Vodacom "Single Ladies" campaign gets legs

According to Wikipedia: "A flash mob (or flashmob) is a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief time, then quickly disperse. The term 'flash mob' is generally applied only to gatherings organised via social media or viral e-mails. The term is generally not applied to events organised by public relations firms or as publicity stunts."

Strictly speaking then, the Vodacom event was not a true flash mob, as it was corporate sponsored and therefore a "publicity stunt". Still, even the most pedantic terminology purist would've thoroughly enjoyed the awesome spectacle of witnessing a large contingent of stunning, scantily clad women (and a sprinkling of male dancers), dancing to the sounds of Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" anthem booming across an upmarket shopping mall.

The campaign, which started off with the highly entertaining TV advert that featured the male dancer doing a very spirited and sincere imitation of Beyoncé's dance routine, has been augmented with a number of media components to give the campaign legs. I must admit, while I found the original TV advert highly entertaining, its lack of a call to action made it seem somewhat pointless. Since attending the "flash mob" and getting details on the other elements of the campaign, I'm inclined to think that this has the makings of a memorable, trendsetting campaign that will likely spawn copycats.

To enhance public participation in the campaign, Vodacom has launched a website www.vodacomfame.co.za where the public is invited to submit video recordings of themselves performing the "Single Ladies" dance. The public can then vote for their favourite video on the website and the winner receives R300 000 in prize money. Not familiar with the moves? The site has a video tutorial to show would-be entrants how to mix and match moves into a flowing sequence of gyrating entertainment.

The campaign can certainly be commended for the slick manner in which it nails the most crucial elements of a social media campaign:

1. User generated content - by asking user's to submit content, it is involving the audience and engaging them in a manner that traditional media cannot.

2. Social media - by allowing people to upload videos of themselves, they will in all likelihood, refer all their friends, family and colleagues to go to the website to vote for their video in order to stand a chance to win the prize money.

3. Vanity - the desire to see oneself in any public media is a massive pull factor for most people and its value cannot be underestimated in creating social media campaigns with substance.

In addition to the website, the Vodacom Fame campaign also has a mobile version which can be found at http://m.vodacomfame.co.za