From FIXER~UPPER to

a 1,250% increase
in company value in 12 years

Bought 2002 - N$2million - acquired 2014 - N$25million

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How we identified the potential of a fixer-upper company,

 repositioning it as a legacy African brand 

and claimed market leader position.

If like an old house, a company’s brand identity dates and decays

it will not be able to satisfy lifestyles needs of new markets…

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In this position a company will find it difficult to convey excellence, reach sales or equity potential and may be vulnerable to competitive threats which

could squeeze them out of the market.

 

In 2002 NEO Paints Namibia, found itself all but squeezed out of the

market by international brands and more on the horizon.

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We set about implementing a turnaround strategy in time to hedge

competitors, entrench the company's position and invigorate the entire sector

by adding excellence at every touchpoint.

 

We created the game changing dripping egg motif,

 using the uniquely Namibian icon of ostrich eggs to firmly stake

the company's claim as a proudly Namibian brand.

 

The image, displayed on billboards and vehicles across the country, succeeded in disrupting the paint eco-system in the region, with former Namibian President Hifikapunye Pohamba admitting to having a poster of the dripping eggs

on the wall of his chamber of office!

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An unwieldy corporate identity, neglected for decades is no foundation on which to build a legacy. Yet we believe strongly that every care must be taken to preserve and retain the relationship that stakeholders have with existing marks, applying a systematic approach to sharpening, polishing and extracting value rather than demolishing.

 

Brand architecture of over 200 packaging vehicles followed, with the intention that the company was not selling paint, but the promise of enhanced lifestyles.

 

The packaging we designed was crafted to be reminiscent of wallpaper, featuring wildlife motifs beloved by the Namibian public - the rhino, gemsbok and zebra. Implementation of the new packaging, labelling and display systems saw sales increase from day one and year on year. 

 

Key to customer loyalty was the development of colour ranges designed to incorporate global colour trends sensitively within Namibian environments, suburbs and commercial precincts.

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Team building, promotions, outreach and community sponsorships such as schools, Miss Namibia pageants and sporting events, entrenched the brand as Namibia's best~loved paint brand, which has since been acquired in a empowerment deal of which one of the stakeholders is current President Hage Geingob's wife, Monica Geingos.

The case study shows that with regular brand custodianship, a company can show a better return than a property investment of the same value.