Tsogo Sun

Southern Sun, previously the umbrella brand for the hotel division of Tsogo Sun Holdings and Tsogo Sun Gaming, the group's casino and entertainment division, have been incorporated into the Tsogo Sun identity, unifying the company under one name and logo. Southern Sun will, however, remain as a hotel brand for premier hotels within the portfolio of brands.Tsogo Sun Holdings made the announcement of the consolidation of its operating divisions under one name, with one identity and one clear vision under the Tsogo Sun brand at a launch on 18 April 2012.

Acquainted with the names Montecasino, Suncoast, Gold Reef City, Silverstar Casino, Beverly Hills Hotel, Southern Sun, Garden Court, StayEasy, Formula One and Sandton Sun, few realise that these brands are all part of the same company that occupies the position of the largest listed company in the hotel and tourism sector, with a market cap of around R20 billion.

New vision

"Our scale has changed and we now have a distribution of casino and hotel products that touches many thousands of consumers' lives every day through our 14 casinos, 95 hotels, and related restaurant and entertainment offerings. Our portfolio enables us to achieve our aim of providing the greatest variety of quality hospitality, entertainment and leisure experiences," says Marcel von Aulock, CEO of Tsogo Sun.

Its new vision for this diverse large-scale hotel, casino and entertainment offering is clear and all encompassing - 'Experiences shape your life - Escape to ours' - and is a goal that every employee can strive to offer every guest they come into contact with.

Elaborating on its vision, Von Aulock added, "Our guests are people who choose to spend their time with us, whether they are on leisure or business, alone or with family, friends or colleagues, far from home or just down the road."

According to Rob Collins, chief marketing officer of Tsogo Sun, the company is embarking on a campaign to profile itself correctly. "This will enable us to fully leverage and properly position our key intangible assets, namely our brands, under the proudly South African brand."

New logo

Collins explains, "The name Tsogo Sun is unique. Tsogo in Setswana means resurrection or new life, a term that mimics the daily rising of the sun. In line with the strength of this name, we have developed a group identity that will create a clear understanding of who we are and what we do as a group. The new logo, comprising the Tsogo name and the Sunburst insignia taken from the historical Southern Sun logo, visually accentuates the company's strength, variety, presence and footprint and represents a uniquely African identity that is steeped in heritage.

"We rise each day to shine and brighten up people's lives and we pride ourselves on the energy and passion with which our people approach every interaction with our guests. This is the essence of what we want to convey in our new corporate identity and positioning campaign," says Collins.

Von Aulock concludes, "We believe we are now in a position to profile our company accurately. We believe that the name, combined with the logo, will give us the best possible positioning from which to communicate and activate our vision - 'Life is about experiences - escape to ours'".

For more, go to www.tsogosun.com.

(Chanzo chetu)