The chief executive of SAFA – a lawyer as I recall – was surprised to be asked what the Bafana brand was worth today, going on to say: 'he had never really applied his mind to this issue.' So why is he there? This comedy of errors augurs very badly for the future, not just of Bafana Bafana the brand, but also of the team and ultimately the 2010 World Cup itself.
Firstly I would suggest a Chief Executive of substance, as with Sepp Blatter, needs to take control of SAFA. That obviously is not happening. Second, the commercial aspects should have been put in place when Bafana was first launched some 14 years ago.
Certainly when South Africa won the 2010 bid, which is over two years ago this should have been reviewed. A very obvious first step. Thirdly, for a brand to have value it has to have many functional and emotional benefits for all, a totally integrated experience, but it has to win consistently.
To go through the two main books on South African brands: Brands & Branding and Superbrands, you would never realize we live in a sport mad country. In fact the only sport brand I could find was Kaizer Chiefs, doing an excellent job of brand building. Just think for a minute of the concept that a brand is an asset, often the most valuable asset, of a company.
If you accept that concept, and the fact that brands are extremely big business, a question needs to be asked: why is that most valuable asset not being managed and nurturedprofessionally. If you or I owned an asset worth R1 million, I think it's a safe bet that we would take very good care of it. Yet at SAFA they own a brand that may or may not be worth upwards of R200 million, that nobody seems to care about! Nor have the powers that be applied their minds to the subject.
marketing@alchempro.com
