South Africa’s oldest brands – do you know them?

When Ken Preston, publisher of Brands & Branding: The Encyclopaedia of  Brands & Branding in South Africa for the past 17 years, read that Coca-Cola and Mercedes Benz were founded in 1886, he thought it pretty amazing that that a soft drink and an automobile brand could have been a part of global society for nearly 130 years.

But it also prompted him to consider how South African brands square up in the longevity stakes. His research showed that our brands had fared surprisingly well. Nederburg, for example, apparently dates back to 1810 and Mrs Ball’s to 1852.

“Considering South Africa was distanced, at least geographically, from the branding mainstream 120-plus years ago, you might be surprised to know that – of the 330 locally active consumer and corporate brands we investigated recently – 124 were over 70 years old, and 70 over 100 years old if you regard, and most do, the registration of a trademark as the founding date of what has today become a far more complex entity, the brand,” he said.

The following are all trademark applications made in the Cape Colony in the late 1800s:

1877 – Henry White & Co for Red Heart Rum
1880 – Singer Sewing Machine Manufacturing Co, New Jersey USA for Singer Sewing Machines
1882 – James Crossley, Middlesex for Eno’s Fruit Salt
1887 – Lever Brothers for Sunlight Soap
1888 – Corn Products Company, USA for Maizena
1888 – Royal Baking Powder Company, New York, USA for Royal Baking Powder
1889 – John Johnston for Bovril
1889 – L Rose & Co for Rose’s Lime Juice

Added Preston: “While these are not all of South African origin, they are a clear indication of the country’s long involvement with brands and branding.

“Some more truly South African brands with histories dating back to the turn of the last century include Barnetts, which is 113 years old, the 106 year old Bradlows, the 101 year old All Gold, the 93 year old Ackermans and the 82 year old Afrox.”

Preston is also fascinated by how few changes have been made over the years to some heritage brands’ labels or logos. In particular, he pointed to Royal Baking Powder as a prime example of one that has remained virtually unchanged. “It should win an award for consistency,” he said.

Jeremy Sampson, chairman of Interbrand Sampson, the Johannesburg office of one of the world’s leading strategic branding and design consultancies, wrote in the recently launched Brands & Branding: The Encyclopaedia of  Brands & Branding in South Africa 2009 that having a glorious past is no guarantee of a prosperous future, but a successful past helps build a winning culture.

“When companies start out they are not immediately brands,” he said. “That takes time. South African history is littered with those who announced the launch of a new ‘instant’ brand only to see it quickly slide into oblivion.

“Some would argue that brands have become too important in our lives, that they are overly powerful and influential, but the thing about brands is that we make them what they are, and they touch our lives continually in different ways.

“There are some who claim to still march to the tune of the anti-brander, yet when you enquire into the intimate details of their private lives, not surprisingly, it emerges that they are much more brand reliant and conscious than initially they were prepared to admit. In some cases they simply didn’t realise the influence brands exert on their lives.

“Look into the homes of those over 70, and you will find their brandscape differs from those a decade younger. Drop a couple more decades and the under-forties will differ again. Get to those under the age of 10 and they already have their brand friends. The challenge for many brands is to span as many decades as possible, by being adopted early and then staying relevant.”

Affinity Publishing is researching a book on the history of brands and branding in South Africa that will include the early days of brands and intellectual property protection from the mid-1800s as well as the further development and success of branding up to the present day. If you have any information about brands that might prove relevant or useful, do contact the company at (011) 442 2366.

Brands & Branding 2009 can be obtained at leading book stores countrywide or from lynn@brandsandbranding.co.za.