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October 5, 2011
Lost in translation

Lost in translation

Lost in translation’ is probably one of the biggest risks that brands run when designing a marketing campaign targeted at audiences spread across varying geographies, cultures and demographics.

Yet for brands that have been able to successfully mitigate these risks come industry awards and most importantly a firm thumbs-up from their global customers who are able to experience the intended emotions and reactions to the brand’s messages.

Across the seas, American telecom operator AT&T is one such brand that successfully launched a global ‘Hands’ ad campaign that won it a few industry and people’s choice awards. Although the campaign was launched a year ago, even today the creativity behind it is still worth mentioning.

The ad campaign features human hands intricately painted and posed to depict iconic images representing countries around the world in which AT&T provides roaming services to its clients. From clever depictions of The Great Wall of China, moose (Canada), carnival (Brazil), wildlife (South Africa), Royal Buckingham Palace guards, boomerang (Australia), elephants (India) and more, the result is stunning imagery that draws viewers into the artwork while communicating AT&T’s brand proposition of having more phones that work in across many markets.

Interesting. Do you have any other examples of similar campaigns?

Source: Lost-in-translation.com

Source: Convozine.com

October 3, 2011
Arabization of international

Arabization of international brand logos

A logo as one of the most visual cues of a complete brand identity is a very powerful thing. However, a logo in a form that is not understood by its intended audiences or compromising the brand’s core message is quite another thing.

For international brands that use Latin calligraphy for their logos translating/converting into the Arabic equivalent whilst retaining the overall feel of the original typographic style is not an easy task. The “Arabization” of logos, as it’s commonly referred to, has always incited some interesting discussions among communication design professionals, with most in agreement that there needs to be more respect of the calligraphic rules of each style.

Lebanese design professional Nina Kreidie outlines the common mistakes made in the Arabization of logos, using the history of Islamic calligraphy to make a great case for strengthening the Arab script visual identity in her post titled ‘Arabic Latin Logo Adaptation’on her blog Logo Talks.

Below are examples of logos of international brands that have been given Arabic translations by Middle East logo designers.

And here are a few examples of real world Arabized logos:

July 31, 2011
Getting employee buy-in

Getting employee buy-in on your organisation’s brand guidelines

Brand guidelines in essence are go-to or reference manuals detailing an organisation’s brand identity and the necessary tools to consistently project this identity to its environment. The overall purpose of brand guidelines, as part of a holistic branding program is to ensure that the brand values, culture, structure and operations of an organisation are all aligned.

In terms of best practice, brand guidelines shouldn’t be modelled as strict dos & don’ts that stifle creativity and the implementation of the brand. Instead, best-practice brand guidelines encourage an organisation’s employees to embrace a shared understanding of the brand story and brand vision, instilling belief in the brand’s authenticity and offering relevant instructions on the application of the brand messages across various platforms even providing some opportunity for creative freedom.

At Zaman, in our work with clients requiring a brand strategy overhaul, when it comes to the brand guidelines preparation stage, as a rule of thumb, we have three identified elements that play a critical role in the build of the final guidelines. These are:

  1. Primary user – effective brand guidelines must offer relevancy for each potential user profile in the organisation (HR, accounts, marketing…)
  2. Primary use – in terms of content it must offer value by anticipating the possible needs and queries of its intended users.
  3. Accessibility for use – brand guidelines must be easily available to all and in the appropriate formats.

Companies that have undertaken a successful brand revamp can appreciate that perhaps the most effective way to implement new brand guidelines is to get a buy-in from employees across ranks.

Why?

Employees are the first line of communication between an organisation and its external stakeholders which mind you are not limited to customers but include industry partners, media, suppliers, investors as well as future employees. To this effect, brand guidelines must cater to any situation in which individuals associated with your organisation interact with others as representatives of your brand. Without internal buy-in or understanding of the revised brand even the best thought-out brand strategy is likely to fizzle into non-existence.

So how can you achieve this?

First: Instead of issuing a decree by way of an internal email memo (typical of companies with multiple geographic locations) adopt an engagement-driven approach. Consider scheduling  in a series of “soak & scope” workshops for all employees and use these platforms to clearly outline the objectives of the brand guidelines and create relevancy by demonstrating how each user profile in the organisation is to use them. Bearing in mind:

Primary user + Primary use + Accessibility for use

This type of approach not only creates a spirit of brand ownership throughout the organisation but it also ensures that your organisation is projecting a streamlined message within its environment.

Second: Consider setting up external & internal indicators or cues that can be monitored to gauge the overall adoption of the new brand strategy and the effectiveness of your new brand guidelines.  Typical external cues could be a marked positive change in customer perception resulting in a “higher ranking” versus previous position and that of your immediate competitors.  For internal cues below are a few suggestions that you might consider monitoring:

  1. Everyone in our organisation knows our brand values and can articulate them simply and clearly. (Yes/No)
  2. Everyone in our organisation understands their respective role in the delivery of our brand promise. (Yes/No)
  3. Across all ranks there is a clear understanding of what differentiates our brand from our competitors. (Yes/No)
  4. All departments from finance to frontline service delivery are aligned with our brand objectives. (Yes/No)
  5. Included in our performance management systems is an assessment of the contribution each individual makes to growing and enhancing the brand. (Yes/No)
  6. Our induction programme includes education on our brand and the role it plays in enhancing our organisation and market competitiveness. (Yes/No)
  7. Strengthening and protecting the organisation’s brand is a fundamental driver behind our organisation’s long-term goals. (Yes/No)

Does your organisation have set brand guidelines? What lessons can you share on how your organisation has or hasn’t been able to effect adoption of brand guidelines?

July 5, 2011
Hiring a brand consultant

Hiring a brand consultant – a match made in branding strategy heaven

Continuing on from an earlier post on tips for new business owners to consider in the path to building a strong brand for an established brand, the decision to rebrand should not be done on a whim nor taken lightly.

Choosing to revamp a brand simply because “it’s been 2years since we last revamped our image” is a clear recipe for disaster. At its core a brand serves as a collection of cues that convey the value proposition of a product or service to its target audiences, while differentiating itself from competitors. It takes a significant period of time to develop & nurture a brand that sits strong in the mind of the consumer unfortunately the reality is that one badly made decision can quickly undo months/years of hard work & sometimes even to the point of inciting client/consumer revolt. Think…Gap’s 2010 attempted logo rebrand, which elicited so much dislike (bordering on hate) from brand fans & industry watchers.

If you are looking to develop a long term integrated branding strategy then hiring a branding agency is a smart decision and worthy investment for your firm.

Ideally you want to work with a branding agency that works hard for you; coming on board as a partner committed to help you achieve a sustained and favourable position for your brand. Creating not just a couple of logo alternatives but a real messaging strategy: both internal (to win support from employees) and external (to make a clear impact in the market). Below is a basic checklist you can use to ensure that your relationship with your prospective brand agency is a match made in branding heaven:

  1. Articulate your needs – before you start looking for a prospective branding partner, ensure that there is an internal consensus on your requirements from a brand agency as well as your budget. Clarity here ensures that your first round of search yields relevant results.
  2. An agency’s portfolio – you want to work with an agency that is able to demonstrate its credibility & creativity through show of work done for past clients. Even better if the clients are from sectors related to yours.
  3. Get familiar with the actual servicing team – often most mid to large size branding agencies will have a separate business development team that will ‘wow’ you with their proposal but once the contract is signed you never see their faces again. Request that the actual execution team take part in early stages of your interaction with the agency this way you can use this time to gauge whether there is a good chemistry.
  4. Read between the lines – during talks with prospective agencies make note of whether the agency understands your requirements, paying particular attention to their ability to ask thoughtful questions and offer possible scenarios in terms of a strategy for your product or service.
  5. Take cues from first impressions – if you’re engaging your choice agencies via email, make note of how prompt they are in responding and their writing capabilities. Can you rely on an agency to develop messaging for your brand if they can’t spell check emails to you? Also it might be worthwhile requesting for a meeting at their premises so you can get a feel for the organisation culture. If the prospective agency’s office resembles more a call-center than a creativity hub then that’s food for thought.
  6. Stick with your gut – managers of smaller brands, who’ve never formally sought the consult of branding advisors, might feel obliged to agree with everything presented by ‘branding gurus’ with award-winning portfolios. Don’t be afraid to ask questions until you feel that the final adopted brand strategy is authentic and mirrors the personality of your aspirant brand legacy.
  7. Shop around – the creative space in the UAE and wider Middle East is coming of age. More brands are shedding their inhibitions and seeking to refresh their old market images for fresh, upbeat & even ‘fusion’ identities that leverage the multicultural element of our region. Likewise there are many agencies that are hiring the best talent to meet this demand. In a future post we’ll detail the difference between a branding agency, advertising agency and broader marketing agency.

Remember that good chemistry in your relations with your branding agency, plus trust in their commitment to your brand and open communication make for a good foundation in the road to building a strong brand.

If you’re considering revamping your current brand strategy, we’d be happy to hear from you. You can drop us a line at info@zaman.ae or head over to our main website to see how we can help you.

*Image source: Toandinh.com

June 26, 2011
Robert Redford, Cannes

Robert Redford talks brands at Cannes

CANNES 2011 – A good brand needs to have “authenticity” and “quality” to resonant with consumers in the 21st Century, according to Hollywood legend Robert Redford.

The star of ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ turned independent film producer, was speaking in a wide-ranging interview with Yahoo at the Cannes 2011 Festival of Creativity yesterday (21 June).

He said: “Authenticity and quality are key to great brands. Both lead to trust, and you have to have a certain amount of integrity to achieve that.”

After many years in front of the camera, Redford now manages his own brand, the Sundance Festival and Channel, which showcases smaller indie productions and recognises upcoming talent and creativity.

Redford explained the premise behind his Sundance empire is to nurture creativity and upcoming talent.

He said: “Nobody votes for a new idea. If no one believes in you, you’re going to have to grind it out yourself.”

In words of encouragement for those pushing the boundaries of creativity, he added: “You have to look at failure not as the end of the road, but as a step forward.”

We felt so inspired when we came across this interview, hearing  Robert Redford speak about Brand authenticity, to see the complete interview click here

June 15, 2011
Branding tips for Middle East

Branding tips for Middle East start-ups

While the geek glitterati of Silicon Valley bicker over when exactly the next dot-com tech bubble burst, reminiscent of 2000, is likely to occur; here in the Middle East things couldn’t be more different. For those outside the region who rely on mainstream news to keep tabs on the MENA tech space, you might be forgiven for thinking that our greatest contribution to this field is the rising number of users on existing popular social media platforms, especially Facebook and Twitter.

Earlier this week leading technology blog TNW released a list of ‘the 15 startups of the Middle East you need to know about’. Making the list, in no particular order, were familiar names Maktoob , Bayt, GoNab!t and  few start-ups that are new to our radar here at Zaman HQ – Egyptian semantics-based search engine Kngine, online music streaming platform Mawaly, and Nakweh, a community platform connecting volunteers to NGOs and civil societies.

While the Internet penetration in the region remains quite low when compared to other more developed markets, there is an unspoken race on to see which nation will be the first to establish itself as the Silicon Valley of MENA. Likewise at the startup level many enterprising individuals in the region are keen to create the Groupons and Facebooks of our region with motives for startups oscillating between response to an observed market gap or as an improvement of an existing product or service. Whatever the motive is, creating a clear identity for a startup is crucial to winning over support from necessary audiences – investors and target consumers, which ultimately translates into staying in business.

We’ve had our fair share of clients in the startup category and from experience we know that often the reality is that most startups and small business tend to relegate branding to the backseat in favour of other priorities such as product development and funding. On the other hand, establishing a strong brand platform from the start enables startups to be recognized quicker and for a longer time.

There is definitely no cookie-cutter approach for creating a brand for a new business but here’s a list of tips for startup owners to consider in the creation of a strong brand to distinguish their product or service:

  1. Define your startup vision – cultivate a visual vocabulary for your brand which will become the platform of your company’s behaviour and the design of its experience in its employee culture, across collaterals, communications, and environments (interiors).
  2. State your purpose – articulate what you do, the market needs you fulfil in simple terms to your target customers, investors and industry influencers.
  3. Emotional persuasion is key – embrace that your personality and that of your startup are probably one and the same. It’s unlikely that you’ll have Ashton Kutcher or Lady Gaga to endorse your brand at the onset so channel your passion & enthusiasm into your start-up’s brand story and identity.
  4. Stand out from the crowd – don’t rely on word-of-mouth to show how great your service/product is. Invest in consulting a branding expert to develop a logo & brand kit that is unique and recognizable. And don’t postpone this until you are “established”.
  5. Be clear and consistent in your collateral – whatever your sector ensure that your offline branding (business cards, letterheads…) and online branding (email signatures, website…) are in sync.
  6. It takes times – like your business, brands need to be nurtured to grow strong and stay relevant.  Be consistent in your messaging, positioning and value delivery to your customers.

(Image source: TheNextWeb.com)

 

June 8, 2011
Arab brands tuning into social media

Arab brands tuning into social media

“We have a Facebook page, a twitter profile, a Youtube channel AND a LinkedIn business profile yet our fan base is still low. Why is that?”

At some point in time, many a brand manager will find themselves in this position wondering the same thing. And it usually boils down to one of two things: ONE – The absence of a well thought out social media strategy at the onset or TWO –  The absence of a well thought out social media strategy at the onset. It’s really that simple.

While the uptake of digital marketing in the Middle East has been a bit slow, when we compare ourselves to Western markets, recent reports show that the integration of digital channels alongside traditional offline media channels is going from strength to strength. Read here and here. For the Arab brands that are embracing this trend – we applaud you. And so do your consumers too, it seems.

In the context of the 100 Authentic Arab Brands survey we’re running until June 9th (vote!)we’ve been analyzing responses to the survey in an effort to collate useful insight for the nominated brands. Today we’re looking at whether the ‘social media activeness’ of a brand translates to more votes and a higher ranking as an authentic Arab brand.

So far, we haven’t seen a direct correlation between the number of votes a brand has received for its authenticity and the number of fans it has on its official social media profiles. In fact, not all of the 100 nominated brands have a social media presence. Or some do but aren’t very active yet they are in the top 10. For example Nada Debs and Oasis Magazine have a moderately small fan base on Facebook and they’re currently in position 6 and 8, respectively, in the top 10; whereas Etisalat UAE has over 61,000 Facebook fans but is currently not even in the top 20. What does this tell us?

The very nature of social media demands that brands engage consumers in a two-way conversation that is both authentic and contextually relevant. So having a Facebook, Twitter profile or blog is good but the more fans/followers you have does not automatically translate to the most number of votes. It’s not just a numbers game.

For the brands that aren’t active on social media yet are getting massive voting support this is an opportunity and evidence that their fans are already engaged in conversation about them online and ready to engage with them in the virtual world. These brands are lucky in that they already have real world evangelists who are promoting their brand on their behalf. Creating a broad digital footprint by integrating with various touch-points and channels generates traction and allows brands to stand out among the clutter.

Highlights: here’s a look at some of the comments left by voters.

June 6, 2011
open call to all design enthusiasts

open call to all design enthusiasts

Zaman is calling all Design enthusiasts in the Middle East to part of the ” Common Expressions” Design Competition.

As part of an ongoing investigation on how authenticity can be sustained in the Arab culture, Zaman is calling all Design Enthusiasts to be part of Zaman’s Signature Calendar.

“Common Expressions” is a collection of Arab proverbs which we hear everywhere. The challenge is to bring them to life through the eyes of emerging design enthusiasts that will add meaning to them through visual interpretations. Zaman’s Signature Calendar will feature the 12 best art works that will be selected and judged on artistic merit. See below  images of the calendar from previous years.

This competition is a bridge for design enthusiasts and Zaman to make their design commercially viable. The aim of the calendar’s next collection is to introduce new talent to the broad public and business community. The selected designers will feature on Zaman’s Signature Calender which has now become a reference amongst Zaman’s business community. You will receive a copy of the Calender and your art work will reference your name and contact.

Below are the 12 proverbs, pick the one that inspires you the most and start designing, there are no restraints in terms of your art form, the proverb you will choose will be your starting point in terms of inspiration….so start designing away…and go where your inspiration takes you..!

See our Rules of Entry for details on how to send your work.
ردت حليمة على عادتها القديمة
إن كان حبيبك عسل لاتلحسوا كلو
كلمة ياريت مابتعمر بيت
على قد فراشك مد رجليك
من عاشر القوم أربعين يوم صار منهم
طب الجرة على ثمها تطلع البنت على أمها
إذا أنت أمير وأنا أمير مين بيسوق الحمير
إعطي الخبز لخبازة لو أكل نصفة
اللي ما يعرف الصقر يشويه
غاب القط إلعب يافأر
الباب اللي يجيك منه الريح سده واستريح
القرد بعين أمه غزال

Rules of Entry:

  1. All artwork should be original and individual
  2. Each artist may enter one entry
  3. Selected artwork will be produced in Zaman limited edition calendar and will be shown on display during November 2011.
  4. By entering the Competition, all parties agree that Zaman has the right to Display, copy, and distribute
  5. Submissions not selected will be returned to artists

Judging Criteria:

  1. Entries will be evaluated by Zaman creative team and will be judged on artistic merit

Deadline for Submission: 5th of July

Send your work to info@zaman.ae. Call for more info (+971) 04 326 1000

For more images of previous calenders calenders click here

June 5, 2011
Middle East voter response

Middle East voter response to online brand surveys

If you’re a first time visitor to our blog and have been through our April-May 2011 archives you might be forgiven for thinking that we are carrying out the first of its kind people’s choice award for the most authentic Arab brands across the Middle East. That’s because we are. You can find more details here.

We’re hoping insights from this survey will offer Arab brands a better understanding of what consumers want and also enable brand managers to guage how their marketing strategies to date may have influenced customer perception.

Run entirely online until its conclusion on June 9th the primary promotion approach has been through social media channels; specifically through our own Zaman Branding Facebook page as well as our Twitter profile which have been outposts for the primary campaign site. Voter response to the campaign in terms of traffic to the official site has been amazing. Over a four weeks period we’ve had over 15,000 site visits, of which 11,500 are unique visits, with Facebook as the lead traffic referral site. In terms of voter demographics, main sources of traffic have been the UAE, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, and Egypt. Even as far afield as the USA and Canada; the former contributing the fourth most amount of site visits.

Mirroring the Facebook’s ‘Like’ button and forgoing a registration process, the ease of voting has been a definite plus. To date we’ve received a well over 3500 votes and counting! Unsurprising though given that recent online market trends show the Middle East is among the fastest growing regions on Facebook. The uptake on twitter has been a bit slower, with most responses in the form of retweets by the nominated brands also present on twitter.

All in all, this initiative is really the most honest & genuine type of feedback that brands would be well to pay attention to and act upon. Consumers have enjoyed the interactions with the brand so much that they, of their own volition, are incited to head to our campaign site and vote for the brand. The key lesson here for brands is that experiences in the “real” world definitely have an impact on brand affinity. The conversations are happening 24/7 and brands need to realise not partaking in the conversations is a missed opportunity.

Image source: Flickr

June 3, 2011
Leading Middle East sectors

Leading Middle East sectors with authentic Arab brands

This week, as we continue to analyse the progress of the ongoing 100 Authentic Arab Brands survey we’ve noticed what seems to be a voter preference for brands from certain sectors, specifically when it comes to those that have dominated the top 10 positions over the past couple of weeks.

During the selection process of the final 100 brands nominated for the vote we ensured that we had a fair representation across major business sectors in the Middle East – airlines, banking, telecom, regional governing bodies, arts and culture, media, jewellery, NGOs, confectionary, infrastructure and more. What’s interesting to note though is that brands within media, hospitality and the cosmetics sectors have been dominating the top 10 most authentic brand positions almost since the start of our survey, enjoying the most voter response in terms of actual votes and comments left both on Facebook and Twitter.

If we look at media for example, the current brands in the top 10 are Al Arabiya News channel and print publications Soura magazine, Desert Fish magazine and Oasis Magazine and until most recently Brownbook, which slipped out of the top 10 after a long stint.

Why is this so?

Well we can’t conclude that non-media brands are not authentic. That would be hasty and quite unfair. But for anyone that’s picked up an edition of one of the magazines, we’re putting our bets on the editorial quality of publications that has resonated with their Arab audiences. Fresh, independent and showcasing the creative best of the Middle East, these brands have managed to successfully tap into market niches offering content in unique formats that have developed almost a cult-like following; judging by the comments left online by our voters. Not bad.

Have you read any of the magazines or watched the news channel? Do you think there’s a reason why Arab consumers are voting for media brands? What other brand sectors would you expect to be popular in the region?

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