PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN

After extensive planning, consultation and research, the Nedlac parties have agreed on a "Proudly South African" campaign to stimulate economic growth and job creation through increased demand for South African goods and services. Implementation of the campaign is due to begin in April. The campaign stems from the commitment by Nedlac constituencies in the Presidential Jobs Summit to a campaign of this nature.

The name "Proudly South African" has been chosen for a number of reasons. The campaign incorporates indicating local content to consumers as well as stimulating economic activity by shifting purchasing patterns. "Proudly South African" introduces the concept of pride reflected in the campaign's objectives, which inc:

§ Raising the awareness of the high quality and diversity of South African products and services, so as to encourage South Africans to "do their bit" for economic growth and employment;

§ Creating a premium "Proudly South African" brand, which will not only signify quality of design and performance, but also signify local content, fair labour standards and sound environmental practices;

§ Assisting South African organisations to raise their standards of quality, labour and environmental practices;

"Proudly South African" can also be used to denote services, as well as products. Consumers can be proud to buy a South African product, or use a South African service, whilst workers and companies can be proud suppliers of that produce or service. The campaign will further encourage South Africans to be proud of our labour and environmental practices.

The details of the campaign are being worked out through a Nedlac task team, on the basis of intensive research into the local market as well as benchmarking international experience. Kaiser Associates, an international strategy consultancy, has conducted consumer market research and canvassed the views of key stakeholders in South Africa, including business, labour, government and community groups. It has also identified world-class practices of similar campaigns in other countries, including Australia, the USA and Malaysia. It will now develop a comprehensive marketing and branding strategy in conjunction with #BBDO Berry Bush, an international advertising agency.

In order to ensure synergy between "Proudly South African" and other initiatives aimed at boosting the image of South Africa, the campaign team will work closely with all other South African branding initiatives, in particular export and investment branding through Trade and Investment South Africa (TISA), the International Marketing Council (IMC) and SATOUR.

It is proposed that the campaign will be funded by different groups of organisations - constituency sponsors, a few large company sponsors, and companies who become members of the campaign. To use the logo, companies would have to comply with membership criteria, including meeting certain labour and environmental standards. It is proposed that members would contribute a small percentage of revenue related to the sales of "Proudly South African" labelled goods. They would then benefit from the "Proudly South African" marketing campaign, as well as quality support from the "Proudly South African" organisation.