Hansa Pilsener, produced by South African Breweries, recently celebrated 40 years in the South African market. Khensani Nobanda, general manager of Hansa Pilsener, provides a visual case study of the brand’s evolution over several decades.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Hansa was the only pilsener in the beer market, so the emphasis was on it being uniquely different and drunk by those who chose to be different, says Nobanda.
By 2000, Hansa was “Unmistakably Different”, meant to appeal to those who thought differently and considered themselves progressive.
By 2003, the brand was positioned as “The Refreshing Choice”, which in 2004 became “Refresh Your Soul.”
More recently, the brand’s differentiator, the Saaz hop, became the focus of these campaigns with the introduction of “The Kiss of the Saaz Hop” (enter “Yhuuuh Vuyo! He is such a big-big dreamer”).
Last year, in 2013, the brand introduced a new campaign and the slogan “Brewed for the Dreamers.”
This year in March, the newly redesigned Hansa Pilsener pack was introduced to mark both 20 years of freedom and Hansa’s development as one of South Africa’s most-loved beers.
In Brand View, the editors of MarkLives.com invite brand managers to share the visual and marketing history of their brands with readers. This column is by invitation only and is not paid for.
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