UB re-looking the logo
Baboki Kayawe | Wednesday November 13, 2013 16:25
At the moment, UB is running an online consultative forum through which the public are requested to indicate whether they prefer the old, or the current logo. Five years after the university re-branded, an exercise, which cost about P2 million, UB has just started engaging stakeholders on their current logo.
In an interview with Mmegi, the Director of Public Affairs, Mhitshane Reetsang said the purpose of this process was to inform the UB Council what the public thought of the logos.
Questioned why the institution was undertaking the logo perception audit now, when it was launched in August 2008, Reetsang said they are receiving feedback that 'some members of the public prefer one or the other of the logos associated with the university'
'The feedback will be presented to Council to guide management on the way forward,' she said.
Back then, she said the university saw the need to re-brand, and along with the re-branding, a need was seen to modify some features of the old logo. Consultation was done though some stakeholders still think it was not enough, according to Reetsang.
Sources inside UB stated that some stakeholders, including the Vice-Chancellor Professor Thabo Fako, did not favour the current logo. However, Reetsang said; 'There is pressure from stakeholders going both ways, those who prefer the old logo and from those who prefer the current logo. This then led to council to request management to consult stakeholders on the most preferred logo. The Vice Chancellor has not indicated his preference'.
Insiders revealed that another P2 million is required to finance the transformation to the founding logo, a decision the UB management denies being reached yet.
'The university is currently consulting on the logo, the decision of whether to replace it or not has not been reached. The decision will be made after taking into consideration all factors, including cost,' she said.
The current logo, designed by a company UB management identified only as Brand Leadership group was greeted by opposition from the alumni, stakeholders and the general public, while students harboured mixed feeling about this development. While other students felt it was youthful, very comprehensive and having all the features of the old logo, others felt it was not well defined and the famous criticism that it looked for like a marijuana leave.
Speaking at the launch on August 06 2008, the then Vice-Chancellor Bojosi Otlhogile said the new brand was expected to reposition UB to meet future challenges, possibilities and prospects as it grow, faces current and future competition in the tertiary education environment which, in Botswana, has been marked by phenomenal growth. 'In that sense, a brand is not a luxury but a necessity. It is what the University promises to its internal and external stakeholders and its customers in the delivery of varied services,' he stated.
Brand Manager, Ray Mangope said at the time that a perception audit was conducted 'a few years back' on the reputation of UB.
'We engaged the service of consultants from South Africa, the same people who branded University of South Africa, and the research informed us that we must re-brand,' Mangope said.
Responding to allegations of lack of consultation, Mangope said over a thousand of people were interviewed; students, staff, donors and the government. In addition, the new logo borrowed some elements from the previous logo, such as the horn, book and the sorghum crop.
'Let me point out that the previous logo was brilliant, for its time it did very well,' he said.
Unfortunately, he said, it dwelled much on the genesis of the institution. He said it did not concentrate on the visions of UB, and given the competition, there was a need for a new brand.
'The approach was that the logo should be abstract, and have more messages,' he said.
He was adamant that the current logo had not left out the 'bigger campaign of motho le motho kgomo'. The theme colour blue, represented the Botswana blue, as the University is a parastatal.
(Additional reporting from UB Horizon; August 2008 by Baboki Kayawe)