Branding an Annual Cultural Festival from the Ground Up
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The Goal
Village of Arts & Projects, led by veteran artist Phillip Ngobeni, sought to launch the inaugural “Moretele Homecoming Fest” – an annual cultural festival designed to bring local artists home to perform for their community. The goals were to:
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Create a Unique Brand Identity: Develop a distinctive and memorable logo and visual theme for the new festival that reflected local culture and energy.
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Generate Excitement and Awareness: Build buzz and drive attendance through a multi-channel promotional campaign across both print and digital media.
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Ensure a Professional Presentation: Deliver high-quality, consistent branding across all touchpoints—from massive wall banners to digital access cards—to ensure the festival was perceived as a premier event.
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Provide a Central Information Point: Create a dedicated event webpage to house all details, the artist lineup, and ticket information.
The Challenge
Launching a new festival in a competitive events market presented several hurdles:
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Zero Brand Recognition: As a new event, it had no existing brand equity or audience recognition to leverage.
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Limited Marketing Budget: As an SME and community-focused project, resources for marketing and design were constrained, requiring cost-effective yet high-impact solutions.
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Need for Cohesion: Ensuring that all visual elements, both physical and digital, felt unified and professional was critical for building trust and credibility with attendees and sponsors.
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Telling the Founder’s Story: Communicating the vision and 20-year legacy of founder Phillip Ngobeni was key to building an emotional connection with the audience.
The Solution (Our Approach)
SunAfri delivered a complete, end-to-end branding and promotional package:
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Festival Branding & Identity:
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Designed a vibrant and modern logo for the “Moretele Homecoming Fest.”
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Established a cohesive colour palette and typography system for all materials.
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Print & Environmental Graphics:
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Created large-format wall banners and pull-up banners for on-site event branding.
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Designed eye-catching promotional posters for social media and local print distribution.
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Digital Assets & Web Development:
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Produced VIP and Artist access cards.
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Developed a dedicated, mobile-responsive event webpage (
sunafri.co.za/moretele-homecoming-fest-2024) featuring the lineup, schedule, and founder’s story.
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Strategic Communications:
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Compiled and designed a professional newsletter to introduce Phillip Ngobeni, share his vision, and detail the festival’s community upliftment goals.
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The Result
The Moretele Homecoming Fest launched with a strong, professional identity that resonated with the community and set a high standard for future events.
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Successful Event Launch: The festival was successfully held on 30 Nov – 1 Dec 2024 at Thabang Bikers Camp, attracting patrons and fulfilling its mission of bringing artists home.
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A Cohesive and Professional Brand: The consistent application of the new brand identity across all materials gave the festival an immediate sense of legitimacy and quality.
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Increased Visibility: The multi-channel campaign effectively raised awareness, contributing to a successful inaugural turnout.
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A Foundation for Growth: The established brand assets and digital presence provide a solid foundation for the festival to grow and attract larger audiences and sponsorships in subsequent years.
Client Testimonial
“SunAfri’s work helped us increase event attendance and secure sponsorships. Their professionalism and passion for working with SMEs is unmatched… Met tight deadlines without compromising quality.”
– Dr. Phil Ngobeni, Director, Village of Arts and Projects
