Absa's brand journey

It is therefore not surprising that the banking group, listed as Barclays Africa on the JSE since the beginning of August 2013, recently announced that the Absa brand will for the time being retain the use of the Absa name and brand in its South African branch network. The Barclays brand is however steadily starting to replace the red of the Absa brand as seen in the rebranding of the erstwhile Absa Johannesburg head office to Barclays Africa. All financial products and services aimed at the African market will in future also be rolled out under the Barclays Africa banner.

The Absa Group's recent acquisition of an R18.3 billion share of the Barclays African business is said to include an additional 1,500 outlets and over 10, 000 Barclays Africa bank machines in ten additional African countries. It includes Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Importance of brand and brand management

Although arguably relatively young, having only been adopted in the late 90s, Absa's success as one of the country's leading brands significantly demonstrates the importance of brand and brand management.

Established in 1991 through a merger of smaller banks, the bank initially enjoyed no individual brand recognition. It was only in 1998 that a strategy of brand reinvention was introduced - initially targeting existing customers.

As one of the big four consumer banks in South Africa, the introduction of the colour red made it prominent and differentiated it from its three main competitors.

Absa branches were transformed with a modern and youthful look. The red Absa logo prominently was displayed on building facades, in the media and on television. Absa offered free internet and email access, as well as competitive interest rates for first-time house buyers - all measures taken with the youth in mind.

The strategy was further revealed in the line "our product is our people", the idea being that the attitude of staff members has a direct impact on public perception. Employees and their spouses had the opportunity to meet senior management, participate in road shows and branding sessions. Striking new staff uniforms were also introduced.

Growth of a business

At the time, Absa shifted the focus of its sponsorship activities to sports events and charities. To this day, the bank remains one of the leading sports enthusiasts in South Africa - sponsoring the national football team Bafana Bafana and the national rugby team the Springboks. Needless to say, by virtue of this persistent and prominent effort, Absa today enjoys 95% brand recognition amongst South Africans and was ranked among the top three retail banks for the seventh year in a row in the 2013 Sunday Times Top Brands survey.

The Absa brand story clearly demonstrates that the introduction, and reinvention of a known brand, is inextricably linked to the growth of a business. While reasons for not extending the Absa brand into Africa have not been disclosed as yet, it would be fair to say that the success of the Absa brand in South Africa is why it will remain unchanged in this particular territory - at least for now.

Apple Inc. and the hotel chain City Lodge Hotels - comprising The Courtyard Hotel, Road Lodge, Town Lodge and City Lodge - are two other examples of a brand and logo refresh exercise. City Lodge Hotels recently announced that it would adopt a fresh and uncluttered look to distinguish itself from its competitors. In 2007, Apple Computers changed to Apple Inc., subsequently introducing the innovative Apple Mac, iPod, iTunes, iPad and iPhone - all prime examples of convincing brand reinvention.