We held the national final of the Triumph Inspiration Awards in Cape Town in late 2008. It went rather well… this is the case study:

Aim: Triumph International launched a global design competition, the Triumph Inspiration Award, in 2008. South Africa was one of over 30 countries that participated in the competition which challenged young fashion design students to submit a design sketch illustrating their interpretation of the theme, Female Fascination. Three design schools in South Africa participated in the inaugural year with a total of 20 garments making it on to the runway on the night of the event on 7 May 2008. Atmosphere was asked to launch the competition in South Africa, develop the finale event and achieve media coverage for the campaign.

Action: Atmosphere implemented an extensive media relations programme to create awareness of the event and highlight Triumph’s support of young designers. We set up interviews with the students and Triumph spokespeople, in key lifestyle media in the lead up to the event in major newspapers, websites and radio shows. A video blog was also created in the lead-up to the finale event following the behind the scenes development of the students work. The five part series of video clips was filmed in Cape Town and Pretoria and was hosted via free social networking sites such as Youtube.com, zoopy.com and Play.24.com.

Atmosphere worked alongside expert show producers Parallel Worlds to develop a show concept that would challenge the normal conventions of lingerie presentations. The event was youthful and edgy, featuring live guitar and percussion performances, to create a show that captured the exuberance of the new generation of SA fashion designers.

We had excellent attendance from fashion industry experts and the media including high profile broadcast media for the event held at The Runway on 7th May 2008.

Results: The event took place was attended by over 350 guests including top South African designers and media.

Two TV crews flew in from Johannesburg for the event: Selimathunzi (SABC 1) and Go Exxtra (Channel Go). A local crew from Kyknet’s Glitterati was also in attendance which ensured a substantial range of national broadcast coverage.

During the campaign, coverage on the Triumph Inspiration Award appeared in many of South Africa’s major media outlets including: The Times, The Weekend Argus, Pretoria News, Die Burger, The Weekender, The Citizen, Die Beeld, SAFM and several online sites including www.women24.com, www.iafrica.com, www.tonight.co.za and www.ifashion.com.

The video blog achieved over 4000 views as well as being shown at the event itself.

Excluding long lead media coverage, the coverage value to date is in excess of R3.5 million.