Loyal sponsors Absa believe that sponsorship of Design Indaba is a keen tool for bringing their brand alive, and they’re particularly keen on the association with creativity and imagination.
At Design Indaba 2013 Absa presented the media lounge as one of their key properties where they feel “happy to facilitate a meeting of minds”, according to Colleen Jackson, brand manager for Absa.
Much of Absa's activation at the 2013 event was about showing how design is the backbone of a country’s economy. This was packaged as an imaginary “country” – the Democratic Republic of Design – and a mobile app, with which delegates were encouraged to interact. Interaction saw participants earning design dollars. The participant with the most design dollars at the end of each Design Indaba Conference day was then declared the president of the Democratic Republic of Design and treated to a VIP experience that evening.
The concept driving this activation was looking into the world of design and understanding it as something that is constantly evolving.
Jackson explained that this activation, whereby technology was used to facilitate interaction, marked a first for the bank.
At the Absa Art Gallery on the Design Indaba Expo floor the work on display highlighted a theme that spoke to the fact that there are no substitutes for real experiences.
Paul Bayliss, Absa art museum curator, also talks about how old suitcases were used as three-dimensional canvases for artists to create unique artworks based on their travels.
Absa also highlighted their delight with the fact that Design Indaba continues to surprise and delight, year after year.
