Having jointly won the Gautrain advertising pitch last year, Mall Active, Primedia Unlimited’s mall activation specialist presented South Africans with an informative Gautrain showcase leading up to the launch of the rapid rail system.

According to Mall Active’s Travis Brown, the Gautrain activation, targeted at motorists commuting between Sandton and OR Tambo International Airport, took place at the OR Tambo domestic terminal, at Durban’s Travel Indaba, Sandton City, Festival Mall, the Rosebank Mall and finally at Morningside Shopping Centre.

“The activations were expertly timed and led up to the actual launch of the Gautrain on 8 June,” says Brown.

Whilst the Gautrain offers an alternative to the consumer via its rapid rail link to the airport from Sandton, the activation sought to bring the Gautrain to the shopping mall consumer. This was done in such a way that the target market could ask questions about the service, find out about the Gautrain’s routes, parking and other facts directly from well trained promoters.

“We developed an activation stand that resembled the Gautrain. Designed as the actual shape of the train, Mall Active even incorporated the same metallic paint that is used on the real train. This provided a great deal of authenticity,” says Brown.

“Not only did we have well trained promoters to man the stand and answer any questions that the consumer might have, we also developed two touch screens which featured all of the relevant information pertaining to the Gautrain. Consumers could access information at their leisure when visiting the stand,” he adds.

Along with the touch screens, a 42-inch plasma screen was incorporated. It featured an AV presentation, with footage of the development of the Gautrain and other general information.

“Consumers could watch the footage while sitting in replica Gautrain seats which provided an even greater authentic look and feel,” says Brown. “It was so successful that our client extended the activation to include a Father’s Day promotion at Morningside Shopping Centre.”

The cherry on top was a visit to the stand from South Africa’s President, Jacob Zuma, at the Durban Travel Indaba.

For more on Mall Active, visit www.primedia-unlimited.co.za

Mall Active
As the leaders in shopping mall advertising and marketing, Primedia Unlimited companies, Primall Media and Primedia Lifestyle, identified a need for a company to specialise in running brand activations purely within the shopping mall environment. Mall Active specialises in the development of innovative, results-driven brand activations, giving advertisers the opportunity to positively influence their consumers right at the point of purchase.