Tracker was founded in 1996 and was one of the pioneering brands in the tracking category. The industry quickly grew in response to exceptionally high crime rates and by 2005, it was a multi-billion Rand industry with over ten competing brands fighting for market share. By this time the market had reached a mature stage with market penetration stalling at 20%.
The result was that Tracker no longer benefited from first-mover advantage. It had to fight off many challengers who based their marketing strategy on aggressive competitive claims and low pricing. Says Laurent Marty, Strategy Director at Joe Public, "On the consumer front, market penetration was limited because a tracking device was a dispensable item for a large portion of the market."
Tim from Tracker was the first landmark campaign. For close on 1000 radio spots and six years running, Tim has been fuelling South Africa with stories that cover topics such as safety tips, product education, 'good news' stories, warnings and general awareness around crime trends. "This strategy has been instrumental in 'decommoditising' and 'ungrudging' the category, while stimulating a need in the non-tracked market," Marty explains.
The second breakthrough decision was to re-position Tracker, away from a culture of petty competitive product claims - 'More recoveries. More often' - towards capturing the bigger picture. Tracker was 'Taking Back Tomorrow' in a country where tomorrow sometimes felt quite hopeless to consumers.
"This campaign was the first brand communication in the tracking category and was geared to further 'ungrudging' the category, whilst targeting the greater non-tracked market," says Marty. "Our acquisition of an Apex award is confirmation that our communication strategies are getting the job done."
About Joe Public
Joe Public is an independently owned, Johannesburg-based advertising and design agency with a deep-rooted love for South Africa. We are an agency for people, by people and it is this philosophy that inspires us to win the hearts and minds of the South African public in everything we do. For more information about Joe Public go to our website at {{www.joepublic.co.za}}.
