|
Branded by vehicle branding specialists, Graffiti, and conceptualised by Durban-based Truth Advertising and Design, the branded cabs form part of a large-scale re-branding exercise undertaken by the Casino which also included outdoor and print advertising executions. The brightly-coloured cabs have taken to the road for a one-year period until March 2010 and are each branded with one of three different advertising messages: “I'm on a winning streak”; “Our pool is the Indian Ocean” and “For a night out of the ordinary.”
Commenting on the strategy behind the new campaign, Suncoast Marketing Manager, Eugene Boniface elaborates, “The branded cabs gave us the opportunity to own a specific advertising medium. With the disappearance of street pole advertising in Durban it became difficult for us to have a real presence on the street. Now, with no less than 37 branded vehicles on the roads, we have been able to achieve vast exposure and generate a great amount of awareness and hype surrounding the brand. In actual fact, the cabs have become such an icon in the city that even the drivers refer to the vehicles as the ‘Suncoast' Mozzie Cabs!”
Operated and driven by Durban-based taxi operator, Mozzie Cabs, the attention-grabbing vehicles have not only played a dominant role in generating interest and excitement around the new Casino brand, but they have had the added benefit of providing hotel guests and casino visitors with transportation to and from the various Southern Sun locations in the city. Even celebrity guest Eddy Grant had the opportunity to be a VIP passenger in the new cabs!
Boniface elaborates on the various branding opportunities made available by the cabs, “Over-and-above the general advertising and transportation role played by the branded cabs, the mobility and versatility of the medium means we also have the additional option of utilising the vehicles as a conspicuous branding tool at the various high-profile events that sponsors such as Durban Fashion Week and South Africa's oldest cycling event, the Amashova Classic.” |
