Leoni Black is the new Marketing and Events Manager of Ulwazi Group, a diversified company with six entities providing various services. She explains that the CEO believes strongly in aggressive marketing and sees it as a profit center. As the new manager, her focus is on creating quality content, engaging customers, and building the company's reputation to grow each entity. She will work to streamline marketing processes and define target markets for each company to meet overall group goals and ensure the marketing plan for each entity fits within the larger strategy.

1. CASEINPOINT
“F
or marketing to be effective in a com-
pany and provide real returns, it is para-
mount for management to buy into the
marketing department and the marketing vision. It
should be seen as a profit centre, not a cost centre,”
says Black.
She explains that their CEO Bongani Mabizela is a
young entrepreneur and a visionary who believes in ag-
gressive marketing and that these efforts will pay off in
the long run. So no marketing effort or cost is ever futile.
by Kylie King
“Brand investment,” she explains, “is essential, espe-
cially during times of economic downturn, as it keeps
the lines of communication open between Ulwazi Group
and its customers, and it recognises our customers as
valuable assets to the organisation. When other organi-
sations are not investing their money in marketing and
advertising, it provides us with an opportunity to build
market share.”
As the new Marketing and Events Manager, Black
explains that her job is an extension of her personality.
With her eye on the prize, Ulwazi Group Marketing and Events Manager, Leoni Black is focused
on creating quality content, engaging customers and building a strong reputation in order to
stand out from the crowd and grow each entity at Ulwazi Group.
LeoniBlack,MarketingandEventsManager,UlwaziGroup
MarketingMixInthe

2. CASEINPOINT
Ulwazi Development Projects
Services provided include:
 Civil and Structural Engineering
 Traffic and Transportation Engineering
 Project Development and Facilitation
 Municipal Engineering
 Housing and Property Development
 Public Transport Studies and Risk Analysis
 Electrical Engineering Services
 Local Government Support.
Ulwazi Protection Services
Services provided include:
 Registered and qualified security officers from
Grade A to Grade D.
 Guarding, VIP protection and body guards.
 Evictions, relocations, armed response and cash
in transit.
Ulwazi Transport and Logistics
Services provided include:
 Earthworks
 Coal and sand transportation
 Heavy duty mining dumping trucks
 Crusher and premix transportation
 Low bed trucks.
Nondumiso Cleaning & Horticultural Services
Services provided include:
 Corporate, industrial and commercial cleaning
 Horticultural and garden services
 Hygiene maintenance services at public facilities.
Ulwazi Events Management and Production
Services provided include:
 Music events, social events and fundraising events
 Special campaigns to address social issues
 Dinner parties, birthdays and weddings.
Cindy’s Kitchen and Catering Services
Services provided include:
 Catering, menu planning, marquee hire and venue
decor.
 Invitation design, seating and special gifts.
 Event management and coordination.
For more information, contact Ulwazi Group on:
+27 11 314 8511 or visit www.ulwazigoup.co.za
“From the moment that I wake up until I go to bed, I am
on the run, and I am constantly busy, which is how you
need to operate especially at an organisation like Ulwazi
Group with six different entities. There is never time to
be bored.”
She joined the diversified organisation in January
and with over twenty-five years of experience in pub-
lic relations and marketing, she is ready to tackle the
challenges. Black explains that Ulwazi Group has ex-
perienced significant growth in its entities, like Ulwazi
Protection Services – the security arm of the company
– largely due to the reputation it has garnered during
their 2010 FIFA World Cup involvement, where they
provided security at most of the Fan-Fest venues in
Pretoria. So the focus for 2011 will be to bring the other
entities up to the same level.
“There is huge potential for Nondumiso Cleaning &
Horticultural Services and our Events Management and
Production entities,” Black insists. “We do any type of
event, ranging from weddings to international sporting
events providing hospitality suites, so there really is a
great market for us to expand into.”
Formulating marketing plans for a diversified com-
pany like Ulwazi Group takes place in two phases, firstly
developing the strategy for the group and then focusing
on each entity to ensure that the overall group goals are
met and fit into the strategy.
“Our first focus is to streamline the marketing
process, focusing on defining the target market for
each of the companies, changing the message, look-
ing at the various channels to reach our audiences and
selecting one that will best suit our goals, while also
being cost efficient.”
Challenges that Black says Ulwazi Group will be
keeping an eye out for in the different markets include
any shifts in the economic climate and new competitors
entering the market. “You always have to be one step
ahead of the competitor and offer your client ‘that lit-
tle extra’ to ensure they come back to you as a preferred
supplier,” Black says.
Ulwazi Group uses resources like statistics and re-
search to identify potential customers’ needs and build
strategies to ensure they can satisfy this need, both prof-
itably and successfully.
The marketing activities are broad; encompassing
events management, public relations and communica-
tions for the organisation. The Corporate Social Invest-
ment programme also falls under the marketing de-
partment where various projects are carried out in the
communities where Ulwazi Group operates.
Black emphasises the need for organisations to
keep abreast of changes in technology as a means of
communicating and reaching target markets and to
ensure they provide customers with the value they
are demanding.
Ulwazi Holdings Group Entities