Nando’s CEO ad: Great fun, but is it effective?

I don’t know that the Nando’s ad is “just another campaign designed to interrupt you”. Taking the mickey out of specifically South African foibles is the Nando’s way (with it’s advertising) – it’s become a key part of what we associate the brand with, laughing at ourselves or those close enough to us for it to feel like an in-joke (for South Africans). Yet again, they do not disappoint. As a stand alone ad by some random company, I would agree with you – as part of the Nandos oeuvre, I think it is more than an interruption.

Hi Marie.

That’s what traditional advertising is. Finding people doing stuff and interrupting them with a message in the hope that they will listen. The biggest problem you face is to get them to notice your ad. Because mostly people don’t care about the stuff you are saying.

Nando’s and their agency are very good at doing that. The point I am attempting to make is that the internet can be seen as another channel – or it can be seen as community of connected people.

I think this ad is great at the former – getting noticed – that creates awareness and we used to believe that awareness created sales – but they are two totally different concepts.

There is nothing wrong with the Nando’s campaign – when you are thinking in campaign mode – but there is another huge opportunity.

You got it

Walter I think you raise some very valid points in your article. Mostly, the Cell C waste. Only after I read this article did I unambiguously realise Cell C had the best broadband offering in SA and therefore their advertising is no doubt not getting the message across.

I do though have a couple of thoughts about your post and this ad.

1. You mention advertising interrupting. You even use examples of billboards and tv. However, this Nando’s campaign has done something drastically different. You watch it by choice. And you watch it again by choice. Unlike the other examples you use, this doesn’t come into your living room or try grab your attention while you drive on the road… This does exactly what you say it doesn’t. Like you’ve told 10,000 of your friends about the speedstick from Cell C, I have told (and been told) 10000 friends about this ad. All of them have seen it, by choice, without interruption. It’s a discussion point… So yes, I feel it does the job of getting like-minded communities to share, discuss and make recommendations, even if it’s only to watch and talk about the brand.
2. This ad is not at all about awareness. If anyone knows me, they’ll know our agency’s philosophy is “Beyond Awareness”. Because, and I agree with you, awareness is dead. We all know Chicken Licken, KFC, Nandos etc… The only thing left for them to differentiate themselves is their brand. While there might not be any correlation between awareness and purchase, the goal of marketers should be to grow the understanding and appreciation of a brand and “brand equity”. When one is left to make that purchasing decision (at a point when are very much unexposed to advertising while say standing outside a KFC and Nando’s deciding which one to go in to), only a connection, understanding and brand appreciation will contribute to that decision making process.
3. Brand is NOT built in one ad or even one campaign. It’s the some of its parts. It’s all touch points; food, service, advertising, personality… Nando’s are all about flame grilled, very South African (and Portuguese), quirky and cheeky chicken that has no need to change. This ad is very similar in tone of voice, cheeky in nature and witty in its sense of humour as a long line of Nando’s advertising that over time have built the Nando’s brand into a very clear, simple one that almost every South African understands! This ad adds to that in a big way!
4. I think Nando’s, Kulula, Allan Gray etc have all grasped the philosophy of communicating to grow their brand equity with their market instead of pushing for awareness like some of the behemoth’s in this country who brand everything from buildings to roof tops to baggage carousels.

Essentially I think the ad doesn’t interrupt and does an amazing job at contributing towards the brand of Nando’s in South Africa.

Hi – This is going to sound like a plug which I suppose it is but I am not intending it to be.

The problem is that that he doesn’t have the mental bridges to take him from The “proven” traditional thinking into the new marketing thinking. The other big problem is that 99.9999 percent of the people talking about it cant bring the necessary gravitas into the room to shake loose or dis-affirm his current beliefs.

The other big disadvantage is that these guys don’t go to the places where these things are spoken about so that they don’t know why they need to listen.

I have an enormous advantage – I have grey – or lets call it platinum blond hair. I run some of SA’s biggest ad budgets as a client, I was strat planning and client services director at what was one of best agencies in the country. I was also a head of faculty: marketing and advertising.

That means I talk his language – but I also talk your language – so I can play the role of interpreter.

I have constructed my business so that I don’t compete with agencies (trad or digital) precisely so that I can consult to them and to clients without their being any conflict. So hire me as a speaker to do a presso to the board – or whatever you need. I have been very successful in opening eyes.

I am seeing it as part of my role to get the message as far as I can – to grow the market and to find some competitive advantage for early moving clients, before everyone climbs in.

The shift in focus wont be as massive as you hope – BUT – Lots has been happening in the last few months that makes me believe that its at least on the agenda.

Disagree with the general thesis of this article. There is always value in awareness whether it is interrupts the viewer or not. Sure, it might not be as ‘progressive’ or relational as some other SM integrated campaigns, but it sure got the job done in the end in a market that has limited online reach at best. Sure, advertising will change from more relational to less interruptive over time, but lets not be to idealistic about the present realities of media consumption.

Dean – Thank you for your considered and intelligent comment.

Firstly – this is not a criticism of the Nando’s ad which I think is well executed, I think that you are right it has crossed into the space where it is watched by choice. It is noticed so it is a very very good example of the interruption marking genre.

But you are speaking about the advertising execution not the brand. The execution does not build the brand people’s experiences and the experiences of those in contact with them build the brand. The execution is noticed because its all the stuff that good ads are and there is audience engagement with the ad.

We are in a transition phase between where we could grow brands by attaching associations to brands with communications to a phase where the consumer will do it without us. I speak a lot about this point.

The people who will win in this new space – will do more than use the social channel – they will understand a concept that I have called brand husbandry – which is less about building brands – and more about creating an environment that will allow brands to thrive.

There is a lot more to this thinking than can be squeezed into a comment – and for the price of a glass of good red – I would happily explain my thinking – which might be a pile of cow dung – or may be a different way of thinking.

You decide.

This would make for an interesting discussion for a video blog…

I must agree with you and disagree with Marie about the Nando’s ad. Has it really caused anything other than a slight glitch in the matrix? Sure there were some blog posts and comments, but, how is Nando’s using that ad to really get customers involved and engaged… yip..their not really. No mention of a Facebook page, twitter competition or any other social media mention that I’ve seen…where are we suppose to go to ‘connect’ with this ad campaign. AlgoaFM here in Port Elizabeth ran a very successful campaign where they used their website/social media and radio advertising to drive the campaign. Brilliantly done and also added a good few numbers to their social media following.

Hi Gary,

Cell C has most definitely come front of mind after their massive ad campaigns, I do agree. However I signed a contract with their competitor 2 weeks ago.

That being said, I am really intrigued and interested in their ‘speed stick’ broadband product because I have recently seen quite a few of my respected peers on twitter saying how great it is.

Bottom line – if those peers hadn’t told me how great the product is, I would have just kept looking at Cell C as a company spending a lot of money on some ‘different’ advertising campaigns. Problem is, that hasn’t opened up my wallet. Only trusted opinions open my wallet. It is the era of the social customer and all business’s need to take it seriously.