Prezence Digital, a full services digital agency, won silver in the Social Impact/Not For Profit category for its #MandelaStory viral campaign at the global Mobile Marketing Association’s (MMA) Smarties Awards in New York .
Created with official approval from the 
, which delivers the core work of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Prezence Digital developed this viral campaign to honour the global icon’s 94th birthday this July.
Looking at Nelson Mandela’s lifetime, the campaign asked one simple question: Would South Africa’s first democratically elected president have spent 27 years in captivity if he (and others) had access to the same social media platforms and technological tools we do today? The stirring tribute is still available on at www.mandelastory.com.
When Prezence Digital first embarked on this project, the single aim was to honour the exemplary life Nelson Mandela has lived, but in an emotional way, that was educational, fun and in a language that truly resonates with people all over the world as the results have shown. Reaching over 130 Countries with over 100,000 views in less than a week with no paid marketing drive is a testamonial in the power of digital let alone social media, explained Prakash Patel, CEO of Prezence Digital.
In today’s world, social media plays a pivotal role in shaping how we all connect with one another, but more importantly how social media is playing an increasingly active role in social causes globally. We see this not only in awareness being raised but also increased togetherness and mobilisation, such as we saw in the uprisings in the Middle-East a few years ago and more recently in Syria. I think of this as being activism2.0 by Citizens2.0 and is the exact premise which to raise the question about Mandela having spent 27 years in captivity,” Patel said.
“Even though we are extremely proud of our work, and fully aware of the strong affection the world has for this great man, we were nevertheless humbled to receive such an honour from the MMA and the opportunity to share the work of the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory with other iconic non-profit global organisations like Greenpeace and the WWF who were also shortlisted with us,” Patel said.
On the announcement of the shortlist of finalists, the MMA had noted that “the finalists represent the pillars of innovation, creativity, and success, highlighting the teams and talent that push the boundaries of mobile marketing to reach and engage with consumers like no other media channel”.
One of three South African winners at last night’s ceremony, held to cap off the inaugural two-day Mobile Marketing Conference and Expo in New York during Advertising Week, Patel not only saw the award as one for Prezence Digital, but one for the South African creative community in sharing South Africa’s story in a unique thought-provoking creative way with the rest of the world.
“The fact that this campaign, a pure labour of love for Prezence Digital, along with other South African winning campaign’s), was chosen for this accolade from submissions from over 36 countries showcases the creative power exploding from South Africa,” Patel concluded.
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