Scandal! recently undertook a campaign with The World Bank to address the growing crisis of debt management in South Africa.
The campaign began in May 2011 and culminated in over 18 months of research. The scriptwriting team created an educational debt-related storyline which had a strong call to action for viewers.
With the guidance of the National Debt Mediation Association (NMDA), the writing team centered the story around the character Maletsatsi (Joyce Skefu) who found herself dealing with growing debt and feeling overwhelmed with the financial implications of that debt.
“When The World Bank approached us with this initiative, we felt this would be the perfect opportunity for us to provide our viewers with a storyline that they could relate to, one that could offer them guidance and assistance in dealing with a major challenge that many South Africans face,” says Scandal! series producer, Ilse van Hemert.
The story unfolded over 26 episodes. Viewers followed her journey of dealing with debt and through the soapie were able to get vital information regarding organizations and options in assisting with debt management.
Scandal! also ran the hotline details of debt mediators such as the NMDA after the relevant episodes. The first day that this was executed, the NMDA call centres noted a 300% increase in incoming volumes.
The results of this initiative highlighted the magnitude of financial crisis many South Africans find themselves in and the need for platforms to provide accurate information and assistance.
Post the campaign, the headline research findings revealed that people who watched the soapie during this period had greater knowledge about content specific financial knowledge pertaining to hire purchase which was the story angle. There was also a higher percentage of engaging in formal borrowing shown from these individuals.
“As a national free-to-air channel, we have a platform and a responsibility to engage South Africans on various topics that affect our society daily,” says Monde Twala, e.tv Channel Head.
“Scandal! in particular offers viewers a glimpse into the everyday lives of their favourite heroes who deal with issues much like their own and through these characters we are able to drive key educational messages to over 2 million viewers.”
