How One Brief Snowballed into 5 Tomorrowland Influencers

This summer in South Africa, it was without doubt, a dangerous time to be an airconditioner. As the heat levels rose and the Aperols flowed, People Have Influence was working silently in the background, mentally and physically prepping 5 Vuse influencers to bravely tackle the icy cold slopes that come part and parcel with attending one of the BIGGEST music festivals on the face of the planet… TOMORROWLAND WINTER.

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This is something you may not have known, but for the first time ever, South Africa has been invited to partake in the British American Tobacco global partnership with Tomorrowland Winter which takes place in France, in March of 2023…and P.H.I. is here once again, to deliver to your screens, some fresh, ice cold content that triggers nothing but fire emoji’s.

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BUT…Before we dive into who our 5 incredible Tomorrowland influencers are, let’s get a bit more of an understanding as to WHY we are sending them there in the first place.

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As a brand, Vuse encourages people to live inspired…And what more inspirational place for musicians and artists to be, than at one of the most colourful, vibrant festivals on the planet; Tomorrowland Winter. In alignment with the idea of living inspired, the type of influencer we wanted to send over to France, at some point in their lives, never dreamed that their craft would have inspired enough people around them to get them an all inclusive trip to Tomorrowland winter. We want them to speak to their excitement surrounding the festival, the artist line up and encapsulate moments of love, unity and magic (which are the Tomorrowland Winter pillars) along with showcasing Vuse moments while on the slopes.

We want  the influencers to express this to their audience as a ‘pinch me’ moment and to show that the work they did, day in and day out, has led them to this point in their future…that their work was and always has been…

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#InspiredByTomorrow

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As part of our #InspiredByTomorrow Vuze Collaboration, P.H.I. were tasked with sourcing South African talent who would need to achieve the following:

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1. Attend the festival.
2. Capture content for the brand to repurpose in the pre, during and post TML stages.
3. Raise awareness by authentically speaking about the artist line-up
4. Embody the Tomorrowland themes of love, unity and magic.
5. Represent South Africa and be custodians for the brand while enjoying everything that Tomorrowland winter has to offer.

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These 5 influencers weren’t just picked at random. Over the past 3 years, P.H.I. has been sourcing and vetting people who we think are a great fit for the brand and who also fit within the legal framework that comes with the territory of promoting tobacco/nicotine products. Over the years, there have been a few influencers who have stood out and have gone above and beyond for the brand, showcasing that the collaboration is definitely not just a once off job for them. Based on the people we have vetted and worked with in the past, we narrowed down our potential list of attendees to a list of 10 individuals… and due to the nature of the festival itself, these 10 individuals had to have a strong music/art tie. After a few back and forths and some tough decisions, we eventually made a decision. So, without further adieu, it gives us great pleasure to announce the 5 influencers who, in a couple days time, will be jiving and thriving, alongside some of the biggest names in the world, at the party of their dreams.  

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Our chosen influencers:

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1. Courtnaé Paul

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Instagram Following: 54,6K | Influencer Tier: Macro | Passion Point: Music

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Why we believe she would be a great fit for Vuse & Tomorrowland?

Music and dancing are two things that run deep within Courtnaé's veins. She is a SAHHA (South African Hip Hip Awards) nominee for DJ of the year. She has been in the music industry for over 10 years, has DJ'd at some of South Africa's biggest festivals such as Rocking The Daisies and has choreographed dances for some of South Africa's biggest music celebrities such as AKA. I feel like she will also fit into the theme of love, magic and unity as someone who forms part of the LGBTQ community, she is diverse in her nature and brings nothing but positive energy to the life that she lives.

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She is also flying the South African flag high as the top ranked B-girl on the continent on the road to the 2024 olympics.

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She has been a friend of Vuse since day one and was involved in a Routes of Inspiration piece, performed a set for Inspired Live and created an amazing piece of content for the Vuse Go unboxing campaign.

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2. Shaun Oakley aka That Damn Vandal

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Instagram Following: 16,7K | Influencer Tier: Micro | Passion Point: Art

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Why we believe he would be a great fit for Vuse & Tomorrowland?

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Shaun is a graffiti artist, illustrator, designer and content creator. Even though he does not necessarily fit within the 'Music' passion point, we believe there is HUGE value he could add, not only going as an influencer, but also what he has proposed he would like to do at TML. Being someone who has attended some of South Africa's biggest music festivals, he has always been inspired by the massive pieces of artwork that all these festivals build and create. He doesn't just graffiti walls, but has done massive murals on the sides of shopping centres, he has created live art pieces and graffiti'd them in front of crowds and has graffiti'd multiple different sports cars in his own style.  He has also created the artwork for album covers as well as well as collaborated with South African musician, Kyle Deutsch.

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He is extremely keen to do an art piece at the festival, whether that be graffitiing a snow plough, snowmobile or even a ski lift. He wants to bring his passion to TML and also learn from the structures that are put in place at the festival to inspire the work he does back home. We would also love for him to come up with the design of customised Vuse x TML merch that we will be giving to the influencers which could then also be extended onto social media rollouts. He has been a friend of the Vuse brand since the start. He was involved in one of the Routes of Inspiration pieces, performed at Inspired Live and also created the best unboxing content out of 21 influencers for the recent Vuse Go campaign we have just finished.

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3. DJ LocHive

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Instagram Following: 13,9K | Influencer Tier: Micro | Passion Point: Music

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Why we believe she would be a great fit for Vuse & Tomorrowland?

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DJ LocHive is a South African DJ based in Joburg who worked with BAT on the Velo campaign. Even though she was not specifically on any of our Vuse campaigns, she is an avid user of the product and is beyond excited at the prospect of going to TML.

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When speaking to her, she said that the music that is played at TML is right up her alley. She enjoys playing afro house, techno house and said she was extremely excited when she had a look at the TML DJ line up. It has been a dream of hers to go to TML since she started out her career and believes seeing some of her favourite DJ's on such a big stage will add value and inspiration to the music she plays back home.

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She loves traveling, fashion and as you can see, lives and breathes music. The content she created for the Velo job was extremely cool and well shot and involved her showing the BTS process of preparing for a set.

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4. Lelo Meslani

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Instagram Following: 11.9K | Influencer Tier: Micro | Passion Point: Music

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Why we believe he would be a great fit for Vuse & Tomorrowland?

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Lelo Meslani AKA Lelowhatsgood is a DJ, writer and cultural creator who is based in Joburg, who has been previously vetted and worked with Vuse in the past. As an avid festival goer and performer, Lelo has been commissioned to attend some of SA's biggest festivals such as Rocking The Daisies as well as performed at the Afropunk festival in 2019.  As an innovative creative force bringing disruption in African media & entertainment, we believe it would be a missed opportunity not to send him. Lelowhatsgood (real name Ntsikelelo ‘Lelo’ Meslani) is a young, unapologetically black, queer creative equipped with many skills and talents. He is fast becoming a creative marvel that is redefining South African queer culture.

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In the past, he has done some great brand work for the likes of Nike and is going to be performing at Ultra South Africa in March this year. He taste in music suits the genre’s that will be on showcase at Tomorrowland and after chatting with him, he is extremely excited to attend and share his experience to all his followers.

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5. Sihle Magubane aka Wooda Magoo

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Instagram Following: 4K | Influencer Tier: Nano | Passion Point: Art (Videography)

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Why we believe he would be a great fit for Vuse & Tomorrowland?

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Sihle Magubane, AKA Wooda Magoo, is a dancer, videographer and photographer who has been part of our Vuse influencer family since day one. He was one of the few influencers who created content for the original Vuse unboxing Epod drop and was happy to post without compensation. He has shot content for a few of the TML influencers before and we believe it will be great to have someone travel with the influencers to capture content that ensures it is all shot with the same consistency.

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It makes sense to have a videographer at TML who can orchestrate the content direction and come up with mood boards that are signed off before by the legal team with regards to content production. He will ensure consistency in all the content that is shot and his main role whilst being there will be to create 4 aftermovies for the Vuse brand and tie this into the themes of love, unity and magic that are the pillars of TML.

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If what you’ve just read above doesn’t inspire you to keep going, to keep perfecting the smallest details of your craft and to become someone who never takes their eye off their vision for tomorrow… then we are not sure what else will. You don’t have to be the most well known artist or talent to inspire those around you on a daily basis, you just have to throw your heart and soul into what you are passionate about. The beauty of this collaboration lies within the fact that as a brand, Vuse values people who have put in the hard work to ignite others around them… and as an agency, well, you already know…we just love proving time and time again that… PEOPLE. HAVE. INFLUENCE.

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Click out to the Vuse brand page to keep up with the Tomorrowland Winter festivities or follow Courtnaé Paul, Shaun Oakley aka That Damn Vandal, DJ LocHive, Lelo Meslani, Sihle Magubane aka Wooda Magoo and of course People Have Influence to keep updates on what they get up to whilst they are there.

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