(1888PressRelease)
December 04, 2006 - The award of the Soccerex 2007, the world's largest soccer exhibition, to Johannesburg signals a significant shift in South Africa's Brand Image. For the first time in its history, Soccerex has been awarded to South Africa. Within hours of the announcement, exhibition space for the 2007 event was sold out and organisers were hurrying to secure additional space to accomodate another 250 international exhibitors.
Comments German Branding Guru, Dr Nikolaus Eberl: "This signals an unprecedented vote of confidence in South African soccer and could not have come at a more opportune time for the beleaguered 2010 Local Organising Committee (LOC). After months of public speculation whether South Africa will be ready to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the international soccer elite has now given Brand SA an unexpected boost. James Worrall, Soccerex sales and marketing director, told the media that the reaction to SA hosting next year's convention was 'just incredible and overwhelming.'"
Dr Nikolaus recently introduced a revolutionary brand leadership model, called The IziCwe Code, at the Global Leaders Africa Summit in Johannesburg, sharing the stage with world renowned leadership gurus Tom Peters, Rudy Giuliani and Michael Porter. Based upon the branding strategies of the legendary Zulu King Shaka, The IziCwe Code is about aligning employee commitment to delivering the orgnaisation's brand promise. In anticipation of the FIFA World Cup in 2010, large South African organisations are calling upon The IziCwe Code to engage their employees in aligning employee commitment and delivering world class service.
Dr Nikolaus and co-author Herman Schoonbee published “The IziCwe Code: Internal Branding” in 2005 (Academy Press, foreword by Reuel Khoza), which was recently critically reviewed by President Thabo Mbeki in his Letter from the President; using “the analytical tools contained in The IziCwe Code”, the President issued the challenge to government leaders to “generate the kind of commitment that will ensure that …our government at all levels … can be trusted to honour the brand promise!”
Dr Nikolaus' forthcoming book is called "BrandOvation™ – How Germany won the World Cup" (contributors Timothy Maurice Webster and Herman Schoonbee; scheduled for release in January 2007). An in-depth analysis of how Juergen Klinsmann built a winning team from scratch within less than two years and how Germany re-invented the world’s biggest sporting event into a nationbuilding success story, by activating BrandOvation™ and turning spectators into brand ambassadors.
