In an exciting and unique marketing initiative, all 21 lodges in the Madikwe Game Reserve have joined forces to create the Madikwe Marketing Action Group (MMAG). The initiative has the full backing of the North West Parks and Tourism Board.
This marks the first time that stakeholders have joined forces to market one of South Africa’s premier game-viewing destinations.
“We are very excited about this project,” says Allan Losaba, CEO of North West Parks and Tourism, who has taken up the project as a special assignment from his office.
“Combining the marketing forces of all the lodges will ensure coherent messaging, and enhance the attraction that Madikwe already holds for tourists and local visitors.”
MMAG has identified some priority areas that it intends to address in order to create a clear marketing identity for the reserve. “We have a lot of plans, a lot of ideas and – luckily – a lot of energy,” says Susan Potgieter, chairperson of the group’s steering committee.
A new corporate identity for the entire reserve has been implemented, and will be used by all the lodges in conjunction with their own individual logos and corporate identities, as well as for initiatives that market the reserve as a whole.
MMAG will also be developing a website, designed and developed by Flow Communications, which will showcase the beauty and convenience of Madikwe – the fourth-largest game reserve in South Africa, and regarded as one of the finest conservation areas in Africa.
“We already work together on conservation issues,” says Potgieter. “It only makes sense to extend our already active community and work together on marketing our reserve, of which we are justly proud.”
The group, along with Flow Public Relations, has also developed a public relations programme to help to publicise some of the exciting community development initiatives that take place in and around the reserve. The PR programme will also highlight everything the reserve has on offer for tourists, including the fact that it is a malaria-free zone and home to one of the largest wild dog populations in Africa.
Monde Kakula, brand manager for the North West Parks and Tourism Board, says the initiative will bring welcome synergies to participating members. “There is a Tswana saying, ‘kgetsi yatsie ekgonwa kegopatganelwa’, which means ‘a full bag of locusts is gathered when all work together’. I am sure that, with all of us working together, we will gather a full bag of all of the benefits available to the reserve.”