Fast Coffee initiative to drive skills in consumer insights

The Red & Yellow Springboard Marketing Institute, established by industry heavyweight Sharon Worrall in 2014 to improve transformation in advertising and marketing, has been instrumental in the creation of a black-owned Insights Ignition collective known as Fast Coffee to further skills development, particularly in the area of consumer insights.

Fast Coffee is made up of Worrall and seven of the learners from the institute, which has introduced a National Certificate of Advertising NQF 5 Learnership to assist transformation. Since its establishment, 43 learners have graduated and an additional 28 are completing their six-month internships with companies such as The Really Great Brand Company, Saatchi & Saatchi, Zoom, Quirk and 140 BBDO, among others.

“The seven students selected to be part of Fast Coffee – all from historically disadvantaged backgrounds – showed a particular interest in consumer insights and were talented at matching activations or innovations with the insights,” says Worrall. “The team had produced a television commercial for STOP Trafficking of People based on a sharp insight, so I was confident about the creative ability of the team.”

The Salesian Institute Youth Projects – an education and skills development institute targeting vulnerable children and youth at risk –  approached Fast Coffee through their advertising agency, TBSP, and Brigette Ross to create a 30-second television commercial to raise awareness and encourage the public to donate to the cause.

The Fast Coffee team put together a storyboard, and with the approval of the agency and the client, got the go-ahead to shoot the campaign. All the cast members involved in the ad were part of the Fast Coffee collective, and with the help of former executive TV producer Tim Mahoney and well-known industry veteran Vicki Paynter, the team got the mentoring needed to produce a first-class ad.

The ad features a young man on the verge of getting involved in drugs and gangsterism but then having a sudden change of heart. “The young man is not sure why, but the viewers can see it is due to people donating online to Salesians,” Worrall comments. “The man picks up a brick to smash a car window, but drops it and walks away as we see the donor ‘click’.”

The visual tool serves to illustrate the power of a donor, meaning that a donation can change a life and society. “Working with the young team was an inspiring experience – they did not compromise on their vision and nurtured the creative process from inception to completion,” explains Salesian’s marketing director, Nina Bekink. The ad will be flighted on e.tv.

The big take-out: As a result of skills development and training through the Red & Yellow Springboard Marketing Institute, seven learners were selected to become part of the Fast Coffee collective – an initiative to drive transformation in the industry and one that is already working with brands on television commercials.