Brief: Create a uniquely South African experience that makes the link between performance in the wild and performance on the football pitch.

Our audience insight: “If you’re taking me all the way to South Africa then I want to see a bit of the country as well as the match.”

Activation: Camp Castrol – a specially-constructed wilderness safari camp hosted by National Geographic presenter Hayden Turner in the Pilanesberg National Park, just outside Johannesburg. The experience included game drives, live music, a traditional braai, camp-fire storytelling and star-gazing in the evenings.

Results: The success of Camp Castrol was measured as part of Castrol’s full guest experience programme, the results of which are as follows:

  • Agreement that Castrol is “an innovative, exciting, forward looking company” increased by 260% from a pre-tournament survey
  • 97% of guests rated their overall experience Excellent or Very Good
  • 98% rated Castrol’s approach to their guests’ health and safety as either Excellent or Very Good
  • 98% agreed that the trip had given them an opportunity to build an even stronger relationship with Castrol staff
  • 95% agreed that the trip had enabled them to get a better understanding of Castrol’s business strategy

The full guest experience campaign was awarded Best Brand Event Strategy at a Sporting Event at the 2011 Brand Event Awards.