''Innovation, relevance, a connection with your target market and being ahead of your customer's expectations is what makes a good brand," says Thebe Ikalafeng , founder and managing director of Brand Leadership Group and Brand Africa. This week Brand South Africa and Brand Finance Africa published their annual report of the Top 50 corporate brands in the country, together valued at approximately R1.5-trillion. Big number, right? R1.5 trillion is marginally lower than South Africa's annual budget which stood at R1.6-trillion in February. In an economy that has 16million social grant recipients, this could translate to each person getting around R100,000.According to Ollie Schmitz, managing director of Brand Finance Africa, the depth of South Africa's business flexibility and expertise is measured through the report.The top 10 brands are in financial services and telecommunications, led by MTN as the most valuable brand in 2015, with a net brand value ofR54-billion.MTN and First National Bank are South Africa's strongest brands, says Ikalafeng, ''because they are closely aligned to the core values of Nelson Mandela - which resonate strongly with South African consumers. Telecommunications and financial services brands dominate the list because the companies are catalyst businesses which enable consumers to transact, connect and live their lives."Ikalafeng says MTN scooped the No1 spot because of its large pan-African footprint ."It is important for brands to know why they're building a strong position. When brands grow, tax revenue grows, so jobs can be created. Strong brands also create a good image of South Africa."Ikalafeng believes that: "We can't do without brands - they simplify our choices. they make products accessible to the consumer and they provide a means to define ourselves."..