The Holy Trinity of Marketing
Mike Sharman
Chief Creative Officer
Retroviral
Mike Sharman
27 October . 3 min read . Opinion
Marketing comms – like history – is cyclical.
In 2010, when we launched Retroviral, any twit, who could tweet, with a few hundred followers, and any cliche combination of the words ‘rockstar’, ‘ninja’, or ‘guru’ accompanying ‘executive officer’ was pitching themselves as an expert in the jargon-fuelled, digi-verse.
We believed that the more digital savvy consumers became, the more they would crave human interaction.
Fast forward to 2025, hybrid-work-life-(un)balance; this hypothesis has had a glow up. With the advent and hockey-stick, global, adoption of artificial (un)intelligence. Noise has never been noisier.
It is imperative that brands apply The Holy Trinity of Marketing thinking to at least one execution per quarter, in order to drive both relevance and resonance. The HTM is the delivery of an experience or activation that is physical and emotionally tangible – this can take the shape of an ambient tactic, but can show up via OOH or digital OOH – coupled with digital integration in the form or storytelling or social media scalability. Finally, it must be PR-able.
To make your campaign newsworthy, it has to be worthy of the news. It sounds incredibly simple, but, most brands have neglected their strategic platform for the sexiness of creative immediacy, and it’s the strategy that will unlock the smarts to make your idea’s legs have longevity.
Most recently, Castle Lager partnered with Big Save to host the world’s biggest braai. Bizarrely, that official record was held by Japan, of all places. This, however offered us a newsworthy point of differentiation. We also considered the social aspect of the humble braai, or shisanyama and – when developing our media plan – asked what space we could turn on its head to lean into ‘socialising’. If you consider the average South African’s commute times and public transport challenges, we believed there was a strategic sweet spot for Castle Lager to show up at a bus shelter. With a built in braai. This is the Grillboard.
Grillboard
It doubled as an invite to the Big Braai and as per the communication that we distributed in the press release, we infused some messaging that spoke directly to the patriotic sentiment of ‘no DNA, just RSA.’
South Africa is on a run of victories – from favourites to underdogs, we continue to achieve at the highest level, globally. The record for the World’s Biggest Braai currently eludes Mzansi, and that’s why Castle Lager and Big Save have combined to invite you to join in on the Heritage Day celebrations.
Millions reached, close to a million rand in earned media generated from all of the coverage about the stunt, and a couple primetime news and radio interviews to flame the fire of talkability. Retroviral’s secret sauce – branded content x news headlines – is why we’ve made more brands go viral, globally, than any other agency in Africa.
‘Viral’ for us, isn’t just about awareness, it’s about cutting through, in order for your customer to be so inspired by the creative that he/she takes action. After the Vilakazi execution, and the resulting PR, more than 50% of the tickets to the Big Braai were sold out. By the time the event occurred on 24 September, it was sold out, and we should know within the coming days whether or not we’re the recipient of the World’s (official) Biggest Braai, Ever.
Say ‘Cheese’ for a Cheese Burger!
Globally, people smile for photos by saying all kinds of quirky words. From “qiézi” (eggplant) in China to “kimchi” in Korea, cultures have their own ways to show their best smile.
But in Mzansi, and other English speaking markets, we say “cheese”.
This was the research that we uncovered when trying to find a new and unique way to promote the Steers Cheese Burger Meal.
We took this opportunity to use facial recognition software, and created a selfie booth with a difference …
Activation – at spaces where customers are rarely spoilt with the surprise and delight tech factor – Thembisa Mall and Wonderpark were perfect choices of location.
Digital – the story was remarkable and the simplicity of “The Cheesier the Smile, the Cheesier the Reward” resonated with both those who experienced the stunt and those who consumed the content across social media.
PR – a highly contagious news piece, 15-20 pieces of coverage, R560K worth of PR and 7.8m South Africans reached
We really do have the best job in the world. Take a drive around your city, scout the canvases available to you, in order to bring your wildest ideas to life and reach out to the owners of this site to book the space or support you with your strategy.
Life is short, play naked!
Chief Creative Officer of Retroviral, which has made more brands ‘go viral, globally’ than any other agency in Africa. You will have seen his work for Checkers Sixty60, Kreepy Krauly, Castle Lager and Showmax, to name a few.
He has developed campaigns that have been classified as ‘truly viral’ (The Sixty60 Swindler, My Kreepy Teacher, Nando’s Last Dictator Standing)
Mike was named finalist in South Africa’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2018 and 2024, and one of the Mail & Guardian’s top 200 young (under 35) South Africans in 2013 and a Top 40 under 40 South African in 2023.