Top FNB marketer seconded to 2010 OC

“It's not often in your life that you get the chance to be involved with something great and joining the Organising Committee gives me that opportunity. I am grateful to the bank and to the Organising Committee for having confidence in me to do this job. I am looking forward to doing it justice, for the country, the continent and the game,” commented Carstens on his appointment, effective 1 September.

“With the draw for the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 taking place on November 22 2008 and ticket sales for the Confederations Cup going on sale the day thereafter, we will certainly be ramping up our marketing efforts,” said Dr Danny Jordaan, OC CEO.

“Derek, who is one of South Africa's leading marketers, will be critical to that process. So we welcome him on board and look forward to him making a valuable contribution to the Organising Committee's marketing efforts. Derek has worked closely with our team through the bidding and the hosting phase, and is ideally placed to drive our integrated marketing campaign.”

Marketing strategist par excellence

FNB CEO Michael Jordaan described Carstens as a marketing strategist par excellence: “We at FNB are delighted to second a person of Derek's strategic dexterity to the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee as another contribution by FNB to help South Africa successfully stage this event. His move to the LOC is an extension of FNB's nation-building activities, which include the HomeComing Revolution, the SA The Good News and our backing of the 2006 and 2010 World Cup bids.”

Carstens has vast experience in advertising spanning 20 years, having pioneered and executed successful marketing campaigns - predominantly with Ogilvy & Mather in South Africa, London, Sydney and Chicago. He later joined FirstRand as brand director to look after such brands as FNB, RMB, WesBank and Momentum. He was the brains behind FNB's “How Can We Help You” positioning strategy, which has elevated FNB to the centre stage of top South Africans brands.

As a member of the OC, his job is to craft and implement a comprehensive marketing strategy for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, building on the successes achieved so far to address some misconceptions about SA's ability to stage the world soccer event.

No novice

Carstens is no novice in the football scene, having played a strategic role in South Africa's 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup bids - both of which FNB backed by pumping a total of R33 million in support of the Bid Committee's efforts to secure SA's rights to host the soccer spectacular.

At FNB he chairs the 2010 Steering Committee, with ultimate responsibility to maximise the bank's investment as the Official National Supporter of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Under his FNB 2010 leadership, the bank has launched the “Proudly Helping South Africa Shine” campaign, which is contributing to raising awareness about the country's readiness to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Other initiatives include the 16 000 ticket promotion, which gives FNB customers the opportunity to win FIFA World Cup tickets, the Artificial Pitches for 2010 programme, which has already seen pitches installed in Pietermaritzburg and Umtata, Shine 2010 Portal (www.shine2010.co.za), FNB's Airport Countdown Clocks and the Countdown 2010 Television Show on SABC 1 to name just a few.

Dr Irvin Khoza, OC chairman, said: “Derek is a fantastic source of ideas and enthusiasm. He has long been one of the most fervent and vocal supporters of our cause and we are extremely grateful to FNB for allowing him to bring his expertise and experience to our team.”

Carstens will return to his position in the banking group after the 2010 FIFA World Cup. “I leave behind a strong and competent FNB 2010 team whose hard work has enabled me to take on this new challenge,” he said.

Other appointments

Carstens joins IT&T chief officer Phumlani Moholi and transport and logistics chief officer Skhumbuzo Macozoma, who have both also recently joined the OC's senior executive management. Macozoma hails from the national Department of Transport, while Moholi joined the OC from one of the FIFA World Cup commercial affiliates, MTN.

The OC's Leslie Sedibe has also been promoted to the head of the legal department, which also includes the very important aspect of ticketing.

While Macozoma is responsible for the key transport function, his OC responsibilities also include accommodation, hospitality and event logistics for the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 and 2010 FIFA World Cup. At the briefing yesterday, Macozoma noted that the new central terminal at the OR Tambo International Airport opened this week, as SA's main airport gears up to handle 25-million annual passengers by 2010. He added that the SA government was spending R13.6 billion on World Cup-related transport projects - “a level of investment that's never been seen before” and that the country's World Cup transport plans were proceeding well.

Moholi is responsible for the OC's IT-related FIFA World Cup requirements, including telecommunications and the IT set-up at Nasrec of the International Broadcast Centre, which will be the headquarters of the world's broadcast media in 2010.