Cricket South Africa
#ProteaFire
The aim of the #ProteaFire campaign was to allow people to know the men behind the badge, to understand them as people and fall in love with their cricket team once again.
The aim of the #ProteaFire campaign was to allow people to know the men behind the badge, to understand them as people and fall in love with their cricket team once again.
Creating interest is easy, but turning someone into a true fan? Now that takes a lot of work. The bravado and bright lights of televised sporting events are dehumanising, and make it way too easy to forget that a team is made up of real people.
For our #ProteaFire campaign we embedded a two man TV crew into the team for 4 years. From New Zealand, Australia and England to the West Indies, Sri Lanka, India and South Africa, there aren’t many places we haven’t been with the Proteas.
Sharing unplanned moments and showing how the guys give it their all for South Africa cast the Proteas in a whole new light. Great characters, up close and personal, with no filters required.
It meant showing their diversity, their love of the game and their respect for each other. And, for that matter, their respect for us – they were invested in making it work, and made it possible for us to capture some fantastic content.
The campaign wasn’t designed to sell anything, but rather show people why they should care about the team. It worked. We showed fans that, away from the stadiums and crowds, these guys are proud South Africans just like their supporters. Which was hugely powerful.
Awesome Faf quote
The campaign made supporting the Proteas about more than just cricket; it made it personal. It created a vested interest in the team that, for many viewers, turned into a burning passion.
Because of #ProteaFire, the team is arguably the most popular national team in South Africa. #ProteaFire remains a key part of the team’s culture and cherished deep in the hearts of South African cricket fans as well.
