The new brand aims to encourage all three primary stakeholder groups and seeks to galvanise associated entities responsible for the province's communication –the Mpumalanga Provincial Government, the Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA) and the Mpumalanga Tourism and Park Agency (MTPA) – and the private sector under a single brand positioning.
The new brand connects with the growth sectors of the provincial economy, which are tourism, investments in forestry, petrochemical industries, agriculture and agro-processing amongst others.
According to the premier, an effective branding strategy will enable the public and private sector to develop and communicate a consistent set of messages that attract the target audience, and create confidence in what the brand represents with respect to delivery promise, credibility, and expectation of performance. He added that the new brand represents a mark of integrity and reputation that government is offering the public.
Explaining the new pay-off-line, (Mpumalanga-A Pioneering Spirit), Makwetla emphasised that Mpumalanga represents a spirit of people who have historically displayed the capacity to think big as demonstrated through, among others, the late 1880s gold rush in Barberton and early conservation movements that led to the establishment of the Kruger National Park in 1828.
According to Makwetla, Mpumalanga's history places it as a place of firsts. It is a place where life on earth began. It is a place of numerous Kingdoms and many frontiers. The ‘can-do' and giving character of its people have fuelled an entrepreneurial spirit and a pioneering history that can also be found in the beauty of the place.
The province seeks a positioning that can motivate current and potential citizens to continue being proudly Mpumalanga and investors and tourists to consider it as a destination for business and leisure.
The province has appointed a coterie of pre-eminent ambassadors for Brand Mpumalanga who agreed to take part in a promotional audio visual. These include musicians Ray Phiri of the Stimela fame, Gospel star Rebecca Malope and legendary Mirriam Makeba, and business leaders Lot Ndlovu, Dave Martin, Jan Labuschagne, Jeremy van Niekerk and Dr Bandile Mkhize, amongst others.
The second part of the Ambassador programme will create a medium for Brand Mpumalanga to facilitate the creation of brand ambassadors within the province. These are individuals who will be taught to fully understand and express what the province stands for, its economic strengths and key attractions.
The Brand Ambassador programme is an important channel between Brand Mpumalanga and its ordinary citizens, transmitting knowledge about the brand and assists in building a familiar rapport of the province at an institutional level and at an individual level.
In conclusion Makwetla said, “We want to visit and interact with Mpumalanga to have an experience of our energy, dedication and excellence that government is able to offer. Our communities must also be the first to experience a better life through a connection with the new brand.”
Correction 12 Decembemer 2007: The brand was designed by Global Interface. Artist Esther Mahlangu did an oil painting interpretation of the logo which was given to premier Thabang Makwetla as a gift.
