We interviewed Glenda Mansfield, CEO and marketing director of the MCSISA Group, to find out why the rebrand was necessary, what she loves most about working with the brand, and her brand objectives for 2017.
Originally only highlighting the good works performed by South African businesses through their corporate social investment and responsibility outreach programmes, the portal has quickly evolved to encompass numerous other inspirational tales of those involved in creating change for the better – as a result the platform will now be called Change News.
We always knew we had good ideas, but over the past three to four months we have realised how important this portal can become in its efforts to change mindsets and provoke change for good, beyond just the showcasing of corporate news. The ultimate challenge is for corporates to support and buy into the portal to see it as a newsworthy platform to read about the latest good news and good deeds performed and the impact being made through their donations and funding to various organisations.
People all across the country are looking for more positive ways with which to either start the day, give themselves a mid-morning boost, or some peace last thing at night. When you can read about and see that others who might be in similar circumstances to yourself have overcome their challenges, you can easily identify with them and this can provoke a sense of hope that similar positive change can result for you.
My passion always resided with the great need to make a change in South Africa and introduce South Africans to the real struggles in our communities and through that passion connect corporates to the relevant organisations and give organisations the platform to showcase their good work giving them the necessary exposure.
Aside from the expanded collation of submissions from all corners of the country, the name itself was a major factor in our consideration. It will be that much easier to recollect, as we really want to show as many South Africans as possible that there is an alternative to what they read and see in the mainstream news.
The process of maintaining, improving, and upholding a brand so that the name is associated with positive results. The re-branding to Change News resulted in a new, improved, and positive change for the brand.
The re-brand is just the beginning for Change News – plans for a dedicated citizen journalism bureau that tracks and reports on local community news are well underway and is expected to launch in Q3 this year. The service will include video and audio streaming in line with current trends, and that’s just the start. There are also international aspirations in the wings.
