Talent Brand has produced a series of animated videos to educate essential workers in the FMCG industry on COVID-19.
Around the world, the availability of foodstuff has become a major concern; in fact, 265 million people could face acute hunger by the end of this year. Quite simply, the world has never before encountered such a great hunger emergency – and the behaviour of consumers driven to stockpiling and panic buying at the beginning of the lockdown shows that the fear of ‘going without’ has deep roots.
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Global supply chains
Although South Africa is fairly self-sufficient in terms of food supply, we still rely on global supply chains for our raw materials. The manufacturing sector’s pattern of procuring product three to nine months in advance (and, in the case of agricultural procurement, where commitment to farmers is seasonal, planned a year ahead in some instances) places further pressure on the system. Although we have enough food supplies now, the impact of recently imposed trade restrictions and closing of borders will be felt at a later date.
The right to food is enshrined in the South African Constitution, which is why the sector is working hard to protect its employees; the people who make it possible to feed South Africans. With this in mind, the Health and Welfare Sector Education Training Authority (HWSETA) embarked on an educational campaign to ensure that essential workers are aware of the virus and understand how to maintain their own health and prevent its spread. As part of this campaign, the SETA awarded discretionary grants to entities that may be able to help disseminate this vital message.
Talent Brand is a recipient of one of these discretionary grants. “This is a critical issue which affects all of us,” comments the company’s Jo Watt. The organisation – which has a well established reputation in the strategic talent acquisition space – therefore decided to harness its specialist knowledge of the FMCG sector, honed over many years and for which Watt has a particular passion, to educate essential workers in this space.
Making correct information accessible
“We have worked with most of South Africa’s major FMCG companies, and therefore have an insider’s view of the industry’s challenges and priorities,” Watt points out. Working with Mobitainment and TTRO, Talent Brand applied these insights to a series of animated videos, crafted to provide essential workers in manufacturing, retail and supply chain industries with information about how to identify COVID-19 symptoms, and how to protect themselves and family members from the spread.
The initiative forms part of a comprehensive plan developed by the HWSETA to assist with COVID-19 efforts. “To date, we have invested over R90 million into a variety of projects. Making the correct information accessible was an integral part of the plan and we are very proud of this project and of the quality of the videos. There has been a lack of information available in many languages and we hope that these videos will assist greatly in arming South Africans with the precautionary measures they need to take to stay safe. The HWSETA is proud of the partnership with Talent Brand and we look forward to seeing the impact of this project,” says Elaine Brass, CEO, HWSETA.
The animated videos – each under three minutes long – are available in English, Afrikaans, Zulu and Setswana, and aim to dispel myths about the spread of the virus and address critical issues such as physical distancing, when to self -isolate, and how and when to get tested. Watt reports that the content for the videos was created in consultation with key players in the food manufacturing industry, including the likes of Tiger Brands, National Brands, CCBSA, and Distell, to ensure that the messaging is on target.
The videos are available in both static and interactive format. The former enables employers to broadcast the videos at plants, canteens and in training rooms. Talent Brand has also developed mobile interactive videos that can be watched on employees’ phones. They can easily SMS a short code to get the link and simply click on the web when they are ready to watch. The SMS short code and interactive mobile video can then be viewed without incurring data costs. These videos contain questions and answers and other mechanisms to test users’ understanding of the content. As an incentive to watch and share the content, users who finish watching can enter into a daily draw to earn a share of R3 000 worth of airtime.
Talent Brand partnered with TTRO and Mobitainment to produce the videos. Candice Goodman, managing director of Mobitainment, notes that online videos are the most effective channel for transmitting information: according to a February 2020 report by We Are Social, 98% of all South Africans watch online videos. “This case study proves that technology is a great enabler and can be harnessed for the greater societal good.” Goodman explains that the use of interactive video makes it possible to gauge viewers’ knowledge, rewarding them once they display a thorough understanding of the subject. “Meanwhile, because the videos can be shared on WhatsApp, the most popular app in South Africa, we can maximize the reach of this engaging, educational and rewarding content. But perhaps most importantly, this is an example of solving local problems with local solutions. We’ve addressed issues such as the cost of data by ensuring that the data used to watch the videos is reverse billed, so that the essential worker doesn’t incur any costs.”
You too can be a hero and play your part to help Flatten the Curve of COVID-19: SMS HERO or your company’s name to 30864 at no charge to receive the link on your phone or click http://ClickMe.datafree.co/FlattenTheCurve to watch the video (at no charge for mobile data) and stand a chance to earn your share of R3 000 in daily airtime.
