Bedia To launch brand Botswana campaign

PATRICIA MAGANU
Staff Writer | Monday November 15, 2010 00:00

The brand was launched around April this year. Deputy Director for Brand Botswana, Ludo Mokotedi, says one initiative that aims at attaining the objective of galvanising Batswana around a single identity and instilling pride in them is the upcoming rollout of the Brand Botswana public education campaign.

'We are targeting a total of 90 locations with emphasis being placed on those areas that have limited access to the mass media,' she said. 'Some of the locations are Moiyabana, Gobajango, Matshelagabedi and Sepopa.'

Mokotedi says the idea is to give Batswana a clear understanding of what the national identity programme aims to achieve, how they can contribute to its success and to educate the public on some of the elements of Brand Botswana such as the logo and the tagline.

She says the official launch will take place on November 26 at the Gaborone Bus Rank and that President Ian Khama will perform the official launch.

The objectives of the national identity programme are also to galvanise Batswna around a single identity, to stimulate stronger communities, and to 'instil a greater sense of pride in our country,' she says.

It also aims to position Botswana to international audiences as an attractive place to visit, work and invest in by highlighting Botswana's national assets.

Mokotedi says BEDIA is charged with the responsibility of managing the national identity programme. This entails protection and management of the brand logo.

'We have developed brand management processes, brand user guidelines and a document called Brand Expression Platform that guides how we represent the country by looking at the country values, for instance,' she adds. 'We encourage the use of the 'Pride Mark' for activities, products or initiatives that work to instil pride in Batswana.' Mokotedi says Batswana are allowed to apply to put the brand on their goods.  

'It is a symbol of commitment by an individual or group of Batswana to instil pride in the community,' she says.

'Each activity or product that carries the mark must clearly support the essence of Brand Botswana, deliver positive social outcomes and demonstrate the values of being peaceful, progressive, trustworthy and inclusive. 'Each application to use the mark will be required to show how the proposed product, activity or project actively supports each of the values.'

The brand has experienced problems right from the beginning when authorities would not accept it was too complicated to understand. After being reviewed and remodelled, the new brand finds itself embroiled in issues of plagiarism.