TV News South Africa

New reality show to inspire budding entrepreneurs

SABC 3's new reality show, The Next Brand Ambassador, is set to inspire the country's budding entrepreneurs. And they need some given South Africa's dire unemployment rate, which reached 29% in the second quarter of 2019.
The Next Brand Ambassador judges Nandi Madida, Odette Van Der Haar and Sylvester Chauke. Image supplied.
The Next Brand Ambassador judges Nandi Madida, Odette Van Der Haar and Sylvester Chauke. Image supplied.

The show hopes to alleviate the financial burden for three people who, after being put to the ultimate test throughout the show, will be given the opportunity to work with a marketing team.

Finding ‘The Next Brand Ambassador’

The show is set to test and inspire the 12 national finalists who will be tasked with tackling a series of challenges that are specifically designed to test whether they have the persona, quirky creativity and skill-set to be ‘The Next Brand Ambassador’.

Throughout the series, the finalists will obtain experience in an array of marketing positions through the tasks and challenges they get set every week. Through a process of elimination, three contestants will win a year-long contract within the marketing department where they can expand on their skills and gain even more knowledge than ever before.

While the show is set to change the lives of the 12 finalists who embark on the journey, ultimately, the show also hopes to impart some wisdom to viewers at home who are encouraged to use the findings learned and shared by the finalists on the series to change their approach to business.

Imparting wisdom

Nandi Madida, businesswoman and musician, says that the series is a game-changer for South African television as a whole. “This show is what the nation desires,” she says. “It’s a show that is on the pulse of all things needed in the workplace. It’s a show of substance and truly shows the audience that nothing is impossible to a willing heart.”

Meanwhile, Sylvester Chauke, CEO of PR consultancy agency DNA Brand Architects, highlights the point that the show is set to give viewers some important learnings to take home and incorporate into the way they do business.

“The show is more than just the contestants that are participating on the show. The lessons embedded in the challenges are such that viewers at home will gain pointers on how to tackle very common challenges in the job search and skills required in order to solve problems, nonmatter the industry. Young people will enjoy the show but they will also walk away with some valuable tips and tricks they too can use.”

J Walter Thompson (JWT) CEO Odette van der Haar adds that the challenges are constructed in way to test the skills of the finalists while teaching viewers at home some of the fundamentals within the marketing industry.

“There is a general lack of awareness that the industry is a career destination and that young people who are inherently creative talent can use their creativity to build a successful, professional and highly rewarding career or business,” she says.

“South Africa needs more creative thinkers, more entrepreneurs who use creativity to generate an income, contributing to the economy and, in so doing, creating more jobs. This show will not only change the lives of three young people by catapulting them into their careers in marketing, it’ll showcase the importance of creativity which is more often than not undervalued and/or misunderstood.”

The Next Brand Ambassador is broadcast on SABC 3 at 7.30pm on Thursdays.

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