The January edition of the SA Trend Report provides insights into the cultural and social trends shaping South Africa, focusing on events, brand activities, and media influences. It aims to enhance understanding of local markets to inform better business and marketing strategies, utilizing a community-driven, crowdsourced approach. The report identifies various creative events and brand campaigns that have resonated with audiences in cities like Durban, Joburg, and Cape Town.

1. TREND REP ORT
JANUARY EDITION | REGIONAL
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2. WELCOME

3. TABLE
OF
CONTENTS
1.
INTRODUCTION
PAGE...5
2.
EVENTS
PAGE...6-17
3.
BRAND ACTIVITY
PAGE...18-27
4.
CREATIVE DEEP DIVE
PAGE...28-36
5.
MEDIA INFLUENCES
PAGE...37-49
6.
MOVIES & SERIES
PAGE...50-55
7.
PERSONALITIES
PAGE...56-62
8.
LOCAL IMAGERY
PAGE...63-75
9.
AD INDUSTRY
PAGE...76-79
10.
TRENDS TO CONSIDER
PAGE...80-83
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4. - Page 4-
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the SA Trend Report
If you are reading this, you likely manage a brand, an agency, a department, a creative project,
or perhaps your own startup or small business.
Like us, you’ve been riding this wave of “digital revolution” staying on top up of the latest social
media platforms, possibilities of real time marketing, big data, and “mobile first” trends. You
likely bow to the same King Content and his regal Queen Context as us, while maintaining an
impregnable aura of brand authenticity.
It is quite exhilarating, hey?
For us, we realized we also had more foundational challenges, like simply understanding what
our colleagues lives were like in other SA offices. Our Cape Town team wondered what our
Joburg team did on weekends, what they looked for in a car, what TV programs they watched,
and where they got their news and advice from. With 11 official languages, vast cultural and
regional differences, it hasn’t been easy to plan around a uniform SA culture.
When we started hearing this from clients, we knew we could do something by tapping into
our community of creatives. So we put together this Trend Report, which will give you an
updated pulse on what’s moving Durban, Joburg and Cape Town .
It hopefully will provide you a stronger basis for building better businesses, campaigns and
brands.
Knowing what forces are shaping South Africans leads to bigger ideas that will transcend any
decisions we need to make about media channels, technologies, or platforms.
Yours in creativity,
The Springleap Creative Insights Division
A Project, not a Product
We will be treating this monthly trend report project as a continuous process of
improvement and will be growing the value of this from edition to edition. We will aim to
be like the Economist of SA Trends; using crowdsourced insights from our network, while
adding an editorial layer to make sure content is representative, diverse, and actionable.
We will rely on your feedback to make the report stronger.
Coming Up Next
· An even deeper analysis on why the trends are important and who they
are impacting.
· New regions added
· A more robust collection of local imagery including
· Monthly topics like Automotive, Retail, Beverage.

5. - Page 5-
EVENTS
HOLLYWOOD? OR HERO MISUDERSTOOD

6. - Page 6-
MORE IN DUR BAN
LIVE- is a trendy venue where they showcase live talent. A fine
opportunity to get up close and personal with your favourite bands
supported by local brands.
The red eye festival has made a reappearance. In their own words its
a “cultural diverse multi media arts festival for creative entrepreneurs”.
Comprising of everything from art to music. Bringing up and coming
artists to the people of Durban. This is something that has been sorely
missing, and thus has been recieved well. Showcasing Durban’s creative
talent, is that of great importance to the Durban people. These festivals
will continue to make an impact in the “expressive talent” sphere of the city.
The Morrison Street Market is also something to take note of. More and more
creatives are wearing the “foodie-critique” hat, the Morrison Street Market is a food
market that also encourages creatives to display their own work - this includes
graffiti art and dancing. The Morrison Street Market happens every Sunday.
Images: Via Pinterest - Maxine Keet, and Spingleap Creatives.

7. - Page 7-
BR AND ACT IVITY
SPRINGLEAP BASE CAMP

8. - Page 8-
MOFAYA EN E RgY DR INK
WHAT: Local music figure and entrepreneur Dj Sbu of Metro fm launch of his energy drink;
Mofaya Energy drink.
HOW: During the phases of production and supply, the Mofaya creator had documented and shared images
of the phases and progress made of the production stage on various , if not all social media platforms. Namely;
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Metro fm radio station and his television show on SABC 1; Friends Like These, of
which had also been documented and shared by his many followers. The music mogul used his contacts within
the entertainment industry to endorse his brand of energy drinks cementing its way in the homes of his massive
following. Some of the celebrities used in his campaign included the likes of male model and tv personality Maps
Mopanyane, television sports anchor Thomas Mlambo , hiphop artist DaLes , to branding expert Timothy
Maurice as well as television and radio personality Bonang Matheba.
TARGET AUDIENCE: The Mofaya brand was targeted at the Dj Sbu audience, who is already acquainted
with the Dj Sbu brand, as only those who followed him on his various social media platforms and media platforms
were aware of the campaign. This audience is predominantly black youth, young adults and the middle aged, as
a result drawing in students, the general workforce and celebrity followers.
THE GOOD: The storytelling process plays a sufficient role in building and maintaining a consumer and
customer base. People want to be involved within the developmental process of a product or a campaign, and
seem to be more responsive to brands that provide such inclusivity.
THE IMPACT: Dj Sbu’s unofficial campaign for the Mofaya Energy Drink, had reached thousands before the
date of the energy drinks’ official release date had even been mentioned, let alone the actual release, creating
much anticipation for his followers.
THE LINKS:
http://www.youthvillage.co.za/2014/11/dj-sbu-debutes-new-energy-drink-called-mofaya/
Images: Via Instagram - https://instagram.com/djsbu_/

9. - Page 9-
CR E ATIVE
DE E P DIVE
OFF THE SPRING BOARD

10. - Page 10-
TOYOTA ETIOS
WHAT: Toyota Etios.
TARGET AUDIENCE: Suburban LSM A male that wants to own a cost effective cross-over.
THE GOOD: its a cool concept that is let down by a few elements, they have obviously tried to do a Top Gear style car challenge, which is cool.
THE IMPACT: Working on a tight budget can be tough, but there
are ways to make your budget work harder. A really cool example
is the Lexus car reveal, where they collected car journalists from a
hotel to drive them to the gala event in the new Lexus, but instead of
it being a relaxing drive the professional drivers take them on a crazy
car chase around the town and eventually drop them off at the event,
where they are told that this experience was actually the reveal of
the car. That’s awesome. They get to fully experience the car and its
benefits in a unique and unforgettable way.
THE BAD: The execution leaves a lot to be desired. Finding a better
location than Maboneng in Johannesburg could have assisted.
Although it is a very trendy place, it is not a particularly pretty place.
The action shots don’t really give you much in terms of performance
for a car. It can leave you with a feeling of “blandness”. Consumers
want to see the features of a car in an ad, especially its gadgets.
THE LINKS: http://adsoftheworld.com/media/tv/toyota_etios_
cross_urban_challenge

11. - Page 11-
MEDIA
INFLUENCE S
MOONLIGHTING IS IN

12. - Page 12-
superficialgirl
An Instagram user by the name of superficialgirl has acquired a following/
viewership of 33k. She is a resident of Cape Town and she shares current
and future trends via her Instagram account and her blog.
This social account is trendy because the user superficialgirl is consistent
with her posts, she sticks to a theme and she keeps her viewers in the loop
on a daily basis. Superficialgirl is sharing current posts and user friendly
how-to information via her blog and instagram account. She is also getting
sponsored by various brands to advertise their products via her insta
account and blog which is creating/growing brand awareness and further
growing her viewership.
LINKS
www.superficialgirls.com

13. - Page 13-
LOCAL
IMAGERY
CAPTURING THE COOL

14. - Page 14-
Some of the hotspots within Joburg feature an eclectic mix of people, showing
off Joburgs mix of people, places, interests and lifestyles.
Zone 6 venue Dieplkloof (Soweto) - The home of Authentic Sundays,
which is an event that grows in number as a result of its performance list,
and its overall ambiance. This event attracts over 3,000 urban black youth
and is driving what is trendy among them. Brands that target this market will
benefit in positioning themselves as “cool” and “happening”.
ZONE 6 DIEPKLO O F (SOWETO)
Images by @Thabiso Ric-hard Molatlhwa.

15. - Page 15-
DURBAN ST R E E T CULTURE
Graffiti and giving the public the opportunity to voice their opinions is very
in. Take this artist for example, having the public participate in his/her artwork and
creating a conversation #NudeSelfies. Brands should do something similar, where
consumers can participate in creating something worthwhile in co-creation with
brands.
Images submitted by Springleap Creatives.

16. - Page 16-
WHAT IS THE P RO FIL E OF T HE PANEL
USED IN THE JAN UARY REP ORT ?
10<
40%
5-9
40%
<5
20%
YEARS EXPERIENCE
41-50
7%
31-40
46%
21-30
47%
AGE
Male
47%Female
53%
GENDER
Art Director
Creative Director
Visual Artist
Illustrator
Designer
Public Relations
Production Designer
Photographer
Multimedia Designer
Digital Advertiser
CURRENT JOB TITLE:
SOME BRANDS WORKED ON BEFORE:SPRINGLEAP CREATIVES
Stylist
Make-up artist
Fashion grad

17. - Page 17-
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