totallyMAd – The Blog

Vodacom says ‘Yebo Gogo’ to Vodafone

Seems that making a splash in the media is where it’s at for cell phone networks in South Africa lately. I’m sure I don’t have to mention Cell C’s rebrand again, and what about the recent launch of Red Bull Mobile?

Perhaps it’s something to do with the fact that, as CEO of aquaonline, Brent Shahim,explains, “the market is saturated with 48-million or 50-million numbers out there, more than the population,” so network providers need to look to other avenues to remain competitive in the market. Sure, that has to come down to service delivery, affordability and features such as the ability to browse online effectively, but apparently it also involves renewing their image.

The latest to jump on the rebranding bandwagon is Vodacom. Plans to refresh its brand and marketing image with a new or at least ‘tweaked’ corporate logo and identity were first announced in November last year, but according to MyBroadband, these plans will be put in place at the beginning of next month.

And, just as Cell C dropped its white background and red lettering for a bolder black on white/ white on black incorporating the colours of our national flag, it looks like Vodacom is also set to drop its iconic blue and green logo in favour of its parent company, Vodafone’s red inverted comma logo and white text.

I have to admit, when I first saw the mock-up of what the logo might look like, I almost reeled in horror – I mean, the original logo is part of South Africa’s marketing landscape and is recognisable to everyone. My immediate thought was, “They’ll have to seriously rebrand Vodaworld!”

But thinking about it (and let’s be clear here, just what the new branding will be is pure speculation at this point), in reality the Vodafone branding is already quite a significant part of the Vodacom brand – my colleague just got a BlackBerry on a Vodacom contract and the screen display is certainly not green and blue, but rather that fiery red. After all, Vodafone now owns 65% of Vodafone, while Telkom (ostensibly where the green and blue originated from) is no longer a stakeholder, so it’s what you’d expect, isn’t it? On top of this, I for one don’t really understand what it is that distinguishes Vodafone and Vodacom, or where they work together, so perhaps solidifying the partnership makes sense in that it will be clearer that they’re one and the same, or at the least that one is an off-shoot of the other.

In any case, get ready for the marketing campaign heading our way in April – 1 April is said to be the official launch date, with the brand planning to make use of the Sunday papers on 3 April as a launch platform – and whatever the new branding and brand identity is, it will certainly be more Vodafone-centric, according to Vodacom CEO, Pieter Uys.

A long way from the days of ‘Yebo Gogo’… and I wonder just how the Blue Bulls will feel about being sponsored by a red brand?