Can a catchy song change the ablutions habits of the inhabitants of a major city? Financial services company Sanlam thought so and their attempt won an award for the best public relations (PR) campaign of 2017. Cape Town was desperate to persuade residents to reduce water consumption in the face of a severe drought, but research conducted in 2017 showed barely 50% were listening to the city’s messages. So the Atmosphere Communications PR agency and its shareholder, the King James advertising group, persuaded 10 of SA’s most popular music acts to record two-minute versions of their hits. Residents were encouraged to download the songs and shower only for as long as the music was playing. The campaign was named the top PR campaign of 2017 on Sunday in Johannesburg at the annual Prism awards staged by the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa. In the space of four days, performers such as Kwesta, Springbok Nude Girls, Rouge, Youngsta and Jimmy Nevis recorded shortened versions ...
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