NATIONAL STRATEGIES

World Cup glory-hunter

‘SOUTH AFRICA‘

South Africa’s International Marketing Council’s chief executive, Paul Bannister explains to Josh Colley why ‘pride and responsibility’ are two words that gauge the mood in South Africa as it readies itself to become the fi rst African nation to host the FIFA World Cup later this year.

Paul Bannister

South Africa’s International Marketing Council’s chief executive

Speaking to South Africa’s International Marketing Council’s chief executive Paul Bannister encourages the feeling that the country is ready to take another step forward in establishing its identity. “Staging our fi rst democratic elections in 1994 was a massive positive. I believe 2010 will surprise the world in its effi ciency and eff ectiveness to become another defi ning moment,” he says. “It’s all about delivery. We need to surprise the world with a vibrant World Cup.” Bannister is hopeful that the event will help shift the perception of the African continent as one entity. Questions were raised about safety following the attack of Togo’s team bus on the Angolan border during the African Cup of Nations, even though Angola is the same distance from South Africa as London is from Moscow. “There’s a degree of ignorance and

one of the things the World Cup will do is open up world thinking to the potential of Africa,” he says. “Yes, there are stereotypical situations and dictators in Africa but people thought the same about China 20 years ago. Africa is almost the world’s last economic frontier with 900 million people. The potential far outweighs the problems.” South Africa’s role on the world stage

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is continually growing. Its fi nancial services rank among the world’s top fi ve, it is present on the G20 and it sits with

Brazil, India and China on the newly formed climate change union BASIC. Now Brand South Africa plans to capitalise on World Cup exposure with a two-part strategy. The pre-tournament focus is a domestic one, with a ‘Fly the Flag’ initiative to instill respect for national symbols, while ‘Football Friday’ encourages people to wear a football shirt and consider how they can help host a successful event. Event marketing is driven by the FIFA

organising committee, but the hosts are keen to do their bit as they are using it as a ‘proof point’ to build from. South Africa becomes one of the fi rst

nations to introduce a new national logo at the event that will then be used in all subsequent marketing. “Post World Cup it’s all about international repositioning and relaunch,” says Bannister. Pan- African projects, including improving Southern African road, rail, water and telecoms networks, are a vital part of this. There are always risks to hosting

an event of this scale and Vancouver’s performance as host of the Winter Olympics was not without criticism. “Nevertheless, they did a good job of selling Vancouver as a destination,” says Bannister, hoping to emulate its success. South Africa tourism topped 9.9m in 2009; the World Cup will boost that to over 10m. Beyond the pitch, its goal is to keep that momentum going. ○

■ SPREADING THE WORD

South Africa Tourism has run a three-year campaign in partnership with Eurosport, on the road to the World Cup, targeting potential visitors from Europe and Africa. The fi nal stage ran at the end of last year featuring three 60-second ads and three mini destination features. This was accompanied by digital elements. The campaign aims to portray that the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be different from anything the world has experienced.

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At launch Roshene Singh, chief marketing offi cer at South African Tourism said: “This campaign refl ects the soul of our people as well as our country’s absolute determination to succeed. She added: “It’s very important for our industry that 2010 fulfi lls its role as a destination positioning platform for our destination. Boosted arrivals from Europe must be identifi ed as one of 2010’s most important legacies for our destination and our industry.”

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■ BUILDING THE BRAND

Key moments in history

1910: Right wing separatists

introduce a number of laws separating black and white South Africans 1991-1993: Apartheid is abolished in the country following a series of measures

April 1994: Nelson Mandela’s

African National Party swept to victory in the country’s fi rst universally democratic elections June 1995: South Africa hosts its

fi rst Rugby World Cup and triumphs beating New Zealand in the fi nal May 2004: Becomes fi rst African country to be awarded hosting rights for the FIFA World Cup Jan 2010: Hollywood fi lm ‘Invictus’ is released. It charts the country’s Rugby World Cup win in 1995 and the political implications June 2010: South Africa hosts a

FIFA World Cup for the fi rst time on the continent

South Africa

score card

$125.7bn Incoming FDI $65.1bn FDI Abroad

8.4% (of GDP)

2008 Tourism Spend

-1.9% GDP growth

Key brands Standard Bank,

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