New look for Sanlam

The group partnered with the King James Group, on the strategic repositioning and creative execution of the refreshed brand, and MetropolitanRepublic on the design evolution of the corporate identity. A new television commercial that captures the new brand flighted on 15 June 2014.

Yegs Ramiah, chief executive of Sanlam Brand says, "Our new pay-off line, Wealthsmiths is a simple description of what we do and what we believe in. It represents our roll-up-your-sleeves, pragmatic approach to doing things, our ethos and our appreciation for the raw materials with which we work - our clients' money. We have a deep understanding that wealth does not come easy - it comes from hard work and dedication and we take our role in this process extremely seriously."

Back to single brand

Another aspect of the brand refresh is the use of one flagship brand across the board. "Our previous brand strategy was centred on the building of an entrepreneurial culture. It included the use of sub-brands for individual business units so that they could flourish in their own right. This strategy was exactly what the group needed at the time and has led to standout performance across the board. But the time is now ripe to revert to a single, strong brand to communicate our offering in a simpler and more unified way."

She says the simplified brand architecture will help create one strong identity. "We will now go to market with a set number of expertise fields: insurance, financial planning, investments, retirement and wealth. This will make it easier for consumers to navigate the business and allow us to demonstrate the breadth of the group's offering."

The new logo is an updated version of the previous logo, first adopted in 1973. "Our research indicated that the logo had a lot of equity associated with it, so instead of replacing it, we rejuvenated it to a more contemporary look to resonate better with today's clients. The protective hands of financial expertise represent shielding the world of our clients; the pointed fingers represent powerful growth and the solid base, stability."

View the TVC