Back in early 2019, we were commissioned to promote Sumitomo Rubber South Africa’s involvement in the Extreme Festival at Dezzi Raceway in Port Shepstone. This tyre giant is the manufacturer and distributor of iconic brands such Dunlop and Falken, and its contribution helped to bring national motor racing back to KwaZulu-Natal.
Have Your Say was tasked with both promoting the Extreme Festival weekend – which included the Falken Polo Cup, the Global Touring Car series, SA Superbikes and the Supersport 600, as well as the Investchem 1600 single-seater series – and facilitating the building of relationships between Sumitomo executives and some of the country’s most influential motoring journalists.
We quickly set to work crafting a series of promotional public relations releases and articles (as well as securing and commissioning special photography), which were widely distributed and published in the lead up to the race weekend. In addition to securing diary-listing spots, we also promoted the event using ticket-giveaway competitions and even created bespoke content concentrating on individual Polo Cup drivers for specific publications.
However, it was our approach to the second element of the mandate that truly illustrates our ability to think far outside of the box. Rather than simply putting Sumitomo Rubber SA’s CEO and his executive team round a dinner table with the selected motoring journalists, we set about creating a truly memorable weekend-long experience for all parties.
This started with the creation of event brochures for media members and detailed briefing notes (including journalist biographies) for the Sumitomo executives. Journalists were gifted custom-branded coolerboxes, special welcome packs and even personalised attire prior to an unforgettable glamping experience right at the edge of the track.
Other weekend highlights for the invited journalists included a go-karting event, an exclusive experience piloting the Polo Cup racecars on the track and even a trackside braai, complete with Dessi Raceway owner Des Gutzeit’s famous braai broodjies.
By the time this campaign had come to an end, the Extreme Festival had enjoyed over R6 million in Advertising Value Equivalency, with 93 articles placed across 74 regional and national publications comprising print, online and broadcast titles. Perhaps even more valuable, however, were the relationships forged over that now-cherished weekend.
