When it comes to creating social impact campaigns (you know, those campaigns we love that use advertising for good, and still make money for brands) the process can be time-consuming and take up a lot of resources for agencies. These campaigns require tons of expertise and experience to ensure the benefits to communities and brands last long after the campaign has stopped running. That’s why agencies call in social impact experts to collaborate with, social impact experts like Bloom & Stone.  

Social impact campaigns (think Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’, Sanlam’s ‘One Rand Man’ and SAB’s ‘Be the Mentor’) can demand specialist skills not typically found in-house at agencies. You need connections to the right people, the right experts and a production team on steroids for all the moving parts. From insights into the right communities, and capturing fact-checked data during the campaign to providing ongoing community support, it takes a team experienced in both impact and execution to gain the right results in a community that last long after the campaign is done.

So, let’s get to know more about the people at Bloom & Stone, the folks we reckon you could team up with for work like this… Bloom & Stone, led by team Terri Ella, Vanessa Frost and Zamantungwa Khumalo, collaborate with agencies and brands to bring to life a socially driven component of a campaign. As Vanessa puts it, “We connect brands with communities to help brands do good work intentionally, not just incidentally.”

As specialist storytellers, Bloom & Stone makes sure a brand’s message doesn’t just sell but resonates with communities for individual or collective good. From ideation to final delivery through integrated experiential campaigns, industrial theatre, in-community activations, impact films or radio dramas, the team plug in where needed to bring the social impact element of your campaign to life and ensure that the impact of the campaign is real and lasting.

“Because storytelling connects brands, organisations and audiences by creating richer, more meaningful interactions that lead to lasting relationships, brand loyalty and impact, we connect brands and organisations to communities (specifically audiences not always easily reached) through deep research and collaboration to deliver emotive, entertaining, often funny, poignant, always familiar stories that resonate. Our approach includes creating opportunities for young talent and emerging suppliers while leveraging our relationships with NPOs, NGOs, and community-based organisations. We offer a full range of creative services, from conception to delivery, all with a focus on social impact. Lean and agile, we maximise value through our network of specialists, to deliver exceptional work with heart, integrity, and attention to detail,” says Terri.

Zamantungwa Khumalo says, “As storytellers for communities, the greatest reward is reaching audiences who may not have access to brands and programmes that are specially tailored for them. Historically, many in these communities don’t believe they can access things like financial services, medical insurance or even a home loan for example. But with so many brilliant products and services available in these sectors and others, Bloom & Stone is really well-positioned to put brands in front of these audiences to grow – not only their bottom lines but in the genuine impact they can make.”

Bloom & Stone partner with experts to ensure their work is grounded in thorough research and are positioned to track real-world success for brands where needed. From the extensive network they have built up working in this industry, Bloom & Stone tailor-make a team around each project, including production staff, actors, scriptwriters, event specialists, producers, designers, editors and sound experts. “Everything we create is high-end, with great production values and aspirational outcomes,” says Terri. 

Bloom & Stone have worked on a wide range of impactful projects. For Gynaguard, they created the ‘Vagina Shop’, a mobile pop-up brand-awareness activation and immersive experience on a number of University campuses in Gauteng, which empowered over 4,000 young women on topics of feminine health and hygiene and provided access to on-site psychological support services.

They create narrative radio dramas, like ‘Bona, Corona!’, a 10-part English radio drama and digital comic series also translated into isiZulu and IsiXhosa, co-produced with YFM which reached over 1.5 million young listeners to support young people during lockdown. Their immersive experiences include ‘A Festival of Opportunity’,  5 expos which reached 2.2 million people on social media and 1.2 million listeners through an integrated campaign and partnerships.

They’ve produced impact films such as ‘Hope vs. Trust’,  encouraging youth voter participation and ‘Segametsi: Hustler Turned Small Business Owner’, showcasing community success stories and have created explainer animations for organisations focussed on youth development and resolving unemployment.

Bloom & Stone have the resources, the community access, and the creativity to transform your brief into a socially impactful initiative. They love to collaborate and consider themselves partners to support and extend campaigns for good. Simply put, they’re fit for purpose so when you think social impact, think Bloom & Stone, the social impact experts.

Wanna (s)talk some more? Check out Bloom & Stone’s Company Website.