We’re no strangers to reactions of puzzlement, or even bemusement, at our brand and marketing antics. It’s been like that from the beginning. When we changed our name from Logical Networks to Salt in 2008, we created a conversation starter that lasts to this day. Much has been said and written about naming our information tech company after a chemical compound most commonly known for its essentiality in food, its value as ancient currency, and its critical importance in neurological and other biological functions. Selah.
More recently, our marketing campaigns featured us, the humans of Salt Essential IT, the Salties, as the models and actors. Over the past 18 months we’ve been cast as superheroes, fairies, magicians, and mad scientists. And now, farmers.
Let’s start at the very beginning. It’s a very good place to start, just ask Julie.
Our reason and messaging behind the uncommon marketing approach is twofold: First (do), IT-services advertising is rather dull. Same-old perfectly beautiful people in same-old perfectly beautiful office spaces, smiling with sets of perfect teeth, apparently perfectly happy with how well the laptop in front of them is connecting them to all the systems they require. Meh.
Secondly (re), and rather more importantly, we have been shifting our business focus over the years to human-centricity. We firmly believe that the tools of our trade, technology, has one purpose: serving humans. Making the work humans do more productive, more efficient, safer, and smarter. Many of these tools and tech are a dime a dozen, and can be procured anywhere, from anyone. What we want to do is be the humans with the experience and knowledge of all things business-tech-related, and deep understanding of the needs of your business and your humans. We’re the humans you trust to enable your humans to build, grow and operate your business as effective, sustainable, and profitable as possible. We’re very much into building relationships of more than mutual benefit, but rather as partnerships of trust.
Sometimes you need a superhero to keep your data safe. Sometimes a mad scientist to conjure up brand new solutions, and sometimes fairies to bring a little magic and joy to collaboration.
Which brings me to the farming theme.
Values
One of Salt’s most fervent beliefs is that happy, balanced, and healthy humans are any organisation’s most business-critical asset. We’re moving on from ‘work-life-balance’ (easily warped into a Jekyll and Hyde existence) to ‘work-life-harmony’, where work isn’t just a necessary evil to live. Happy, balanced, and healthy humans are inspired, committed and productive team members. Essential humans.
The result of an internal survey amongst the Saltie-tribe this year had the following values ticked in almost every submission: Growth, respect, trustworthiness, honesty, balance, and authenticity.
We had the answer to the question of what the theme of our next campaign would be.
The revolution that planted the seed for all other revolutions
‘Industrial revolutions’ is quite the trendy topic. As we enter the 5th (Artificial Intelligence, Virtual and Augmented Reality, etc), I bet you learned in school that the first revolution that forever changed humanity happened in 1784. In Europe, nogal.
School was wrong.
12,000 years earlier, in Mesopotamia, humans figured out how to domesticate grains, and shortly thereafter the tools and tech to continuously enhance our skills followed. And with it, our lives. Not bound by an existence of spending every waking hour hunting and gathering to feed themselves enabled humans to pursue other things. Every industry, every modern job owes its existence to the development of agriculture.
Small family groups became villages, villages became tribes, and tribes became societies and civilisations.
Nothing has changed. Every revolution since is a continuance of that first one. Humble, authentic, human.
And if you leave city-slicker and socio-political biases at the door, what other profession in the world is as humble, authentic, and human as farming? From the women tending vegetable crops in Rundu, to commercial sheep farmers in Keetmanshoop, to the goatherd outside Gobabis. Essential humans.
We tip our hats in appreciation to every single one.
Join our tribe
With this campaign, we’re inviting businesses that share our values to join our tribe. Bring your seeds, know-how and zesty humans. Let’s build a civilisation that thrives in whatever the future can throw at us. A future of bumper crops and happy, healthy humans.
#DoItTheSaltWay #5IR #TechRev #OnsGeeOm #ThisIsHowWeRoll #Saltoftheearthpeople
By Vanessa Maresch
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PS. City Slickers: After our video and photo shoot for this campaign, all the Salties at the studio that day suffered a few days of hayfever. From, yes, you guessed it, the hay bales we used as props. Everyone except Frans and Grace, who happen to know a thing or two about farming. 🙂
See the Salties working the earth on billboards across Windhoek
