Community stories: Lungiswa Nonkululeko Cingahle
This month, we've got 21 questions for Brand The Change community member Lungiswa Nonkululeko Cingahle.
1. What's the story of your name?
Most people call me Lu/Lungi/LungSTAR … My given birth names are Lungiswa Nonkululeko Cingahle (although that third one didn’t make it on my birth certificate and ID card…there’s just not enough space). My father named me Lungiswa (after a beloved relative), and also gave me my second name, Nonkululeko. My great grandmother then named me Cingahle. I love the meanings of each:
Lungiswa – one who restores, one who makes right.
Nonkululeko – one who liberates, brings freedom.
Cingahle – beautiful thinking, a well mind (think of the Greek eunoia)
In a nutshell, I am she who restores and liberates with a beautiful mind. When I say it like that it really makes me sound epic.
“I am she who restores and liberates with a beautiful mind.”
2. WHAT’S one thing that you love about the place where you live
I live in South Africa, presently in the Emfuleni district of the Gauteng province. There’s a river running through, the Vaal River. And though its present state is in a precarious condition, I love spending time near the sound of many waters.
3. What problem in the world keeps you up at night?
The isms that are perpetuated in pride and prejudice, particularly the ones rooted in fear and designed to divide us, especially as Africans (tribalism, racism, neo-colonialism, xenophobia, etc.). How do we build an economy of love, where human wellbeing and inclusive development is the dream come true?
4. What inspires you to get out of bed in the morning?
People, movements, organisations, and ideas that care about people as human beings, not human doings.
5. What is the big change you want to see in the world?
A world where diversity, equity, inclusion, and access are on everybody’s agenda, in real ways, backed by powerful action and effecting tangible results for generational impact.
6. How are you working towards that change in your own way?
I work with changemakers, non-profits, and socially motivated businesses whose solutions are focused on the wellbeing of people. As a brand thinker, I love helping them grow visibility and amplify their impact.
7. If you were a car brand, which brand would you be?
I would definitely be Eleanor, the vintage Ford Mustang Shelby GT500. I lived and worked in Rustenburg for several years, in the platinum belt of South Africa. There's a car dealership in the neighbourhood where I stayed and the centrepiece was a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500. You might know Eleanor from the movie "Gone in 60 Seconds", but I would pass her every day on my way home looking ever so cool in that showroom. On some level, I think I'm a closet petrolhead but it's not just about high-performance culture.
This is a vintage car with a very modern appeal ... an authenticity that isn't easily replicated. And that says something about how the old still has a place in the new world ... About the value of heritage brands that still have a way to balance yesterday with belonging tomorrow. It's a challenge, right? How do you carve out something so compelling, that for years after people will still unite behind it? You shine the light on the things that matter. That's what Eleanor means, "a bright light".
8. What is the biggest branding mistake you ever made?
I allowed a client to essentially over delegate because I thought it was a vote of confidence in me. They took a step back and they were practically hands-off. It taught me that you don’t build brands for clients, but you build brands with clients for the people they serve. So, I make it a point to stress very clearly that every stage of brand building is co-creative.
9. What is your biggest branding success?
For me, every happy client is a success. When a client says, “you get me”, that is success. So, in essence, my biggest branding success is my consultancy, Border Frontier. Because the clients that I’ve had the blessing to work with show me that even more is possible.
10. What’s your favourite tool from brand the change and why?
The Mission Composer and the Brand Thinking Canvas. I love the Mission Composer because it’s about getting clarity of purpose. And where clarity guides, alignment follows. So, getting into the Brand Thinking Canvas, you’ve already settled on a core element of your brand essence. And in my experience, the brand core is usually the part that requires a little heavy lifting. Ultimately, clients are already mission-driven to explore ways to make the brand come alive. It’s like one giant “Aha” moment.
11. What would you love to figure out about brand building that you still can't quite master?
Brand analytics. What you quantify, what you measure and linking it to equity, sales, and growth. That’s the part that reminds me that brand building is both an art and a science.
12. What is your first memory of a brand?
The Doc Martens boots back in school. If you had a pair of those, you were the envy of every kid. I got a clear sense of what differentiation meant at that time.
13. Which brand is totally overrated?
I’ll probably step on many toes for this, but I think “The American Dream” is overrated. I consider it a brand because it is an idea that has been embraced globally…the promise of a society where diversity, equity, inclusion, and access are possible for everyone, and upward mobility towards success is attainable for everyone. No doubt it’s still a formidable nation brand but I think in recent years, with #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo and all these social, political, and cultural shifts happening, we’ve come to see the chips turn into cracks.
14. What brand should finally get the attention it deserves?
Yes-Definitely, a quirky bottled-water company that champions local artists by collaborating with illustrators to make beautiful bottles that consumers can keep. They are educating consumers on the benefit of re-fill, re-use, and recycle by rethinking plastic while staying hydrated. And they still make it about the art.
15. Who is your biggest changemaker hero?
Dr Maya Angelou. On the day that she passed on, one of my friends actually called me to give his condolences. In hindsight, it’s funny that he did that. But he understood how much I admired her.
16. Business is/can be a force for good. Agree or disagree?
Absolutely agree. Business is about people, and humanity can always do with more good.
17. If you could have one person be your brand ambassador for a day, who would it be?
Dr Sizakele Marutlulle – Solving problems through creativity and collaboration. She’s fierce.
18. If you could give someone or something one million dollars in services from the best brand builders in the world, who would you give it to and what would you want them to do with it?
I love magic wand questions! I would give it to Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. He’s an expert in African and African American Research and diaspora cultures. I would want him to help me build a creative solution to solve the problem of tribalism and nationalism in Africa, starting with xenophobia in South Africa.
19. We always say it takes a village to build a brand. Who is in your village - who is supporting you?
I found my tribe – Brand the Change Professionals Network.
20. Who is your dream client?
MISTRA – Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection