New minting for Gold Reef City

The entertainment complex also boasts a fresh pay-off line - “Pure Jozi, Pure Gold” - and new image creative for TV, cinema and billboards. The objective is to evoke a world where everything one touches turns to gold with winning moments, golden opportunities, and golden memories.

Says Steven Joffe, CEO of Gold Reef Resorts: “The launch of this new brand positioning marks a turning point in the Gold Reef City marketing strategy. The new Gold Reef City brand promises to deliver an exceptional entertainment experience that dazzles senses, touches hearts and stimulates minds. It revitalises the brand and transforms the image of the complex into a magnificent golden new entertainment destination.”

In the past, the Gold Reef City casino and theme park properties largely marketed themselves as separate but related properties. The new corporate image unites them under an umbrella brand and as a world-class entertainment destination that draws on the strengths of each property and the myriad experiences they offer.

Ad campaign

The new-look Gold Reef City was launched to the public through a television and cinema advertising campaign that began on 21 April. The TV and cinema spot was directed by Jason Xenopoulos, a prominent South African feature director who was responsible for films such as Critical Assignment and Promised Land.

The Gold Reef City commercial (60 seconds for TV, 90 seconds for cinema) is quintessential heart sell - it aims to ignite the spirit, warm the heart and heat up the senses. This destination commercial showcases the full extent of offerings in an entertaining way.

The story of the ad is one of golden moments that are captured by a photographer, who immortalises a series of memorable moments, from a bride tossing her bouquet at her wedding, through to a winner of a new car posing with his prize. Mango Groove, responsible for the ad's theme song Special Star, is featured on-stage at the Lyric Theatre at Gold City Casino in the advert's finale.

Like Gold Reef City, Mango Groove is an iconic South African brand with a fascinating history that has reinvented itself several times in its career to remain hip and relevant. Mango Groove is currently remixing and reworking ‘Special Star', a song that embodies Gold Reef City's new image and conveys the Jozi rush that the complex is all about.

“Mango Groove is more popular than ever,” says 94.7 Highveld Stereo DJ Mark Pilgrim. “The band played to a crowd of 15 000 at Joburg Day in 2007 and literally blew them away.” Pilgrim acted as independent contemporary music consultant and assisted in choosing the ad's theme song, Special Star.