ABSAVILLE, ABSA’s EDUTAINMENT SOAPIE, HITS THE AIRWAVES OF NINE SABC AFRICAN LANGUAGE STATIONS

The second series of Absaville, Absa’s bespoke storytelling campaign, hits the airwaves of nine SABC African Language Stations on Thursday 6 April, bringing Absa’s Shared Growth strategy to life on radio.

Packaged as a ten minute show-within-a-show, the series is perceived as programming rather than advertising, designed to bring audiences back for more each week, delivering functional and emotional benefits in one holistic package.

David Wingfield, Absa’s head of marketing explains the choice. ‘When we decided to roll out our Shared Growth strategy to the market, we knew we needed a multilingual storytelling campaign that could communicate our narrative. Absaville is a dynamic platform to speak with people in their mother tongue; young, old, rich, poor, who are passionate listeners of radio soapies on their favourite stations conveying memorable content with which they can resonate and identify. It’s an audience, not a market.’

Absa briefed Creatrix, an agency specialising in telling brand stories using multilingual, destination-driven radio content,  to create and develop the series of which over a hundred dramas have already flighted. Gearing up for Season 2, the Creatrix Crew will write and produce over three hundred programs in nine languages, knowing that the series must sustain interest and validity for a long period.

‘We’ve found that the longer a destination listening platform is on air, the better the traction, the more popular it becomes,’ says Lynn Joffe, ECD of Creatrix. ‘Absaville has legs into the future, adapting and amplifying embedded product messages through plot and character development. The series’ expansion into four additional languages demonstrates the commitment and vision that the brand holds towards communicating on the same wavelength as the target market.’

Absaville flights from April 6 to December 15 in a series of ten minute weekly dramas, bookended with a catchy signature tune, a call-in competition and station presenter live reads that weave the program together.

The soapie is at the heart of the series, connecting the life stories of different people at different stages of their financial journey, with Absa being the thread that leads the individual, the community and the country to the essential concept of ‘Shared Growth.’

“Shared Growth lies at the heart of our business philosophy whereby we use our core assets and resources to grow and develop the societies where we operate while growing our own business. As society grows we prosper, and as society prospers we grow – now and in the future,” explains Wingfield.

Absaville broadcasts on the following ALS radio stations, Thursdays between 14h00 and 15h00. Tune in to your favourite language. And resonate to the notion of Umuntu, Ngumuntu Ngabantu; a person is a person because of other people.

Station	Language
Ikwekwezi FM	Ndebele
Thobela FM	SePedi
Munghana Lonene	Xitsonga
Lesedi FM	Sesotho
Motsweding FM	Setswana
Phalaphala FM	Tshivenda
Ligwalagwala FM	SiSwati
Umhlobo Wenene	IsiXhosa
Ukhozi FM	IsiZulu