Vodacom and Primedia Broadcasting join forces in a first for South Africa

Marking a technology first for South Africa, Vodacom has teamed up with Primedia Broadcasting to bring 94.7 Highveld Stereo and 94.5 KFM listeners the ultimate integrated virtual and social media game. Called Gotcha! SA, the game will see listeners across Johannesburg (94.7 FM) and Cape Town (94.5 FM) chase down a virtual wallet, called Smart Money, in an attempt to win their share of R700 000 split between the two cities.

By downloading the Gotcha! SA application, players can track the virtual wallet and take possession when they get within 100 meters of it. The player holding the wallet at the right time trades in the virtual wallet for real cash.

"At 94.7 Highveld Stereo, we pride ourselves at being at the helm of this first-for-South Africa application Gotcha! SA. Our increasing listenership is that of techno savvy and digitally advanced individuals and we are excited to be at the forefront of interaction with them," said Ravi Naidoo, Station Manager at 94.7 Highveld Stereo.

The name of the game is to be as creative as possible in evading other players and hanging on to the wallet for as long as possible. 94.7 Highveld Stereo and 94.5 KFM presenters will keep listeners up to date over the air waves, thus interacting with players on a realtime basis.

"The pace of technological development in South Africa is moving so fast that we sometimes miss important milestones. The Gotcha! SA Competition speaks volumes about the level of smartphone adoption in the country, the sophistication of our mobile networks, and how readily we've embraced social media. More importantly, it's the first concrete example of how technology is changing the way South Africans interact with traditional mass media," said Enzo Scarcella, Vodacom's Managing Executive: Marketing.  

"There are almost five million smartphones on Vodacom's SA network alone, growing at more than 40% annually. Gotcha! SA is a great test case to see whether South Africa has passed the tipping point in terms of smartphone adoption whereby brands fundamentally change their behaviour from broadcasting to consumers to truly interacting with them on a 1:1 basis."

Gotcha! SA is available for download to all listeners who have access to an Android, BlackBerry or Apple smartphone. The app is available for download from today in the Vodacom App store - https://www.vodacom.mobi/mobile/main/gotcha - as well as in the Apple, BlackBerry and Android app stores. The game is set to start on 13 August and will run to 8 September.

To find out how to play visit - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdpWmLRE0a8.