In May 2016 as I was wrapping up my tour of diplomatic duty in Milan, Italy, where I served as a Consul-General since March 2012 primarily driving economic diplomacy by brand positioning South Africa as a viable destination for tourism and investment while at the same time opening market access opportunities for “Made in South Africa” service and product brands, I decided to use this experience plus the expertise I garnered over twenty years to go full time into business. I then registered my company, Brandhill Africa and positioned it as a competitive identity and economic diplomacy agency.
Returning home in July 2016, I was then offered a job at the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA) as a Group Executive: Trade, Investment and Regulatory Enablement. I then quit this role in June 2020 to join my company on full time basis from 1 July.
Since then, each of its original divisions has since developed into a fully-fledged subsidiary transforming it into a group. It provides a one-stop solution for businesses looking to establish, grow their brand and thrive in Africa. We offer a unique combination of brand management, economic diplomacy (trade, tourism and investment promotion) and cultural industries development services to help companies succeed in this dynamic and challenging market.
Although the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown intended to contain its infectious spread cast the world into a financial distress, we soldiered on to build a body of work that we could show to our clients and various stakeholders. This work won us recognition from home and abroad. The group was recognised with a Business Excellence Award 2022 by the World Confederation of Businesses and the Brand Leadership Award 2021 by the World Brand Congress.
Personally, I also grew into something I couldn’t have been if I didn’t give up my chequered career of a full-time job in the public sector. I have emerged as a global speaker; published author with multiple books; broadcaster with a jazz music show; commentator regularly interviewed by radio and television at home and across the continent on such issues as brand Africa, diplomacy, leadership and cultural industries. The cherry on top was that in 2022 and 2020 I was nominated as the “World CEO of the Year” by the US-based the World CEO Rankings – and in 2022 it ranked me as number 16 out of 620 nominees world-wide, making me the second highest ranked in Africa.
At Brandhill Africa™ we believe that building a successful brand in Africa requires a blend of marketing savvy, strategic brand management and diplomatic finesse. That’s why we offer a unique and unparalleled combination of these three essential components, making us the go-to agency for businesses looking to succeed in Africa.
Our experienced team of brand architects, economic diplomacy and cultural industries specialists will work closely with you to understand your goals and develop a customised strategy and to support you towards achieving them.
Whether you’re a multinational corporation or a small and medium-sized enterprise, we have the expertise, relationships, and resources to help you succeed in Africa’s fast-paced and ever-evolving market.
Branding plays a critical role in economic diplomacy, as it helps to promote the image and reputation of a country, and to build strong economic relationships with key partners. Effective brand management can help to position a country as a desirable investment destination, and to promote its key economic sectors and strengths. Its role in economic diplomacy includes:
Branding helps to differentiate a country from its competitors by highlighting its unique strengths, advantages and assets. This helps to attract investment, to build strong economic relationships, and to create a favourable investment environment.
Another important aspect of brand management in economic diplomacy is stakeholder engagement. By engaging with key stakeholders, such as business leaders, investors, and government officials, a country can gain valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities facing its economy. We at Brandhill Africa™ we have extensive networks across the world which we garnered through decades of our professional lives.
The Brandhill Africa group’s primary mission is to rewrite the narratives on Africa by employing branding in shaping and enhancing Africa’s reputation on the global stage. The image and reputation of a region or a country have a significant impact on its ability to attract investment, tourism, and other economic opportunities. Similarly, a country’s nation brand has an effect on how its products and services are perceived. This is the subject of my dissertation for an MSc in Global Marketing which was awarded by the University of Liverpool. This is further illustrated in my latest book, “De/constructing brand Africa: A Practioner’s Perspective” whose Foreword was written by Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General: AfCFTA.
Branding is important in promoting a positive image and reputation of Africa by highlighting its strengths, assets, and cultural diversity. For example, promoting Africa’s rich cultural heritage, unique landscapes, and vibrant communities can help to attract tourists and to promote the region as a desirable travel destination. Do recall President Thabo Mbeki’s assertion in his 1996 iconic speech, “I’m an African”: “I owe my being to the hills and the valleys, the mountains and the glades, the rivers, the deserts, the trees, the flowers, the seas and the ever-changing seasons that define the face of our native land./ My body has frozen in our frosts and in our latter day snows. It has thawed in the warmth of our sunshine and melted in the heat of the midday sun. The crack and the rumble of the summer thunders, lashed by startling lightening, have been a cause both of trembling and of hope./ The fragrances of nature have been as pleasant to us as the sight of the wild blooms of the citizens of the veld./ The dramatic shapes of the Drakensberg, the soil-coloured waters of the Lekoa, iGqili noThukela, and the sands of the Kgalagadi, have all been panels of the set on the natural stage on which we act out the foolish deeds of the theatre of our day…”
This, my dear reader, could have been used as a citation in the “2023 Telegraph Travel Awards” in which almost 30,000 Telegraph readers voted for their favourite destinations, airlines and travel companies – and declared South Africa and Cape Town as the world’s best tourism destinations. This will undoubtedly contribute to the growth of our tourism industry and will create new jobs and economic opportunities for local communities. Where is the SA Tourism to maximise brand benefits out of these?
We utilise branding to counteract negative stereotypes and misconceptions about Africa and her products/services, and to promote a more accurate and balanced image of the region. For example, we always highlight the continent’s dynamic and growing economies, innovative businesses, and entrepreneurial spirit in this news portal to help to dispel the notion that Africa is solely defined by poverty and conflict.
We create a sense of unity and shared identity among African countries, by promoting the common values and goals of the region. This helps to strengthen economic partnerships, to build a more cohesive and integrated African market, and to attract investment and other economic opportunities.
We engage with the CEOs of economic development agencies across the continent through our Rubik Initiative – a structured mechanism for engagement between these CEOs and the private sector – and highlight to them branding’s critical role in attracting investment and promoting economic growth as we encourage them to share their country’s investment opportunities and the favourable investment environment. This helps to create a more favourable business climate and to encourage companies to invest in Africa, which can help to spur economic development and create new jobs and opportunities.
Branding is crucial in shaping and enhancing Africa’s reputation and image on the global stage. Through effective brand management, Africa can promote its strengths, assets, and cultural diversity, counteract negative stereotypes, create a sense of unity and shared identity, and attract investment and promote economic growth.
To effectively manage Africa’s brand and reputation, we believe it is significant for us to engage in a comprehensive and well-coordinated effort that involves multiple stakeholders. This is the reason we reach out to the private sector, governments, civil society organisations to forge partnerships with us. By working together, we can ensure that the messaging being communicated about Africa is coherent and accurate.
And we believe we are fit for this task. We are experts in developing comprehensive brand strategies that outline the values, goals, and target audiences of the African region. This includes defining the key messages that are to be communicated, as well as the channels through which these messages will be disseminated. Our brand strategies take into account the specific needs and priorities of different stakeholders and are flexible enough to adapt to changing circumstances and emerging trends.
Content development, as part of our knowledge production effort, is our key competence as we know it’s the new gold. Indeed, besides believing content is king, we do know context is royalty. Our media outreach is unparalleled. We have strong strategic partnerships with media outlets, both within Africa and globally, to ensure that positive and accurate messages about the region and its products are being disseminated to the widest possible publics. This also involves leveraging social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, to reach younger and more digitally savvy audiences.
We also engage in a range of other activities to promote Africa’s brand and reputation, such as hosting conferences and events that showcase the region’s strengths and investment opportunities. We launched the Biashara Services and Products Africa (BiSPA) Conference and Exhibition in December 2020. Since then, we have hosted under this brand three annual conferences and seven quarterly seminars. We use these events to bring together key stakeholders from the private sector, government, and civil society to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the region, and to explore new ways of working together to promote economic growth and development.
In conclusion, effective brand management is essential in promoting a positive image and reputation of Africa, and in attracting investment and promoting economic growth. By working together, stakeholders can develop a comprehensive and well-coordinated effort to manage Africa’s brand and reputation, and to ensure that the region is being accurately and positively represented on the global stage.
Don’t settle for just any marketing agency – partner with the experts at Brandhill Africa™ for a truly comprehensive and effective approach to branding and successfully doing business in Africa.
Make that call.
Enjoy your weekend.
Saul Molobi (FCIM)
Publisher & Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Brandhill Africa™
Tel: +27 11 483 1019
Mobile: +27 83 635 7773
eMail: saul.molobi@brandhillafrica.com
Website: www.brandhillafrica.com
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