Virgin Active Red x Thesis Lifestyle x Fixin Diaries

PR agency 20 Across wanted to collaborate with Mobile Media Mob to create digital content or their client, Virgin Active RED. The brief was to conceptualise and produce a shoot for the brand’s very first Influencer campaign. with Thesis Lifestyle, a local design brand, and Fixin Diaries – a startup which allows people to cycle the streets of Soweto, on fixies.

Virgin Active RED x Fixin Diaries - Hussain van Roos

The Brief

PR agency 20 Across wanted to collaborate with Mobile Media Mob to create digital content or their client, Virgin Active RED. The brief was to conceptualise and produce a shoot for the brand’s very first Influencer campaign. And the on-screen stars had already been picked. Thesis Lifestyle, a local design brand, and Fixin Diaries – a startup which allows people to cycle the streets of Soweto, on fixies. The Photography and Video shoots needed to radiate the ‘easy, fun fitness’ positioning, while expressing a youthful edginess all about keeping it real. The content had to be authentic storytelling, which conveyed the ins and outs of the collaborations.

The MMMob Approach

With a lean budget, and big talents, we set to work. Our number one prerogative was to relay the realness, and so it all started by getting to know the two Influencers, and the hustle it took to get them where they are. After some deep talk, we could craft a storytelling concept. It played out an ordinary day in the lives of our Influencers – showcasing their routines and lifestyle. Throughout, the RED brand would be woven in.

The concepts got the thumbs-up, and we recruited a Jozi-based team to shoot it all, and handle the Post-Production. The Photographer and Videographer shot side-by-side, and were armed with a shotlist which fit into the real routines of our Influencers, keeping the footage feeling natural. The talent was kitted in touches of the RED collection, styled with their own wardrobe. We also convinced the client to have no shots in the actual gym, but instead have our Influencers coming and going.

With a tight storyboard, schedule and shotlist, we nailed both shoots in a single day. The Photographic Content was delivered first, and with colour tones and the editing process being approved, the Video Content was tackled next. The output was big for the budget, including two 45-second videos per Influencer, and 40 snapshots of each Influencer too.