Vodacom is red

Vodacom is red

When a primary brand in the minds of almost every South African consumer does a brand changeover, we can expect a streamlined and well orchestrated exercise. And that is exactly what Vodacom has (is) given(ing) us.




I'm not too bothered with it and am already finding my frame of reference becoming accustomed to the red branding as opposed to the blue and green that they have sported since, well since I can remember.

BUT that is as a consumer. As a lover of all things ‘brand’ my mind is ticking overtime and wondering why?? Why did I find it so easy to associate Vodacom with RED so quickly?

Is it because the Vodafone icon and red background is not unfamiliar to the South African market? Because Vodacom has used their family of characters that we have come to know and love through their iconic branding such as Mo the Meerkat, our friend Michael de Pinna, the oily baldy with leopard speedo and his partner Malume Bankole Omotso, or their upgrades (excuse the pun) old Jan and Elton. Or is it because it is so plain and simple?

I recall when Cell C went through the same rebranding exercise and I am still struggling to understand what actually happened there. From the red dots forming a C to the c that looks like a copyright sign and bars of primary colours.

Maybe the Cell C brand wasn't as well established to start out with and include in the roll out the introduction of yet more unfamiliarity in the form of a 'Consumer Experience Officer' aka Trevor Noah, who to my knowledge knows nothing about cellphone networks and you will have to do some fancy footwork to make Joe Public believe you.

Approaching the mammoth task of doing a [brand] changeover will never be easy. What I would like to say though is well done Vodacom. Well done for keeping it plain and simple, not cluttering it up and making us confused. But for keeping it as basic as a colour and using symbols that we have come to know and love.

I wish you every success with the new branding and hope that red will indeed be faster and hotter!