Africa's Richest Race Day.

Originally known as The Metropolitan Mile; Africa’s oldest horse racing event and one of its most prestigious. Circle has rebranded The Met to represent its new sponsors; luxury hospitality, gaming and entertainment group, Sun International in collaboration with Champagne producer, G. H. Mumm.

The rebrand sought to visually represent and uphold the brand essence of both Sun International and G.H. Mumm as premium brands while bringing them together in one identity. With an event of such stature, Circle’s challenge was to stay true to its history and add to its legacy. To bring the new brand essence to life, Circle crafted the brandmark and visual language, drawing inspiration from the experiences the race day has to offer. From the jockeys and horses to the fashion and elegance.

The strips of colour within the brandmark represents the fine silks jockeys wear. The horse within the brandmark is illustrated as if being in full stride, to represent their power, adrenaline and speed.

The glamour-inspired identity reinforces the events’ reputation of being the most prestigious race in the country, positioning it as Africa’s greatest race day; a day filled with equestrian-inspired elegance and timeless glamour, a meeting ground for socialites, horse-racing fans and fashionistas to see and be seen.   

The Sun Met is held at the Kenilworth Racecourse in Cape Town and is visibly a big course that required visual elements for both a TV audience and a live audience. Circle considered how the live audience elements were visually represented to the TV audience, which is why Circle optimised the visual continuity by making the TV components bolder for best TV exposure.

The new brand identity brings strength, elegance and rigor to the brand, extending a cohesive look and voice to The Sun Met experience. It celebrates the remarkable heritage of this event in true style, building on an extraordinary 134 years of brand equity.