Johnnie Walker South Africa was looking to increase a specific segment of consumers on its email database. The proposed target group was mainly comprised of South African black male consumers, 18 – 30 years of age with disposable income. The use of viral email campaign/ refer a friend style tactic was chosen as the necessary medium. Although an email campaign is a well used tactic within viral marketing, agency teams and client felt confident due to the beginner to intermediate user level of the list. Connectivity is an issue in South Africa and most on the database would not have been heavily exposed to these types of campaigns.

The creative approach was primarily to appeal to the target market’s connectivity by finding something which would fit into their social value system. Research of the group told us that they were highly social but also aspired towards older, affluent males of the same culture who had made a success of their lives in the new South Africa. This older affluent group was also regarded as Johnnie Walker Black drinkers.

There is no doubt about it – the Internet has changed the world we live in. Never before has it been so easy to access information, communicate with people all over the globe and share articles, videos, photos and all manner of media.

The Internet has led to an increasingly connected environment, and the growth of
Internet usage has resulted in declining distribution of traditional media: television,
radio, newspapers and magazines. Marketing in this connected environment and using
that connectivity to market is eMarketing.

eMarketing embraces a wide range of strategies, but what underpins successful

eMarketing is a user-centric and cohesive approach to these strategies.
While the Internet and the World Wide Web have enabled what we call New Media,
the theories that lead to the development of the Internet were being developed from
the 1950s.