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INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGNS
Wild Rhino Youth Ambassador, Jean-Paul? Norval, and Group Security Manager when they returned to Vietnam. They
Jankowsk, with some of the campaign of the Shamwari Group, Rodney Visser, were also asked for other suggestions
material distributed in Vietnamese schools PHOTOS: SUPPLIEDwere part of the Wild Rhino Competitionon how to fight rhino poaching.
launch in Ho Chi Minh City. But it was
from 12 international schools in Ho Thanh Bui and Thu Minh’s message “The opinions and ideas from the
Chi Minh City. and performance – they sang a song youngsters were remarkable, confirming
specially written for the occasion – that to us the incredible impact of being in
The rationale is that, by informing truly captured the children’s attention. the wilderness and experiencing wildlife
and convincing Vietnamese youngsters first hand,” says Reynolds.
of the real rhino story, they will embrace “The celebrities’ involvement not only
the cause and become integral to the made the message more accessible, Several of the concepts originating
solution as sincere, credible and home- it made it credible,” says Reynolds. at the workshop have been included in
grown ambassadors. By engaging with “The Vietnamese are very proud and what has been named the Vietnam, Be
their peers, parents and others in their we realised that how the message is My Hero youth awareness campaign. The
communities, they’ll help reduce the communicated, and from whom, is very promotion was created in partnership
demand for rhino horn. The overriding important. We could not have made with Port Elizabeth agency Boomtown
message is that Vietnam can help save inroads as effectively and quickly without and the Peace Parks Foundation.
the rhino. the help of Thanh. We now have a
permanent office and member of staff “It’s been a wonderful campaign
Conservation Director of the situated at his Soul Music premises.” to be involved in,” notes Boomtown’s
Wilderness Foundation, Matthew Managing Director, Andrew MacKenzie.
? He says the creative team blended non-
Experiencing the judgemental messages and thoughts
rhinos in the wild from the young ambassadors with
had great impact consumer and cultural insights from
Vietnam in order to create a campaign
Bui is, by all accounts, not only that would resonate in the region.
talented and adored, but also a
visionary and entirely committed to the The Vietnam, Be My Hero strategy is
cause. The competition culminated in communicated via posters, leaflets and
22 Vietnamese teenagers – destined other marketing materials circulated
to become the inaugural Forever Wild within Vietnamese schools. One of the
Rhino Ambassadors – winning a trip messages to the schools was written
to South Africa. by an ambassador during her visit to
South Africa. It reads: “The wilderness
Despite a tight travel schedule due is not a place, but a season and we are
to his judging commitments during in its final hour. Vietnam – will you be
the filming of Idols Vietnam, Bui the hero?”
accompanied the winners on a five-day
wilderness trail in the iMfolozi Game ADDITIONAL ENGAGEMENT
Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal.
Further engagement is enabled through
LOCAL IDEAS the Wild Rhino website and various
As part of their South African visit, social media platforms. The logistics
the Forever Wild Rhino Ambassadors of the campaign are facilitated by the
participated in a workshop and were young ambassadors, who distribute
asked to put forward ideas on how to posters and materials within their
communicate what they had learned schools and other relevant places, and
are active communicators online.
The next element of the campaign
takes advantage of the comic book
culture that exists in Vietnam. This
idea too, emanated from the youth
workshop. The storyline involves a
34 strategicmarketing October 2016 – January 2017
