C-Squared Productions in Johannesburg is an award-winning agency and production
company which has become one of SuperSport’s international leading suppliers of on-
air promotional content with more than 20 years of experience working with Africa’s
largest sports broadcaster.
Chris Dobson, creative and owner of C-Squared Productions, says of the company’s
participation at PromaxBDA Africa this year: “Be on the lookout for the
Confederations Cup and the Unbelievable promo featuring Bert Le Clos.
“Confederations Cup is the one we’re particularly proud of, as it really did take a bit
of a risk on our part to make sure that what we pitched to client came across
successfully, to make the campaign really stand out and work.
“For this to happen, the team needed to shoot in three different locations, namely
South Africa, Brazil and Nigeria, which in itself was a logistical nightmare. It’s a job
that has it all, a great concept, a unique edit, sound design and music score,’
continues Dobson.
He adds that the Confederations Cup promo has been nominated as a finalist in two
different categories at the Sports Media Marketing Awards in New York on 19
November 2013.
Dobson says the Confed job was in particular a pretty challenging brief, as it had to
build interest in the tournament right across Africa, even though Nigeria was the only
team participating from the African continent.
“Also with events like these, SuperSport isn’t always the only broadcaster of the
tournament, so your positioning of the event and sell of the package needs to be
one that convinces people that there is only one place to watch the event.’
Cutting through the clutter
Dobson emphasises that a good campaign carries with it a good idea. “Idea is king.
And we continually strive to find the creative solution to each and every brief. Also
with the amount of promos currently on air across several channels, the idea needs
to cut through the clutter. It needs to immediately grab your attention, entertain
you and leave you with a lasting impression that you can’t afford to miss whatever
event we are promoting.’
Regarding the speakers at PromaxBDA, Dobson mentions that he is excited to hear
what Lee Hunt has to say on the state of the industry, new trends and what others
are doing to change the way agencies and production companies go about TV
advertising and promotion.
“And being in the game of sports promotion, I’m also happy to see there is a sports
session with Olivier Schaak of Canal+ France. Then of course it’s always nice to see
how far the industry and quality of work has come over the last year. Every year the
standard of work gets better, and I suspect this year will be no different.’
Concerning delivering business-savvy promos, Dobson concludes: “Make sure that
whatever it is you’re trying to sell, comes across in a clear effective way so that
people remember it, and make sure you find the right balance between producing the
best job possible within the allocated budget and still make it financially viable for
the company who produces it. In other words, keep your eye on the budget at all
times.’
