Brand Engineers launches in Africa

The four established companies involved in the initiative are large-format digital printer, Tone Digital; venue signage and exhibition specialist, Icon; corporate signage and branding company, Identity; and event branding team, 360X.

According to Stockdale, Brand Engineers was created to provide marketers with a single point of contact that would deliver a consistent brand image across all their marketing communication throughout Africa.

Meeting clients needs

"Over the years, these four companies have consistently delivered best-of-breed solutions for their clients in South Africa as well as in other countries on the continent," he said.

"However, as the global recession bit into clients' budgets, it became increasingly obvious that they were missing the opportunity to do more business because they couldn't, as standalone specialist entities, meet clients' most pressing needs of more competitive pricing, access to a broader range of products and services, and a single point of entry into Africa.

"Combining their different skills sets and partnering with established printers and signage experts on the continent to form Brand Engineers, however, does.

"As a networked entity, they are able to achieve greater economies of scale and factor these into their budgets, offer clients a comprehensive range of marketing and branding solutions, and provide one point of contact to deliver these solutions regardless of the technical skills required or the countries in which they need to be implemented.

"Our ambition for Brand Engineers is to become the leading supplier of print, signage and branding collateral in Africa by delivering that all important product - brand consistency - at a competitive price."

Representation across Africa

Brand Engineers has representation in 17 African countries including Botswana, Mauritius, Mozambique, Uganda, Zimbabwe and the UAE. The company offers services including point-of-purchase displays, wall art and hanging banners; billboards, outdoor signage and in-event branding; building banners and wraps, vehicle branding and truck tarpaulins; and bus shelters, engineered structures and solar-powered signs, as well as the skills of in-country printer and signage experts.

The initiative is a different and separate company to the locally-based company in the Brand Engineers network.