The importance of South African storytelling in brand communications

Storytelling lies at the heart of effective brand communication strategies, and in the diverse South African landscape, it’s critical to incorporate that cultural essence into brand messaging. “Brands are working to create stories that resonate with South Africans, but what is interesting is determining how we identify ourselves as South Africans,” says Neo Mashigo, ECD of I See A Different You and chairman of The Loeries.

Brand manoeuvring can be a challenging task in our rainbow nation – particularly when definitions of identity change so drastically between what it means to be Zulu, Xhosa, Venda, Afrikaans or English-speaking, making it difficult to find common ground to engage meaningfully with these groups.

However, argues Mashigo, what is important for brands to bear in mind when finding the best narrative to resonate with consumers, is to regard them as humans first and South Africans second. “Brands need to engage with individuals using human truths, and appeal to that human connection.”

Once there is a connection on a basic level, it’s then possible to work on engaging with consumers in terms of how they identify themselves as South Africans. There are brands that are already producing effective work in this area: the Telkom “Everyone’s covered” campaign of 2001 set in the rural Eastern Cape, for instance, was a success because it made use of both the human and South African connection. All South Africans could relate to the advert, regardless of their colour or culture. Coca-Cola too, says Mashigo, does well in local advertising as the brand essence encapsulates happiness rather than race.

In order to continue to improve brand communications within the South African context, Mashigo says there needs to be a national dialogue for South Africans to learn as much as possible about other South African cultures and traditions. Only then will it be possible to chart a way forward that will be more inclusive.

“The trick is to start small: we are all capable of learning from and teaching each other in an effort to understand what makes us different and what unites us – but this can happen only through concerted effort and over time,” he says.

Social media also plays an important role in forging connections between brands and consumers, since it effectively brings communities together and doesn’t exclude anyone from engaging and being part of the conversation. “Integration is vital for agencies to improve their storytelling. We need to tap into the essence of who we are as South Africans,” concludes Mashigo.

Big take-out: To create stories that resonate with South Africans, says Neo Mashigo, brands need to first connect using human truths, and then focus on developing a dialogue to better understand what it means to be South African.