This is according to Tempest CEO, Leslie Matthews, who says that The Old Shanghai has delivered consistently over the years, and that the winning of AdReview’s prestigious Baobab Award last week is testament to this.

Matthews says that the results and the recognition gained through winning the award means that Tempest is doing everything right with regards to its commitment to building and maintaining partnerships with key business partners.

He says that this is not just rhetoric: “At Tempest we have signs in our offices that read ‘we treat our suppliers like customers'. We do not bully suppliers, but rather work together as a team. People forget how important suppliers can be to your business and that it’s not just about the customer.”

“Winning the Baobab is great for a small to medium sized company, when we consider the calibre and stature of other brands that we were up against,” Matthews says. “The motivational factor of winning this award was amazing at our head office and at our branches. When smallish companies get the recognition they deserve it shows something for their spirit when they are out gunned in financial spending power with regards to brand building.”

Commenting on Tempest’s long term relationship with The Old Shanghai, Matthews says: “From Tempest’s perspective we have never pushed the envelope to put undue pressure on Shanghai to come up with campaigns that will produce over-night ‘magic’ results.”

“I only remember once in my 20-year relationship with The Old Shanghai that I got tense and it was not even their fault; market conditions were tough and I wanted to put the account up for tender,” he says. “At the time, Shanghai CEO Gail Curtis was firm with us and insisted that we trust them with our brand positioning. We have never looked back since then.”

Old Shanghai MD, Sandra McDiarmid concurs. “We always strive to do things differently, not for the sake of being different, but for the sake of doing business differently,” she says. “It is this entrepreneurial philosophy that has steered and driven the enduring partnership between The Old Shanghai and Tempest Car Rental for 20 years. The test of a true partnership is when you bring out the best in each other, and we clearly do that.”

Over the years Tempest’s payoff line has changed from ‘no frills, no fuss’ to ‘ridiculously low rates’ to now promoting added value with its new strapline ‘your way to a great day’.

“We launched Tempest on a shoestring and watched it grow into one of the top 4 car rental companies in SA,” says McDiarmid. “The creative approach was to be sincere, honest and offer customers great value. This was done by taking out all the frills and passing the savings back to customers. She adds that the new campaign remains true to the core values of the marketing strategy, which is to always put the customer first.”

Matthews says that the recent re-positioning of the brand and message is working well. “We love the new brand campaign because it’s exactly what Tempest is all about and it is paying off. Our financial year ends in June and Tempest will post its best result ever, a real achievement when considering how tough things are in the travel industry, with airlines and hotels fighting for occupancy.”

Matthews expects that with the new brand positioning, Tempest will gain great momentum and grow market share in the immediate and medium future.