In an attempt to highlight some of the country’s top mobile marketing campaigns, South Africa’s MMA Smarties Awards recently took place, with the final winners that including campaigns for Tastic rice by Yonder Media, Hungry Lion by Quirk and Boxer Superstores by Mobitainment, among others.
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The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) is one of the world’s leading non-profit trade organisations with over 70 members active in South Africa. MMA’s mission is to accelerate the transformation and innovation of marketing through mobile, driving business growth with closer and stronger consumer engagement.
One of the event’s judges, Tim Bishop, Director Deloitte Digital and Chair for Standard Bank who also previously judged the Smarties Awards in New York said he was very impressed with South Africa’s crop of entries regardless of the fact that the consumer market isn’t as much tech oriented:
“It has always been very hard with our lower tech consumer market of SA to compete with the glam and glitz of global entries incorporating mass market new technology apps, wearables and fitness bands, but our clever, contextual use of this limited tech alongside the full understanding the wide range of consumers in SA really makes for really innovative campaigns that have true reach and success for the brands involved. SA has done well in the global awards every year, but now we can really focus on, and recognise the great work within our shores.”
Sponsored by Standard Bank, the winners were announced as follows:
| Category | Awards | Bronze | Silver | Gold |
| Marketing Strategy Awards | Brand Awareness | Boxer Superstores / Boxer Super Shopper Show / Mobitainment | None | Tastic / Tastic Red Pot / Yonder Media |
| Marketing Strategy Awards | Lead Generation, Direct Response & Conversion | Mxit / Mxit Millionaires / Silverstone Solutions | Boxer Superstores / Boxer Super Shopper Show / Mobitainment | None |
| Marketing Strategy Awards | Product & Services Launch | Nokia / Nokia 1520 Storyteller / Silverstone Solutions | None | None |
| Enabling Technologies | Innovation | Tastic / Tastic Red Pot / Yonder Media | Nokia / Nokia Street Kreatives / Silverstone Solutions | Hungry Lion / Hungry Lion – Bigger Burger Banner / Quirk |
| Channel / Media Strategy Awards | Messaging | Ponds / 7 Day Challenge / Gorilla Creative Media | None | None |
| Channel / Media Strategy Awards | Tablet Campaign | None | Unilever / Vaseline Skin Analysis / Liquorice | |
| Channel / Media Strategy Awards | Mobile App | None | None | None |
| Channel / Media Strategy Awards | Mobile Website | None | Tastic / Tastic Red Pot / Yonder Media | None |
| Channel / Media Strategy Awards | Cross Media Integration | Boxer Superstores / Boxer Super Shopper Show / Mobitainment | Tastic / Tastic Red Pot / Yonder Media | None |
To give you a taste of what the entries brought to the table, here’s Tastic’s Red Pot campaign by Yonder Media:
