Sasko Connects Communities Through WhatsApp in Best #MzansiBread Search
Sasko bread is at the heart of many of South Africa's favourite meals - from iconic bunny chows to kotas and gatsbys. In 2020, the brand leveraged WhatsApp to engage communities and celebrate local food culture.
Sasko bread connects South African communities through beloved local foods like bunny chows, kotas, and gatsbys. The brand captures this spirit with its official hashtag #MzansiBread. Building on the success of a 2019 digital campaign that asked customers about the best ingredients for these iconic dishes, Sasko launched an innovative WhatsApp campaign in 2020.
The Challenge: Engaging Communities Around Food Culture
The brand wanted to create a seamless way for South Africans to engage while enabling voting functionality, data collection, and keeping customers updated with local news and events. The solution lay in South Africa's most popular messaging platform: WhatsApp.
WhatsApp's Dominance in South Africa
With over 38 million South Africans using WhatsApp, it has the highest penetration of any messaging or social media app in the country. Consumers already love and trust the platform, making it perfect for brand engagement.
The WhatsApp Solution
Sasko partnered with WhatsApp marketing leader Techsys Digital to build this community-focused campaign. The strategy involved:
- Social Media Integration: Campaign communications were promoted as targeted social media ads to reach Sasko's devoted followers
- Interactive Voting: Users could click through to WhatsApp to select their favourite #MzansiBread and vote for restaurants making the ultimate kotas, gatsbys, or bunny chows
- Instant Rewards: Voting automatically entered participants into draws to win limited edition #MzansiBread streetwear
- Location-Based Updates: Participants could share location pins to receive localised Sasko news and event updates
Community Connection Through Technology
Being at the heart of many South African meals, Sasko understood its role in connecting communities through shared food experiences. The WhatsApp campaign's geolocation functionality allowed the brand to provide relevant, localised content to different communities while celebrating regional food preferences.
Campaign Results and Impact
The campaign succeeded on multiple levels, generating significant brand affinity while rewarding loyal consumers. Key achievements included:
- Over 2,000 campaign entries
- Substantial mobile database growth for future campaigns
- Enhanced community engagement around local food culture
- Successful integration of voting, rewards, and location-based services
The Power of WhatsApp Marketing
This campaign demonstrated WhatsApp's potential for brands to improve customer service, distribute instant rewards, validate purchases for competitions, and share rich media content - all within a platform consumers already use and trust.
Why This Campaign Worked
The success of Sasko's #MzansiBread WhatsApp campaign came from understanding South African culture and leveraging the right technology platform. By connecting food culture with community engagement through WhatsApp, Sasko created an authentic brand experience that resonated with local audiences.
The campaign showcased how brands can use WhatsApp to create meaningful connections with their communities while achieving business objectives like database growth and brand engagement. For Sasko, it reinforced their position as a brand that truly understands and celebrates South African food culture.
About Techsys Digital
Techsys Digital is South Africa's leading WhatsApp marketing agency, specialising in crafting bespoke WhatsApp solutions for brands. From customer service improvements to instant reward systems and competition validation, Techsys helps businesses unlock WhatsApp's full potential.