The third series of Makarapa City, Anglo American’s bespoke edutainment radio soapie, conceived and created by brand storytellers Creatrix, won the Drama Category at the 2018 Liberty Radio Awards
The series hit the airwaves in 2017 with a twelve-part drama series in six South African languages on selected African Language and Community Stations broadcasting to nine million listeners.
The skillfully spun radio script has evinced outstanding results both for the campaign’s strategic objectives and listener enjoyment, feedback and comprehension.
Makarapa City – named after the mining hardhat that now has wide cultural recognition in South Africa – fuses believable characters and an intriguing plot though vivid theatre-of-the mind storytelling.
Each programme embeds key messages into the storyline, reflecting the difference that Anglo American makes in the lives of their employees and their communities, investing in education, health and enterprise development.
Creatrix founder Lynn Joffe says: “Creatrix has built its expertise within the branded storytelling space, bringing brand love to the mass market on their terms, on their turf and in their lingo.“We always conceptualise with the target market in mind, immerse ourselves in the culture and draw from stories of real South Africans, imagining them into being in soapies, talk shows, dramas and other features.”
Through Makarapa City, communities are entertained by the trials and tribulations of nine vibrant and diverse characters and open up conversations around real issues that real people face. The series explores how Anglo American, as an active citizen, has contributed to helping communities find solutions in addressing issues of health, enterprise development and education.”
Each episode culminates in such a way as to leave the market hankering for more, soliciting loyalty listenership, building the relationship between the characters and the target market and promoting trust.
The campaign flights weekly and includes an interactive USSD competition element to measure comprehension of the embedded messages – and provides an additional incentive to listen in.
Makarapa City is a true microcosm of what’s playing out in our communities, digging deeper into everyday issues like debt, health, love and ambition.
“We always conceptualise with the target market in mind, immerse ourselves in the culture and draw from stories of real South Africans, imagining them into being in soapies, talk shows, dramas and other features.”
