New marketing team for Proudly South African

Proudly South African campaign is delighted to announce three new additions to their marketing team - Robert Mafuna, Melanie Leloup and Zweli Mnisi.

In expanding on the success of the first phase of the initiative, to grow awareness of the Proudly South African logo, Proudly South African's 2004 mission is to ensure that the "Buy South African" message impacts more sectors, regions, industries, and, most importantly, more South Africans. The new members will beef up the marketing team to increase and drive forward Proudly South African's goals, to stimulate the country's economic growth and create conditions that increase employment.

Robert Mafuna joins the team as Member Marketing Senior Executive and will oversee all member marketing support activity. Mafuna has an extensive background in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods industry and his training has developed from a wholly black-owned Research and Consulting house, Africa Now. He also boasts hands-on experience in the strategy-consulting field from within the same organisation. Mafuna brings with him wide knowledge and experience in brand development, product channel distribution and export within the African continent. Mafuna is looking forward to the challenges of his new role and says, "By Implementing and enhancing the sector- based benefit strategies for members, I hope to bring new strength and development to the campaign, both for members and South Africans alike."

Melanie Leloup joins Proudly South African as Brand Executive. With broad experience in both PR and Marketing in the non-profit sector as well as the Media and Advertising industry, Leloup will be responsible for brand development and implementation. She started her PR career with NICRO Durban (National Institute for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of Offenders), working mainly with youth. Leloup's experience places her in an excellent position to assist Proudly South African in reaching the youth of South Africa. She says, "I believe there are great opportunities in both the lower LSM and the youth markets of South Africa and it's on these areas that I look forward to focusing."

Zweli Mnisi signs up with the team as Media Executive. With extensive experience as a Communications Officer in both government and private sectors, Mnisi began his career with the National Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, where he implemented the Department's major awareness projects. Most recently, as part of his role as Corporate Communications Specialist for Old Mutual, Mnisi has co-driven campaigns in support of sponsored charitable organisations. He looks forward to bringing his wealth of communication experience to Proudly South African, and says "While the campaign has largely been visible in urban and metropolitan areas, the challenge is to now focus on the remote and rural areas of our country. I intend to ensure that the campaign positively impacts these sectors." Mnisi also intends to strengthen relationships with the media and other vital role-players such as the Government Communication and Information Systems, and in the process, sensitise the international media about Proudly South African.