The Brief:

When we first began working with Wilderness Safaris in Botswana, the assignment was based around a very particular issue to be managed. Having successfully done this, we saw an opportunity to do more, and support with long-term stakeholder relations. This is an incredible Botswana-born and based brand that is changing the very nature of eco-tourism and earning acclaim across the world. We wanted to strengthen relationships, perception, and engagement in Botswana.

What We Did:

This was always going to be a long-term assignment, but we tackled it in clear, purposeful stages. We worked on education and access to information on who Wilderness is and what they do – this meant strong, prolific content sharing with press and others. This ranges from editorial to interview opportunities and stakeholder events. We hotwired introductions and engagements with relevant stakeholders across industries against a clear stakeholder mapping plan. A large part of this was also ensuring that people experienced what Wilderness has to offer and what they do – for this, we hosted an experiential for key business media to help tell the Wilderness story in an objective point of view.

The Result:

With time, we have seen new relationships forged, existing ones strengthened, and an overall increased awareness and understanding of who this incredible business is and what they do.

Below are pictures from our efforts.

The Brief:

When Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited (BTCL) began its journey to privatisation through listing on the Botswana Stock Exchange, we knew that the road ahead held the greatest potential to become the most historic listing in the history of Botswana. The Botswana Government was selling 49% of its shareholding in BTCL and decided to do so through an Initial Public Offer that would be truly unique in its design: the IPO was to be open only to Botswana citizen investors. Our client had one goal in mind for us to help them achieve, that being, to see maximum citizen participation. Placed before us was a challenge which we truly considered a golden opportunity to be a part of a historical feat. This opportunity could change the socioeconomic climate of Botswana and become the largest movement for financial inclusion ever to come out of our nation.

What We Did:

We knew that the key to achieving our goal was to drive detailed, consistent, and accessible public education and engagement. We knew that such an opportunity was also new to most Batswana. We wanted to drive home the message that this IPO was conceptualised by Batswana and for Batswana to benefit from. We wanted every Motswana across the nation and even those abroad to know that BTCL was theirs to own.  We drove this campaign through a strong and consistent rollout of proactive PR tactics. These including: directing internal communications and trainings of client and stakeholder staff members. A plethora of press releases that relayed every chapter of the IPO process, materials, stations of access, developments, as well as what new investors could look forward to come the listing of BTCL on the BSE. We initiated interview opportunities, daily social media engagements, press conferences, dikgotla (district caucuses) and other public speaking opportunities for our clients to put their best foot forward to take this historical opportunity to all Batswana. To support our PR efforts we undertook an extensive publishing of informative materials to accompany the Prospectus which included FAQ documents and a Nationwide Public Education Roadshow that covered all districts across Botswana.

The Result:

In the end, the BTCL IPO yielded the second highest over subscription in Botswana’s history (oversubscribed by 1.68 times, with 776,333,400 Shares Offered by the public, as compared to only 462 million Shares available) and garnered the largest number of citizen investor profiles to enter the local bourse (52,000 new investors on the bourse). Never before had Botswana’s capital markets seen such a volume of local participation. We drove the BTCL narrative to make local headlines and news beyond our borders. Supporting this incredible achievement was the fact that in just five months alone between November 2015 and April 2016, we received free coverage of up to USD10,000. Such a value in the relatively small market of Botswana is a figure that broke records. We had what many would have called a daunting task to carry out, and we leveraged on the strengths of our networks and relationships to carry the message to all corners of Botswana. We welcomed the largest number of first time stock market traders that Botswana had ever seen in a single investment period. The BTCL IPO was made by Batswana, for Batswana and by the end of our campaign, Batswana across our land believed in their hearts that BTCL was indeed, a corporation they could call their very own. 

Below are pictures from the project.

The Brief:

We were asked to deliver the Debswana Metallurgical Conference 2018, hosting 75 guests in Kasane for a 4 day conference. This included people from various locations and backgrounds, all of whom needed to learn and get to know each other better. They wanted something well-organised, engaging, and truly memorable, set in Kasane. This included eventing and experientials, hospitality, internal communications, and design and production as needed.

What We Did:

From the onset, we worked to identify the key objectives of the project with client. This was to ensure that all work delivered was truly relevant. To create a seamless, sensory and informative experience for attendees of the conference, thus positioning Debswana as a team of excellence. This meant a focus on ensuring strong, clear content and learnings as part of the programme; and working to ensure networking and mutually beneficial relationships are built that will last well into the future. We thought of every detail, from how guests received their invites, to drops offs and gifts throughout the duration of the conference to build onto the experience, conference set-up and activities, and extra-curriculars around the “Chemical Reaction + Physical Attraction” theme and key messaging. We delivered a custom Mobile App that allowed us to digitise the entire experience, from daily updates and surprises to gamification and on-App networking well beyond the conference.

The Result:

By client’s own admission, this was the most successful MetCon ever, not simply in terms of the ambiance and experience of all delegates, but because we managed to create an environment that promoted networking and relationship building, had documented learnings and outputs, and created a conversation that extended well beyond the 4 days.

Below is the Debswana Metallurgical Conference 2018 in pictures.

The Brief:

Campaigns showing the prevalence and dangers of smoking, including amongst youth, abound. How then do we extend a clear message to a notoriously rebellious group such as young teens? And how do we make clear the very real challenge that exists: it is the perception of high smoking rates amongst youth – itself a fallacy – that often contributes to teens trying smoking for the first time? Our objective was to create greater awareness about the truth around teenage smoking, and use this information to effect behavioural changes amongst the youth.

What We Did:

We did our own research, exploring the mindset of our given youth – teens aged 13-18. We chose platforms of communication that not only had the power to go viral and to truly engage, but which would allow for a sense of ownership in the most relevant way. This would be their movement. We worked with academics, health care professionals, public personalities and social influencers, as well as “cool kids” that would help inspire other kids to get on board. We encouraged them to share their views, their “I don’t” selfies and their proclamations around not smoking through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, radio and across outdoor platforms. Activations welcomed kids to be a part of the movement. Most importantly we used word of mouth and word of mouse.

The Result:

We earned over USD50,000 in free publicity, and over 15,000 FB likes we had posts reaching up to 40,873 people worldwide. To date, we still receive enquiries from teens and influencers eager to get involved with this positive movement.

Below are pictures from the project.

The Brief:

As a business who works within the media space, we felt it was imperative that we had real, relevant and meaningful insights that informed how we advise clients and partners to place media and to strategically lobby for content in the right publications and platforms. Statistics on newspaper circulation and radio and TV listenership and viewership was available; however, data on how consumers perceive these platforms and indeed individual media houses was needed. Sadly, no such data existed in Botswana. This inspired us to launch the Lilacs Media Perception Survey

What We Did:

Lilacs Media Perception Survey was introduced as a research platform to gather nationwide insights and perception as regards media consumption. We were not only the first to create this, but then also used the data to a) sell as research reports to interested parties, and b) use the insights gained to shape how we advise clients re media spend and media placement.  We then took it a step further by hosting media awards, sponsored by some of Botswana’s biggest brands, where media are recognised and rewarded for their efforts based on the research. Our nationwide research effort, in the 2018 edition, covered all 11 administrative districts in Botswana. This was based on physical and online survey methods of over 2,000 participants. From this, our internal team was supported by an external and objective data analyst to interpret and unpack the findings, giving birth to the Botswana Media Perceptions Report 2017/18. The report arrived at a crucial moment for the media industry in Botswana, reflecting trends worldwide and how these fundamental shifts in the media landscape impact all aspects of our industry. Providing an overview of the perceptions of media in Botswana in 2017/2018, this report also reflects on the last ten-years in this landscape, with a focus on trends, particularly in the last three years.

The Result:

The report continues to be invaluable in the market on how one should strategically approach media relations and media buying; to help determine direction in terms of editorial and content focus and strategy, and brand position in the market; and to “audit” the recommendations one’s media buy agency makes against empirical data.  As a perception-based study, it does not explore just circulation numbers of advertising revenues, but how Batswana actually perceive and consume the various forms of media at their disposal. The data from this research initiative, continues to be cited and called upon by corporates, agencies, consultancies, and even within the State of the Nation address itself when speaking to Government media perceptions. As a proud member of the Association of Commercial Researchers of Botswana (Founding Member), we are passionate about growing the research and data space in the local market for the benefit of local businesses. We believe this report contributes greatly to this cause, and continues to satisfy a gap in the market that allows us to all to stronger, more insights-led work in the marketing and communications industry.

His Excellency Lieutenant General Dr. Sir Seretse Khama Ian Khama even quoted our findings in his State of the Nation Address, and then Vice President of Botswana, Dr. Ponatshego Kedikilwe presided over one of our award platforms.

Below are pictures from the project.

The Brief:

As a listed entity, The BIHL Group is required to publish a comprehensive annual report each year. Having worked on this for over a decade with them, we wanted to deliver and even more exceptional piece of work – one of true value, relevance and indeed design innovation – to support them. Our challenge was to balance creativity and purpose with what we know the expectations and standard of a listed entity’s annual report ought to be.

What We Did:

The design strikes a balance between form and function. From photography style to narrative approach and engaging yet simple infographic and presentation of data, it is at once beautiful and functional. The use of reflective imagery points both to the idea of looking back and looking into the future, also playing on current strategy of Engineering Legacies – building the futures and future securities of its clients through clear, strategic and calculated efforts, at once informing and shaping a future its stakeholders enter together.  Moreover, the index and navigation system lends to the positioning of simplicity and convenience already adopted, making the physical experience of reading this report a simple one. Each section within the report is colour coded for ease of reference, so the reader is always aware what area they are reading about and it fits in. In the Report, we looked at the projects delivered, actions taken and progress made in BIHL’s unending bid to build on its rich heritage and leverage its Strength in Numbers for a prosperous future. This was about leveraging this publication format to continue to build on the BIHL story.

The Result:

An annual report that is ad functional as it is enjoyable to read was the result of our efforts. Client is happy once again with yet another piece of great work, adding to a stellar records of strong annual reports by The BIHL Group.

Below are pictures from the project.

The Brief:

As part of the strategy development and implementation for the rollout of the eGov project, project managed by KPMG, it was important that all Public Relations Officers (PROs) across Government’s Ministries, tasked with helping deliver the communications component, were aligned on messaging and how to bring the plan to life. KPMG asked us to train and coach all 26 PROs to ensure all were confident, prepared and ready to speak to and about the transformational project.

What We Did:

We held a 2-day offsite workshop session with both theoretical and and practical components to cover core components of the initiative. This included training over 30 PROs on how to develop and deliver messaging, how to speak confidently on behalf of the workstream, understanding the media landscape, and content to support and queries or situations which may arise. 

The Result:

The session was incredibly successful, with attendees having found it both enjoyable and informative.  The project team were pleased with the outcome and we continue to hear positive feedback from PROs who participated on how the tips shared and lessons learned continue to inform their day to day jobs to date.

Below are pictures from the project.