The Background

Heart 104.9fm is a commercial radio station broadcasting to the greater Cape Town area. Previously P4 radio, it was seen predominantly as a coloured radio station that played mostly jazz music. In 2009, Heart 104.9fm realised they’d reached their ceiling of coloured listeners and wanted to broaden their listener base. The problem with this, however, was that the legacy of who they used to be remained, even despite their rebranding in 2006.

The Challenge

Reposition Heart 104.9fm from being seen as a coloured radio station to one that would appeal to all Capetonians.

The Strategy

OIL’s strategy was based on the insight that true Capetonians define themselves firstly by their city, and then by their race, religion or gender. Capetonians truly believe that they live in the best city in the world – so when they tell you they love the mountain, they really mean it. Based on this insight, we discovered a unique “code” for Capetonians: unique, fluid, chilled, creative and content. This is in complete contrast to the codes of other South African cities; Jo’burg residents, for example, identify with challenge and rush, and see themselves as constant seekers of new and better things. In order to reposition Heart 104.9fm, we needed to create a strategy that highlighted the code for Cape Town. The solution? We declared Cape Town to be its own republic.