Heritage is the cultural, social, and historical attributes that are transmitted from one generation to the next, shaping the identity and practices of a community or society. It encompasses tangible elements such as monuments, artifacts, and landscapes, as well as intangible aspects like language, traditions, and cultural values.
THE LINK BETWEEN THE PRESENT AND THE PAST
Heritage is often seen as a link between the past and the present, influencing contemporary social norms, customs, and collective memory. It is an aspect that future generations maintain a connection with past generation in the construction of what becomes their reality.
The past is a direct ingredient of the future. Episodes in the past form part of a heritage that will influence succeeding generations.
The concept of heritage has evolved over time, reflecting changes in societal values, technological advancements, and shifting perceptions of history and identity. It is recognized and celebrated at various levels, from local and national to global, with institutions and policies often playing a role in its preservation and promotion. The study and interpretation of heritage contribute to discussions on cultural diversity, social cohesion, and the politics of representation, highlighting its significance in academic discourse and public life.
HERITAGE CAN DRIVE MARKETING
In the realm of African marketing, particularly South African, notable trend towards heritage-driven branding emerged mainly post-1994.
This approach involves tapping into the rich cultural history and traditions of the country to create authentic and meaningful connections with local audiences. By celebrating African stories, symbols, and values, brands can build trust, credibility, and loyalty with their customers.
Though many may not recognise, the loss of identity through absorption of groups by others is a quiet but consistent product of heritage based marketing that have a broad socio-political impact on human groups.
BRANDS CAN BE DIRECT OR INDIRECT PRODUCTS OF HERITAGE
The notion that brands are inextricably linked to their heritage underscores the profound impact of historical and cultural contexts on shaping brand identity. Brands, in this view, are not merely commercial entities, but repositories of meaning and value that are deeply rooted in the past. By tapping into this heritage, brands can cultivate a sense of authenticity, trust, and emotional resonance with their target audience, leveraging the accumulated goodwill and cultural significance of their history to inform and enrich their contemporary identity.
By selectively highlighting and interpreting aspects of their heritage, brands can create a compelling narrative that speaks to the values, aspirations, and experiences of their audience. In doing so, they can establish a profound sense of connection and affinity, one that transcends the purely functional attributes of their products or services, and speaks to the very heart of their customers’ identities and sense of self.
HERITAGE BASED BRANDING IS MORE THAN JUST NOSTALGIA
Heritage branding isn’t about nostalgia; it’s about authenticity. When done right, it creates a sense of continuity and shared values between the brand and its customers. In a world where trends come and go, heritage branding offers a way to stand the test of time.
GETTING IT RIGHT
It’s not just about slapping a vintage logo on your product. True heritage branding requires a deep understanding of a brand’s history, values, and cultural significance. When executed authentically, it can be a powerful tool for building a loyal customer base.
CELEBRATING LOCAL IDENTITY THROUGH HERITAGE
One of the key benefits of heritage-driven branding is its ability to differentiate African brands from their global competitors. In a market increasingly dominated by international brands, heritage-driven branding offers a unique opportunity for local businesses to stand out and showcase their unique cultural identity.
Heritage-driven branding has, post 1994, emerged as a potent strategy for local businesses to differentiate themselves in a market increasingly dominated by global competitors. By embracing and showcasing unique cultural elements, South African brands are able to establish a distinct identity that resonates with local consumers.
PIGGY BACKING ON ANOTHER PRODUCT’S HERITAGE
Your product might not possess much history. But it is not cast in stone that history and heritage is reserved for those who partook in it. Marketer and brand strategists must create opportunities where none seem visible and sometimes through a history and heritage that the company and product do not possess.
As a sponsor, a brand can capitalize on the rich heritage of the product that they sponsor to augment their own brand equity. This strategic alignment enables the sponsoring brand to leverage the product’s established reputation, cultural significance, and emotional resonance, thereby fostering a deeper connection with the target audience. Such partnerships can yield synergistic benefits, as the sponsor’s brand becomes imbued with the product’s heritage, while the product receives enhanced visibility and promotion.
It’s more like ‘you scratch my back (with your heritage), I scratch yours (with funding). Consequently, the sponsor (a relatively new product) tends to dominate if not own the market space that it occupies.
FAMOUS EXAMPLES TO LEARN FROM
Some brands can be seen as having championed heritage based branding.
Amarula
The Marula tree is a species of deciduous tree native to the savannas of Southern Africa, including South Africa. It’s known for its spreading canopy and rough bark. The tree produces yellow, plum-like fruit with a single stone. The fruit is used to make juice and products like Amarula liquor. The Marula tree is culturally significant in local customs and practices.
Amarula, the sweet creamy liquor, is a prominent South African brand that exemplifies the effective application of heritage-driven branding strategies.
The company’s emphasis on its African roots and the cultural significance of the Marula tree serves as a cornerstone of its brand identity. By celebrating its connection to this iconic tree, Amarula establishes a unique and authentic narrative that resonates with local consumers and reinforces its position in the market.
The brand’s commitment to sourcing its primary ingredient from local communities underscores its dedication to supporting rural development and promoting economic empowerment. This approach not only contributes to the preservation of traditional practices but also fosters a sense of shared value between the brand and its stakeholders.
The brand’s narrative serves as a powerful example of how heritage-driven branding can be leveraged to establish a strong emotional connection with consumers. By embracing its cultural heritage, Amarula has differentiated itself in a competitive market, illustrating the potency of this approach in driving brand success.
Castle Lager
Castle Lager has successfully established itself as a strong heritage-based brand in South Africa by embracing its local history and weaving its brewing legacy and the country’s history into its brand narrative. The brand’s advertisements often celebrate South African music, sports, and icons, making it feel proudly local and deeply rooted in the country’s culture.
First time that I heard the song, ‘Africa’ by Toto I was still young. Somewhere in the 90s it was used in a castle lager advertisement showing a group of happy fellows. A South African living in New York was missing his roots and drinking a Castle Lager in celebration of that with a happy group of friends. South African Breweries (SAB) really nailed it here. Lyrics went:
“I know that I must do what’s right
Sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
I seek to cure what’s deep inside
Frightened of this thing that I’ve become
It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There’s nothin’ that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had, ooh-hoo
Hurry, boy, she’s waiting there for you
It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There’s nothin’ that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa (I bless the rains)”
Additionally, Castle Lager has maintained a consistent look and feel, reinforcing its heritage credentials and establishing a sense of continuity and tradition. The brand’s involvement in community initiatives and sponsorship of local events and sports has also demonstrated its commitment to South Africa’s growth and culture.
Through this approach, Castle Lager has built a strong emotional connection with South African consumers, cementing its status as a heritage brand that is deeply ingrained in the country’s psyche.
Vodacom
Yebo Gogo!!
In South Africa, Vodacom’s long-standing presence and initiatives, such as the “Yebo gogo” campaign, have become integral to its brand narrative, reflecting and shaping local cultural values. By doing so, brands can differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace and establish a unique position in the consumer’s mind.
In this context, Vodacom’s use of “Yebo gogo” exemplifies how the brand taps into local language and culture to create a sense of familiarity and connection with consumers. At he launch of the Vodacom brand, the campaign featured Professor Kole Omotoso as the “Yebo Gogo man” and became a huge success, winning several awards and cementing Vodacom’s place in the country’s collective memory. The campaign’s catchy slogan, “Yebo Gogo” (meaning “Yes, Grandma”), became a cultural phenomenon, symbolizing the changing face of South Africa and the country’s transition to democracy. This strtegic deployment of heritage and cultural elements highlights the interplay between cultural identity, history, and marketing, demonstrating how brands can effectively utilize their heritage to build enduring connections with consumers.
Branding is Both an Art and a Science
In a feat of marketing brilliance, Vodacom followed this by snatching unprecedented sponsorship deals with the most popular and rivalrous soccer clubs in South Africa (and comparing favourably with the most supported teams in Africa). South Africa’s soccer is mainly defined by the bitter rivalry between the two teams originally from Soweto. Through this, Vodacom rode on the rich history of South African soccer which, through tough periods, was dictated by these two giants.
I should highlight that sponsorship and branding are not identical. Sponsorship works to build a brand.
Branding is like building a house with a solid foundation that represents your company’s identity, values, and reputation whilst sponsorship is like renting a billboard on a popular highway. This is a strategic move to grab attention, increase visibility, and associate your brand with a specific event, cause, history or audience. The billboard is visible to many, but it’s still a rented space, and the impact is time bound or contract bound. Hiring this billboard allows you to move to another one when you no longer feel it’s helping you to attract the right attention. Sponsoring the biggest teams (Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates) in the history of sport in South Africa was a milestone for Vodacom. Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates are the billboards to a successful company called Vodacom.à
Sponsoring rival entities as a brand is a complex phenomenon and it should warrant careful consideration. The sponsor, Vodacom, has to mitigate the risk of cannibalisation. Cannibalisation can happen if support for one of the rivals leads to lower sales for Vodacom. Though I’m not privy to the inner details I am sure Vodacom’s lens is always alert to such possibilities and if that were to happen the contract the contract would accommodate a strategic withdrawal from the risky party.
Again speaking from logic (not being privy to the contract) it is essential to ensure that the sponsorship is structured in a way that avoids any direct juxtaposition of the rival clubs, and instead focusing on neutral messaging that underscores shared values or overarching themes that yield benefits for all parties involved. Vodacom avoids the either/or presence. They are present in a party in Naturena without showing evidence of a similar presence at the rival Orlando.
So far Vodacom has avoided brand confusion keeping the audiences clear on their brands’ affiliations. From a bird’s eye view, Vodacom seems meticulous in managing and understanding the sponsored clubs’ objectives and the dynamics of the sponsored entities.
Vodacom, therefore, is always in touch with South Africans in their majority. For every Kaizer Chiefs or Orlando Pirates replica jersey in the market Vodacom is smiling all the way to South African market dominance. A Soweto derby (and it doesn’t matter who wins) is a Vodacom fiesta where millions across South Africa and the continent eat from a Vodacom dish.
Soccer fans (in their majority) and therefore South African citizens are like a choir conducted by the skilled directive from Vodacom. The sponsorship is ongoing at about three (3) decades later. It’s an evolving marketing tale.
Consequently, Vodacom remains the most popular cellular network service provider in South Africa.
THE FUTURE OF HERITAGE BASED BRANDING
As consumers increasingly seek authenticity and meaning, heritage based branding is poised to stay a key differentiator. Brands that tap into heritage will not only stand out but also build lasting relationships with their audiences.
Forward thinking will evolve their current methods still using heritage as their mantra. By embracing and celebrating African heritage, brands can unlock new opportunities for growth, loyalty, and success.