With measures being taken to address the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, the restaurant industry has been hit hard. Many family-run local eateries are facing closure or are already in the process of shutting down.

Proudly local brand Denny Mushrooms wanted to show their solidarity with the restaurant industry and at the same time raise awareness around mushrooms as a delicious and healthy ingredient. Workbench was tasked to come up with a campaign in a very short space of time against the marketing objective.

The question was: how do you take a limited budget and timeframe and turn it into an impactful brand campaign that not only does good for the brand but also does good for the brand’s clients and the community at large?

Workbench conceptualized the Denny Support your Local initiative which called out to communities to support their local eatery. Allied to the campaign was communicating to the restaurants to get them to register a crowdfunding account and register on the microsite - www.dennysupportyourlocal.co.za, which is still open for contribution, today.

The call to action and the awareness campaign was delivered in terms of encouraging the general public to vote for their favourite eatery and help raise funds. Denny committed to giving the restaurant with the most votes R10 000.00 and a three-month supply of mushrooms.

Michael Cook, MD of Workbench says, “These unprecedented times have made all brands relook their strategies and spend. Gone are the days of bulky agencies who theorize more than make things happen. Creativity has always been about being resourceful with what you have, letting constraint push you further and faster.”

Topline results:

• 4 weeks
• 123 restaurants registered on microsite www.dennysupportyourlocal.co.za
• 37 700 visits to microsite and 12 711 total votes
• ROI on awareness: 1:10

Martin Sing, Head of Planning at Workbench went on to say, “Together, with creative partners - Twiga Communications, No Menu media specialists, The Squad and 1cstm – the campaign was synchronized in such a way that it achieved way more than expected, and added to CSI projects already implemented by Denny Mushrooms. The beauty of the initiative is that it lives on beyond the campaign timeframe. It will continue to provide awareness and an avenue for communities to support their local, which is great.”

Samantha McChesney, Denny Mushrooms Marketing Director says, “It was important that the Denny brand stood up and was counted in the crisis. Even though our business was under pressure the Workbench guys found a way to achieve our brand objectives as well as provide a platform that tastefully and genuinely helped restaurants. The feedback has been wonderful.”

About Workbench
Workbench is a full service, through-the-line marketing communications agency based in Johannesburg with clients in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban as well as the UK and Philippines. Clients include, FMI Insurance, Bos Ice Tea, Courvoisier, Don Papa Rum, SBS Tanks, Mukuru, Avon, and Titans cricket amongst others. Started in 2013, Workbench offers large agency capability with boutique agency speed and service. www.workbench1.com