Transforming brand identity

The JSE’s logo and colour palette moves to a bold black, white and green combination while the typography takes on a clean, digital feel. Zeona Jacobs, the director of issuer and investor relations at the JSE, said the brand now demonstrates the stock market’s identity as a modern African marketplace that connects investors to growth opportunities globally.

Jacobs added, “At the JSE we’ve been doing some serious thinking about our positioning in South Africa and the world. Our visual identity needed to represent our position as a leading African exchange which is driven for stakeholder growth and showcases the strong technology component of the business. It also needed to be more accessible to investors.”

She said the JSE partnered with Interbrand Sampson de Villiers on the rebranding project. “Partnering with the JSE on a project as complex and as high profile as this was a huge challenge and privilege,” added Jeremy Sampson, the group executive chairman of Interbrand Sampson de Villiers. “All organisations need to work very hard to stay relevant, be totally in tune with all stakeholders, plan for the future and to ensure they look good at all times whilst continuously coordinating all touch points. To survive and prosper, building and maintaining a strong brand is not an option, but rather a business imperative.”

Jacobs explained that from the outset the JSE wanted the new brand to have meaning rather than just being a superficial make-over. “The choice of black gives the brand a bold identity while the green symbolises growth and prosperity,” said Jacobs. “The stacked lines or links in both the logo and other elements of the visual identity illustrate the JSE’s role as a secure platform for growth. When you strip everything away, the role of an exchange is to act as a link. A link between listed companies, investors, global markets and between human solutions and digital technology,” added Jacobs.

She said along with the change to the exchange’s visual identity, brand names such as the Bond Exchange of South Africa (BESA) and the South African Futures Exchange (SAFEX) will fall away. “The JSE acquired SAFEX in 2001 and BESA in 2009 and we believe that these services have now been fully integrated into the exchange’s business,” explained Jacobs. “This also allows us to promote one cohesive brand rather than a cluster of related brands.” Jacobs also said the JSE’s derivatives clearing house Safcom will now be known as JSE Clear. The JSE’s hedge fund platform management business Nautilus, as a differentiated business within the JSE’s group of companies, will not change its name. “While the brand is officially launching today, all elements will be implemented in a phased approach until December 2014,” she said.

Details: To learn more about agricultural markets, visit SAFEX .