#OnShelf: Caring arts and culture campaigns

by Louise Burgers. What is encouraging is seeing how retailers and brands are supporting local artists by collaborating with them on various campaigns – from Nando’s recently with their in-store art; to Game this month, with free wallpaper samples from local artist Kgabo Mametja. Many in the arts and entertainment industries have had their livelihoods devastated by pandemic lockdowns.

Art with heart

Game has partnered with a local artist to produce wallpaper art that will be made available in their leaflets, free for customers. The idea is for customers to see the wallpaper and become inspired to use it in their own way as a piece of art. The Wallpaper for All campaign launched last week in collaboration with local illustrator Kgabo Mametja, and will run until 9 August. Every second week for the next six months, customers who receive a Game leaflet or collect one in store will receive a piece of printed paper in Mametja’s custom art, which they can then use to create their own artwork at home. The design itself was inspired by South Africa and pays homage to Blue Cranes, the Sun, Marula trees and the Land. “South Africans are inherently creative, and we believe this campaign is an opportunity to express that while being inspired to repurpose this print into a piece of artwork of their own,” says Katherine Madley, vice president of marketing, Game.

Double trouble lashes

With its bold look and new 2-in-1 brush, the essence Double Trouble Mascara wand is designed with a double-sided brush to create dream lashes. For beauty lovers looking to define their lashes and give it a boosted curl there is the fibre side of the brush; and for double the volume, then the elastomer side of the mascara wand will give that dramatic effect. Available in Extra Black and Waterproof, from Dis-Chem, Clicks, Woolworths, Foschini, House of Cosmetics, Superbalist, SkinMiles, and Takealot.com.

Canned walkie-talkies

Tin Stuf, a canning company based in Limpopo, has been listed at Shoprite stores nationwide in an exclusive three-year deal with its canned chicken feet and necks at Shoprite stores around the country. The business is the brainchild of Eiren Drake and his late grandfather Spencer Drake. The two began constructing a canning plant in Tzaneen in 2017 and launched it amid the Covid pandemic in 2020. They started producing their flagship product line that same year – a 400g can of chicken feet and necks. According to co-founder Eiren Drake, the idea of canning chicken feet and necks came from his upbringing in rural Limpopo. Drake says that he spent time learning more about the dominant food and the cultures he grew up around – but also became aware of how many struggled to access good quality protein. The company’s solution was to can chicken necks and feet, sometimes called walkie-talkies, one of South Africa’s most popular street food dishes.

CAMPAIGN: Refinery refines future fashion

Pepkor Group, which includes brands PEP, Ackermans, Refinery, Dunns, and Tekkie Town, has been working to augment its physical retail value chain with initiatives that support a digital value chain. One of its latest deliveries on this digital journey is Refinery’s Future of Comfort-campaign, an innovative 3D technology that extends from product to marketing touchpoints. The 3D technology has been used to improve the consistency and fit of the product and shortening lead times as well as reducing cost of clothing sample production. These 3D assets also enable the creation of realistic simulations of a garment in the physical world – for example, to showcase the movement of ultra-soft fabric with extreme stretch that enhances comfort and recovery. Using 3D visual images in shop front windows and for innovative in-store marketing activations, customers will be able to scan a QR code on the Refinery garments and other marketing elements in the stores. Scanning the QR code will reveal a stretching and moving 3D avatar dressed in the campaign garments, giving a lifelike representation as when worn. Online customers visiting Refinery’s website or social media pages will also be able to experience the exact digital replica of the physical garment, as they would see it in stores.

Main image credit: Supplied by Pepkor.

Louise Burgers is the Publisher and Editor and Co-Founder of RetailingAfrica.com. She has spent over 20 years writing about the FMCG retailing, marketing, media and advertising industry in South Africa and on the African continent. She has specialised in local and Africa consumer trends and is a passionate Afro-optimist who believes it is Africa’s time to rise again and that the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) will be a global gamechanger in the next decade.

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