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New Botswana brand launched
25-04-2010
The New Botswana Brand has been launched following a request in 2009
that the nation's brand be re-examined as it was thought not to speak
of the aspirations of Batswana.
Speaking at the official launch ceremony of the new brand, the Minister
of Trade and Industry, Dorcas Makgato Malesu, said, “Botswana has a lot
to offer the world and needed to be branded and have a consistent
message about who we are, what we stand for, what our offer to the
world is and how we add value to the global community.”
She said the world has become smaller due to the influence of
technology and other advancements thus there is a growing need for
Countries to continuously compete and differentiate themselves in the
global market. Countries have to compete for resources in areas such as
tourism, foreign direct investment, promoting culture and heritage to
the world.
She said the underlying principle for developing the national brand was
“to create a visual representation of who we are”. As a state, the
brand is therefore about capturing the essence of Batswana and Botswana
and repositioning the country locally and globally.
Malesu said that during the process of review of the original brand and
taking into consideration all the feedback, it became clear that the
brand logo was appropriate and representative of what needed to be
communicated with the brand.
A lot of discomfort was with the strap line, which the public found to
be too long convoluted, tongue twisting and not representative of
Batswana and their aspirations.
The brand was officially launched with the tagline “opportunity and tranquility beckon”.
The brand has undergone a progression and evolutionary concept of branding a nation.Speaking at the occasion, the Chief Executive Officer of BEDIA, Jacob
Nkate, highlighted that the launch marks a vital milestone in brand
Botswana project. He said BEDIA, as custodians of the brand, will
produce policies, procedures and guidelines for the use of the brand.
Nkate commended the contribution that the public and other bodies had
made in structuring the brand and the valuable input from all
stakeholders, which “helped shape the way forward for the country and
reflects what we are capable of when united in purpose”.
The new brand has three key Botswana values, which are tranquility, home grown, and work well.
It tells about the experience of living studying, working, visiting or
doing business in the country. The Botswana logo represents the visual
identity and is made up of two elements, the lettering and the symbol.
A new, fresh and authentic typeface was developed for the brand and it uses one of Botswana national colours, blue.
The sun symbolizes a source of energy, progress, growth, new dawn and
beginning; the green colour represents tourism, growth and the lush
environment found in some parts of the country.
Brown earth colours represent much of the semi arid Botswana
landscapes, while the black colour is represented in the national flag
and, when placed next to the white colour, represents racial harmony.
The blue colour is prominent on the national flag and represents rain
and prosperity for all. The blue, black and white pattern represents
Botswana’s national pride, the Zebra, which is also on the court of
arms.
The colour yellow represents the sun and is one of the main elements of the logo, representing optimism and positivity.
Malesu encouraged Batswana to cherish the brand and hold it in high
esteem at all times, by bringing the brand to life through “striving to
represent the positive aspects of our country in everything we do, be
it when engaging with tourists or potential investors”.
by NGONIDZASHE DZIMIRI
Sunday Standard
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