There’s something exceedingly special about receiving a personalised message, isn’t there? For example, while you’re unlikely to bat an eyelid when what is obviously yet another bulk email lands in your inbox with a soul-destroying thud, a message created specifically for you is far more likely to capture – and, just as importantly, hold – your attention.
That’s something we fully understand here at Have Your Say, where we make a point of communicating with media stakeholders on a personal level, cutting through the noise. Back in 2019, however, we took this penchant for personalisation a step further.
Commissioned to promote the Gas Motorshow taking place at the Cornubia Mall in Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal, we were informed Murder Nova of Street Outlaws fame would be at the three-day motoring and lifestyle event to celebrate the launch of VP Racing Fuels in South Africa. If you’re interested in all things automotive, you’re likely quite familiar with this star of the Discovery Channel’s hit car-building and street-racing reality show.
So, we reached out to select motoring journalists at specific titles both in KZN and around the country to ensure they were well aware the Gas Motorshow was right around the corner. Then, we crafted a targeted social media campaign that included the scripting of special commentary for Murder Nova himself. In short, this entailed the American reality star giving personalised video-based shout-outs on social media to those same (stunned!) journalists.
As a result, our event release made it into some of the country’s top publications, leading to more than 24 000 patrons attending the show, where they ogled tonnes of modified cars, watched exhilarating drift displays, enjoyed live music, ate great food and, of course, rubbed shoulders with some of the stars of Street Outlaws, including Murder Nova, Farmtruck and AZN.
That demonstrates the power of a single, personalised message.
