 20-minute set at a birthday event.

Each birthday event would have an Outside Broadcast that will feature our on-air promotions.

•  Rickshaw races

•  20 Seconds charades – guess the meaning of a “So KZN” word

•  Mechanical surfboard races

•  “So KZN” Trivia quizzes

•  20 Seconds to Win It – complete fun tasks in 20 seconds or less to win

Handed out at activations and traffic intersections. Specially designed series of stickers that the public can place either on their own personal belongings or things that are “So KZN”.

We created posters with an actual speaker that broadcasts ECR. This was a great way to expose ECR’s content and create interest. When people got closer to the poster, it sends ECR content – such as news about upcoming events, ECR’s Instagram feeds, etc. to peoples’ phones.

We proposed to put a truly “So KZN” vehicle on KZN’s roads. Fitted with multiple GoPros that could film the vehicle’s every move and broadcast ECR playlists that are geotagged for specific areas. This brought the sound of ECR to new listeners. People could live stream the GoPro footage on ECR’s site to guess where the vehicle was. People could also tune in to ECR for clues. When people spotted the car, they had to give the promoter the ECR “So KZN” word of the day to unlock the boot for a prize. The promoters would also have iPads so that people can create their own ECR playlists on the spot and then send them to their phones. This not only exposes new listeners to ECR content but also created a database for future ECR marketing.

We proposed bringing an ECR “So KZN” experience to Mediamark and setting up an ECR “So KZN” party complete with a food truck and live entertainment with top talent and rising stars.

We created an ECR “So KZN” media kit to send to 20 influential bloggers and media buyers to spread the word about ECR.

The kit contained:

•  Bunny Chow

•  Dictionary of “So KZN” words

•  Wire radio that only plays ECR

•  ECR “So KZN” stickers

•  The kit will be packaged beautifully and feature facts on ECR and its shows

Using quintessential East Coast pop culture icons, ECR could leverage these items to keep ECR as the top station in the minds of consumers.

Examples of these icons include wall murals, sand castles, painted buses and rickshaws.

Using low-tack stickers, ECR could place them in 20 places all over KZN for 20 days. When people spotted a tag, they had to take a pic and post it with the #SoKZN to win prizes. They needed to tune in to see if their post was picked as a winner.

People created their own 20-song playlists on ECR’s website and posted it to social media. This revealed the variety of ECR’s content to new and existing listeners. The top 20 people with the most “likes” for their ECR “So KZN” playlists would have them broadcast. People could also geotag their playlists and listeners could guess which place it was about to win prizes.

We proposed that the public show us their 20 favourite “So KZN” people, places or things with an Instagram album. We challenge people to post 20 images over 20 days that tied in with the ECR “So KZN” theme. One Instagrammer’s pic would be announced as the winner on air every day for 20 days, encouraging new listeners to tune in. These pics would also be featured on ECR’s site and social media platforms.

This idea harnessed “influencers” to grow listenership and brand engagement. We curated a number of instawalks around the region hosted by ECR in conjunction with well-known instagram communities in each area. Each walk would be themed “So KZN” and Instagrammers needed to capture and post images using the #SoKZN. This would run parallel to the other #SoKZN promos driving awareness of the campaign and encouraging listenership from a more niche or younger audience.

We proposed commissioning a local KZN artist to create a “So KZN” font for ECR. The font would be used across various marketing related material from billboards to murals to social media posts.

Listeners would also be able to generate their name in the ECR “So KZN” font on a website generator. It could then be shared to social platforms with a link to back to the ECR site. The generator would also use geo locations to tailor the message.

Unfortunately, only a few of the pitched elements were produced.

CREDITS:

Strategy: Chad Nelson and Demi-Lee Jacobs

Creative Director: Erasmus 'Bart' Sihin

Creative Group Head: Tracy Ellis

Art Direction: Erasmus 'Bart' Sihin, Tracy Ellis, Juanita Matais, Jabu Dlamini and Irene Mouzouris

Copywriting: Erasmus 'Bart' Sihin and Dawn Franke