Porsche Middle East & Africa and indie agency The Romans MENA have delivered a compelling masterclass in earned media in their latest PR sustainability campaign.
Combining vehicle modification, long-form documentary filmmaking, and sustainability at its heart, the campaign puts the world's first all-female, unarmed anti-poaching unit at the centre of Porsche's regional sustainability communications.
Working with South African production studio LITTLEBIG Global, the collaboration resulted in an eight-minute documentary telling the story of The Black Mambas – a group of women who patrol the Greater Kruger region of South Africa, home to the largest remaining rhino population on earth.
The execution
As part of the campaign, Porsche Centre Johannesburg repurposed a Cayenne SUV into a bespoke rapid-response vehicle, which was donated to The Black Mambas for operational use. The modified Cayenne is now deployed in daily patrols across the Greater Kruger landscape.
The documentary, which centres the voices of the women themselves, was directed by Rob Smith of LITTLEBIG Global and has since drawn international media attention, including a feature from CNN International, which travelled to South Africa to produce its own coverage of the initiative.
For The Romans, the brief was to look beyond the vehicle. "When Chris [Jordan, Head of Public Relations at Porsche Middle East, Africa & India] told us his idea, we nearly fell out our seats," said Joe Lipscombe, partner at The Romans. "For us, this demonstrates everything that’s great about purposeful PR; action-oriented, narrative-driven storytelling backed by real-world impact. Our passionate, talented team then had the responsibility of bringing the initiative to life in the most memorable way.”
Of the campaign, Dr. Manfred Bräunl, CEO of Porsche Middle East and Africa, CEO of Porsche Middle East and Africa said: "At its heart, this campaign shines a light on the outstanding work The Black Mambas do to protect the rhinos of the Greater Kruger. We felt there was an opportunity to not only support their efforts on the ground, but also to help bring their voices to a global audience."
Lipscombe added that the goal wasn't merely to make a piece of content about a Porsche vehicle, but rather to use the luxury car manufacturer's platform amplify the much deeper story of The Black Mambas. "This isn't just sustainability communications or a simple awareness piece, but a much larger, more tangible commitment to a global cause, driven by the power of PR."
Watch the full video here:
Credits:
Client: Porsche Middle East & Africa
Chris Jordan, Mahvesh Sayed
Porsche South Africa
Jessica Baker, Christo Kruger, Natasha Xavier
PR agency: The Romans
Rusol Al Hano, Surbhi Lal, Katie Bell-Wright, Hesham ElKammash, Kassandra Panagiotopoulos, Joe Lipscombe