To many, the name Edson Arantes do Nascimento probably means nothing but mention ‘Pele’ and anyone will immediately visualize the Brazilian soccer legend. So indeed there is a lot in a name and that is why people and orgnaisations are very particular about their identities.
A name is a very significant element of a brand and when an organisation changes its name, alongside other related aspects like colors and emblem, it has effected total rebranding.
That is what MG Properties, formerly Pam Golding, did. The Business Diary was following the, now completed, rebranding project very closely and had a very informative discussion with Mpho Moremong-Gobe, the Managing Director of MG Properties, last month to understand all the details and philosophy behind the brand transformation.
“It was an opportunity for us to create a whole new identity by totally reinventing our company in order to project a much more enhanced image to our clientele and stakeholders,” advised Moremong-Gobe before going on to unpack the details and their intrinsic implications.
“From inception, the logo was inspired by Botswana’s culture as well as the quest to showcase the initiative of a Motswana woman successful in her own right,” she expressed.
And Moremong-Gobe does not have to apologize for appreciating how far she has come. She is a woman of no mean achievement and has had the great fortune of being early, as a member of the fairer gender in her field.
She has exceptionally distinguished herself as the first ever Motswana woman Chartered Surveyor and first ever lady Chairperson of the Board of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Botswana since 2004 to date.
Over the past 14 years in the property profession Moremong-Gobe has sat on several boards as Chairperson for the Real Estate Advisory Council and Gaborone City Council Adjudication Committee, Vice Chairperson of the Real Institute of Botswana, and member of the Labour Advisory Council, the Tertiary Education Council and Botswana International University of Science & Technology (BIUST).
She attributes these and other accomplishments, to a defiant disposition in pursuit of success, an ardent desire for achievement and a lofty status. These same factors inspired the company logo designed to appeal and reiterate the credibility of both Moremong-Gobe and her organisation.
The letters ‘MG’ in MG Properties are an abbreviation of Moremong-Gobe, two very important names in Mpho’s life, her maiden married names. Automatically the new company name carries a lot of history traceable through two lineages – a fundamental aspect of culture – and gender empowerment which seeks to arrest the symbolic annihilation of womenfolk in a patriarchal society.,
“I believe in the empowerment of women and consciously took a stand in creating an entity that I am passionate about,” she said.
Moremong-Gobe further manifestation of her conviction for women’s cause is imbedded in the design of the new company emblem, an icon inspired by the shapes and color swatches found in woven baskets from Botswana and the region.
“Traditionally, these baskets are a means of storage used to hold harvested grain as well as other foodstuffs and crop seeds and metaphorically they mimic the function of MG Properties.”
The new brand communicates in two distinct colors.
“Green denotes nature and wealth creation through investment, and symbolizes growth. It suggests our established strengths of stability and endurance from which our clientele can derive peace of mind.”
The accompanying white contrast symbolizes perfection in delivery of service and compliments the green as a color of safety.
“Both colors assure clients of prudent management of their investments to their desired benefit.”
Times New Roman font was preferred for legibility and easy identification and is bold for both visibility and clarity on the type of business MG Properties is engaged in.
The hard hitting tagline, “Your space, our expertise” is value laden, summing up MG Properties’ core business of management, sales, valuation and rental of clients’ property, to their respective tastes and budgets.
The aspect of ‘expertise’ is not an exaggeration, considering Mpho’s aforementioned remarkable CV. And if that is not enough, her work bears testimony.
It includes such notable projects in Botswana as, Riverwalk Shopping Centre, Hanover, BDC head office and Carramba Industrial Estate.
Her clientele includes Standard Chartered Bank Botswana, FNBB, Debswana, Debswana Pension Fund, BDC, Botswana Insurance Fund Managers, Stanbic and Barclays banks, Botswana Power Corporation, LEA and MVA Fund.
“MG Properties has developed an innovative marketing strategy to ensure cutting edge principles of corporate governance structures and processes are strictly adhered to,” emphasized Mpho.
Moremong-Gobe co-directs MG Properties with her husband, Ketlhaotswe Gobe.
She holds a BSc (Hons) in Estate Management from Oxford Brookes University (UK) and an MBA from the University of North West (RSA) in conjunction with University of Liverpool (UK).
