Flow Communications has won its first gold Sabre Africa award for the Marine Protected Areas Day (MPA Day) 2023 campaign, in the digital campaign category. It’s the first time Flow has entered the awards. The award was presented in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
MPA Day is an annual event on 1 August, and it seeks to educate and draw attention to the importance of marine areas around coastlines locally and globally.
“Winning an award of this calibre for our client, the MPA Day Alliance, is so special,” says Flow Communications CEO Tara Turkington, “especially as we competed across Africa, against competitors who are all excellent in their own right. We love doing purpose-led work and protecting our oceans is right up there for us in doing work that really matters for South Africa and the world.”
MPA Day was started on 1 August 2021 by a group of individuals and scientists (now known as the MPA Alliance) concerned about the extensive negative changes to the unique marine ecosystems surrounding the South African coastline. Each annual MPA Day spotlights the need for education and conservation of the country’s 42 marine protected areas, which are like game reserves of the sea. Many people are unaware of the lasting and devastating effects that marine life and local communities will experience if an MPA is not protected.
Says Dr Judy Mann-Lang, the chairperson of MPA Day, “Communicating about the ocean is difficult. How can we inspire people to care for a largely unseen world that is ‘out of sight and mostly out of mind’? Through MPA Day, we are able to introduce people to these incredible places in the ocean; places that support nature and people. By communicating about MPAs, we can highlight the critical role of the ocean in ensuring a habitable planet for humanity. And the ocean is filled with amazing, strange and wonderful animals, so communicating about the ocean is not only essential, it’s fun, too!”
“SABRE stands for Superior Achievement in Branding, Reputation & Engagement,” explains the awards website. These prestigious awards “recognise campaigns that demonstrate the highest levels of strategic planning, creativity and business results”.