Mohair SA launched a dynamic new marketing campaign in June. The Don't Leave Without It campaign is a call to action directed at visitors to the Eastern Cape region, calling on them to purchase a mohair product during their stay.

The highly visual element of the campaign has a sleek, alluring tone which is designed to take the brand from being old-fashioned and uncomfortable to the realm of high-end glamour and international catwalk couture. As the official mohair capital of the world (and one of the 2010 FIFA World Cup host cities), Port Elizabeth will be at the epicentre of the high profile campaign.

The Dont Leave Without It campaign will welcome both local and international visitors to the city, and introduce them to this versatile and unique product during their stay in the Eastern Cape, explains Jackie Gant, Marketing Manager at Mohair SA. It will also educate the local community, who are unaware of this prize commodity from their region and give them a sense of pride and passion for the product.

The campaign will make extensive use of outdoor advertising in Port Elizabeth, with a billboard at the bottom of Mount Road and two inside the airport building (one large billboard promoting Nelson Mandela Bay and a smaller banner focussing on PE being the mohair capital of the world). In addition, there will be two small billboards inside both the Cape Town and Johannesburg (Oliver Tambo) international airports, placed outside of the Mementos of Africa retail stores. Mohair SA will also receive advertising space in one of the six designated areas inside the Nelson Mandela Bay Soccer Stadium.

The print element of the campaign will consist of a full colour advert in the British Airways in-flight magazine for both the June and July editions, an advert on the inside cover of the Inforcom magazine (the Port Elizabeth Chamber of Commerce publication) for June and July, as well as a one page full colour advert in the Mantis Collection publication (which is placed in all their products worldwide). In addition, Mohair SA will place a one page advert in the Nelson Mandela Tourism guide.

The campaign will receive further exposure on Bay FM, a popular Port Elizabeth community radio station. The station has granted Mohair SA a 10-minute slot to discuss the mohair industry, tourism and the Dont Leave Without It campaign. Mohair SA will also distribute 1000 gifts (male socks and ladies knee highs) to select guest establishments in the Nelson Mandela Bay area.

Dont leave without it is a message that offers longevity for this particular campaign, says Sanine Baird from tic advertising. Whilst the World Cup is on our shores, this message is a strong reminder that visitors shouldnt leave our region without a mohair product - a symbol of our province and their stay in South Africa.

The Dont Leave Without It campaign will be driven by extensive use of social media (Twitter, in particular), and a comprehensive communications plan. The landing page of the newly revamped Mohair SA website will reflect the visuals that are being used for the campaign. After the World Cup, this message represents more of a daily life concept, the idea that you shouldnt leave the house or office without it, adds Baird. Mohair should be a symbol of our province and country, dotted all over our cities and in our homes.