Synopsis
The first season of MKR South Africa was an important opportunity to lift ratings for our client, M-Net. We wanted not only to create hype around the launch of the South African format of the show, but also create awareness of what makes this cooking show different from others.
Strategy
With a limited budget across channels, we chose to max out the one thing that would have people coming back for more: the drama associated with the show. As the only cooking show where teams/couples compete, the ‘politics’ of interaction set the show apart. There’s more aggression, competitiveness, intensity, even sabotage. In short, loads of drama stirred into good home cooking.
Execution
The creative line was: COME FOR THE FOOD. STAY FOR THE DRAMA. The campaign was multichannel. We launched an online film which was shared widely in the week preceding launch. We also sent a direct piece to influencers, an exquisite silver service fork with it’s teeth bent into an ‘up yours’ sign - a ‘taste’ of the drama to come. Influencers loved it, sharing their views and hyping the show on the socials.
The campaign was supported in radio prior to launch.
Throughout the campaign period, we maintained momentum with print and regular social posts that built on the darkly delicious theme of sabotage.
Relevance
Cooking show formats are well liked by the M-Net audience. From insights gleaned from ratings spikes of other, similar cooking shows, we knew that super-sizing the inter-personal drama would absolutely be the draw card for this well-defined audience.
Outcome
The show achieved record ratings in the first weeks of flighting.
