All too often, a sales convention or a training intervention is limited to the time and the venue of a conference. But how can we maximize the client investment and create real and long-lasting value for the organisation?

This was the question posed by our clients at Standard Bank PPB Africa after we produced their recent Sales Summit. As usual with creative clients who want to push the envelope, the brainstorm results were surprising and exciting.

We conceived a multimedia pack of written materials containing instructions, questions and feedback forms, together with a call for video and stills footage feedback and commentary from all members of our video audience right across Africa.

The core idea is that rather than passively watch the video productions, the audiences are invited to give real usable feedback in multimedia formats that will be broadcast on internal TV. It will also create real on-the-ground feedback data that can be used in future conference gatherings, and finesse the sales activities of all countries in the future.

Once again we are fortunate to be working with an innovative client who is looking for cutting-edge thinking from their communications partner. We are delighted to be moving forward together.

The Proposal

To create an event experience around the announcement of a new strategy that would connect the leadership to the staff, the staff to each other and the customers to the bank, the team arrived at the concept of “Let’s Connect” with a sub-textual message that dramatised the idea of “connecting the world to Africa and Africa to the world”.

The Team is Born

Any great event is a collaboration between the client that inspires the production company that delivers. These are the players that helped to put it all together.

Building the Set

Just as words need a page, an event needs a stage, and a set and lights, and sound special effects and an auditorium! Building the event space is the job of seasoned experts working with expert visionaries.

Casting the Characters

Just as the chemistry of the behind-the-scenes team is critical, it is vital to make sure that the performers who will bring the concept to life on stage are perfectly matched.

The dancers came from different worlds – literally: from the worlds of hip-hop and classical ballet.

The actors were auditioned separately and put into three teams of two that would eventually tour the country as separate productions.

Rehearsing and Reworking

A proposal document or a script is just the blueprint for the event itself. Which is why we rehearse and rework and rethink and rewrite during the pre-production phase to make what was really good truly great.

Final Dress

Working the performances in a studio is very different from bringing them to life on stage, under lights, with big sound support. Very soon all the hard work off site comes together under the watchful eyes of the directors and producers who make final adjustments and enhancements right up to the last minute.

Welcome Entertainment

Our Masters of Connection work the crowds while our Outside Broadcast unit relays live interactive imagery to the large screens to encourage audience members to connect with each other.

Celebrity DJ

Our celebrity DJ whips up the crowd and prepares them for the next emotional moment.

Celebrity MC

Our “Master of Connection” welcomes all, outlines the theme, raises the standards over the heads of the audience, and introduces the next big moment…

Kenneth Nkosi was the MC who charmed the audiences in White River and Polokwane.

Bloemfontein, Kimberley and Rustenberg were the venues for MC Martin Jonas, who delighted audiences with his own special brand of humour.

Trevor Noah rocked the house for three audiences on the same day at the ICC in Cape Town.

Solly Philander raised gales of laughter in the Windy City as he hosted the day at Port Elizabeth.

In Durban, it was Riaad Moosa who took on the role of MC, with his customary grace and great humour.

Choreography of Connection

Our specially conceived and choreographed dance piece dramatises the uniting power of Africa, through rhythm and celebration, with a rousing crescendo of fireworks and a kabuki drop of massive bank standards all around the venue.

The Real Stars of the Show

It is easy to get caught up in the glitz and glamour of an exciting new show, but ultimately the real stars of the Let’s Connect Roadshow are the Executive Committee members, who provide the drama of the central talk show component. As such, it is vital that they became familiar with the workings of the set and the complex technology involved in bringing their messages to life.

Let’s Converse

The real stars take over, and communicate the core and key messages in an informal and interactive Talk Show – complete with video support and actor interruptions!

Let’s Dance!

The show concludes with the MC calling all of the stars of the show back onto stage: the actors, the dancers, the DJ’s and the Executive Committee members to join with audience in one fabulous piece of mass dance action, culminating in an explosive eruption from the confetti cannons.

Moving Forward

At the end of the launch week at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, the entire team gathers for a group photograph before dividing into three separate production units that will take smaller versions of the show to 18 venues throughout the provinces.

Sarah Anne Orphanides on Mann Made Media (testimonial) from Stephen Buchanan on Vimeo.

Mann Made Media puts on the Standard Bank Roadshow from Stephen Buchanan on Vimeo.

Mann Made Media put on Standard Bank’s Roadshow in 2009.

Sarah-Anne Orphanides
Standard Bank Group Marketing Director

Watch the video

The Microsoft Xbox team wanted to introduce the global Microsoft office to the variety of  South African cultures represented by people in the organization. Mann Made Media created a video presentation that celebrated diversity in a light and entertaining way. Thanks to the team for their smashing performance!

Mann Made Media worked with Standard Bank to deliver a training conference in Hangzhou China between Standard Bank and ICBC China. The goal of the event was too strengthen the relationship between these new partnerships, impart some of Africa & Standard Bank’s culture to ICBC, and take a relatively formal training environment and make it fun.
Mann Made came up with the theme, “Harmony Through Partnerships”, a thread that ran through all aspects of the conference. 9 video modules, powerpoint presentations styled for the theme, and icebreaker activities (all in mandarin) communicated Standard Bank’s message beautifully.
The task was no small feat: from initial creative to completed event in only 6 weeks, all in a foreign language and culture. Mann Made heavily researched Chinese culture in order to be fully relevant to the audience. The training was considered highly successful by both Standard Bank and ICBC and facilitated a stronger “Guanxi”, or relations (mandarin), between the two banks.

Mann Made Media created a unique video installation – in an unusual “video wall” format – for Toyota South Africa. The video showcased Toyota’s environmental initiatives.

The video wall was truly massive – composed of 21 individual “frameless” plasma screens joined together. High definition content, shot on a Sony XDCAM HD camera, was combined with titles, stills and graphics to create an eye-catching display stand feature.

The video itself comprises five modules communicating Toyota’s environmental initiatives – using children, nature footage, and no cars! The unique imagery was created using a combination of studio and location shots, stock footage, stills and motion graphics. The actors were shot in studio against blue screen. The layers were composited and animated in Apple Motion.