Sanlam is one if the country’s leading life insurers. In the past, their various divisions (Investments, Employee Benefits, Life Insurance, etc.) have had their own social responsibility initiatives. These posters were to launch the Sanlam Foundation, that now brings all these initiatives together under one management team. The primary market would be government ministers and staff, other corporates (both suppliers and clients), and stakeholders like non-profit organisations and charities.

The social responsibility initiatives covered a wide range, and often niche areas: WWF water conservation, HIV/AIDS, mathematics and science education, and career development.What was the common thread that pulled it all together? We decided on the economic aspects. They reflected Sanlam’s business as well as government’s long-term agenda in South Africa. It’s certainly the aspect most stakeholders would consider important.

The client’s words sum it up best: “The Sanlam Foundation brochure is also our greatest pride. We have found that people got very attached to the tear-out posters, and that these elicit engagements and conversation. It is our intention to print more versions of the brochure for further distribution”.

The posters were all bound into a brochure, so they could be torn out along a perforated strip. This allowed us, on the one side, to speak of Sanlam’s involvement in each particular initiative; the copy on the graphic side presented a more general picture of South Africa’s needs.

We asked each recipient to show commitment and help spread the message: through their children’s schools, in the workplace, in universities, the local library, etc., rather than tossing it in a drawer or wastepaper basket.