Dragoman breakthrough brands

Discipline: Brand management

  • Leap

    Leap

    Leap

    From financial services to startup community

    THE CHALLENGE

    The brand had to achieve two key objectives; appeal to the startup and founders community and support DIFC’s innovation journey.

    HOW WE WORKED

    We used Leap’s “Hyper Driven” philosophy as the anchor, then designed the brandmark, typography, colour, graphic language, tone of voice, messaging and values so every element pointed to smarter, faster, safer business growth. We kept language crisp and operational, avoiding fluff. 

    THE SOLUTION

    We defined Leap as “the growth platform to accelerate and scale your business smarter, faster, and safer,” with a brandmark that captures forward motion, a flexible graphic system that uses colour and movement to signal momentum, and a tone of voice that is clear, intelligent, inspiring and confident. The message house emphasises the DIFC ecosystem of capital, talent and community and the values operationalise the brand through agility, delivery, energy and inquisitiveness. 

    The future of business is;
    Hyper driven,
    Hyper innovative and
    Hyper connected
    The future is here.

    OUR DELIVERABLES

    Brand positioning and narrative 

    Brandmark, typography, colour and graphic language system 

    Tone of voice guidelines and message house 

    Values and behaviours 

    Brand applications toolkit and Brand guidelines 

    THE RESULTS

    Leap now has a cohesive, future-facing brand that is simple to use and consistent in market: a dynamic identity that signals acceleration, a concise voice that talks like the audience, and messages that make the DIFC community’s advantages clear. 

  • DIFC

    DIFC

    DIFC

    From financial services to economic innovator

    “Dragoman was instrumental in driving the first full re brand of DIFC since its inception in 2004. As an extension of our team, we were able to re position the centre from a traditional financial service brand to an innovation brand with the full buy in from stakeholders. Successful awareness campaign to support the repositioning of mother brand as well as sub brands was developed by Dragoman from overall creative conception, video, copy, online and print. Projects are always approached with enthusiasm, care and a focus to deliver on-time with quality. Having regional experience with similar government and semi government entities, the Dragoman team were able to understand our requirements and help us push boundaries in a respectful and considerate way”

    Mahmoud Nsouli Senior Vice President – Marketing & Corporate Communications 

    THE CHALLENGE

    DIFC needed to reposition itself from a financial hub to a holistic business and lifestyle destination while maintaining relevance for large financial corporations and emerging technology firms.

    HOW WE WORKED

    Dragoman developed a dynamic brand strategy, balancing DIFC’s corporate heritage with a forward-thinking identity that appealed to financial and technology sectors alike.

    THE SOLUTION

    A refreshed brand proposition, visual language, and launch campaign were developed to establish DIFC as a center of innovation and business growth.

    OUR DELIVERABLES

    Brand positioning
    Brand strategy
    Brand architecture
    Brand communication 
    Brand guidelines
    Brand management

    THE RESULTS

    The rebranding positioned DIFC as a future-ready financial and business hub, attracting both corporate and startup communities.

  • Arena

    Arena

    Arena

    Arena Private Market: Making capital work for you.

    THE CHALLENGE

    Introduce a new private market from DFM in a way that clearly explains the offer to founders and accredited investors: eligible private companies gain access to growth capital while retaining control; investors can participate in growth companies earlier on the path to a potential IPO. The brand also needed to preserve DFM’s credibility and attract both sides of the market.

    HOW WE WORKED

    We created a simple brand language referencing positive market signals and built practical tools for consistent use. We launched at Dubai Capital Market Summit and supported the team with the keynote, launch video, website, and brand governance.

    THE SOLUTION

    We positioned Arena as DFM’s private market platform connecting eligible private companies with accredited investors. We defined a direct value proposition and produced guidelines and launch assets so the brand could be deployed consistently across presentations, video, and web.

    OUR DELIVERABLES

    Brand strategy

    Brand positioning

    Brand identity & design system

    Brand architecture

    Launch video

    THE RESULTS

    A clear, credible market introduction that explains the offer, signals DFM trust, and enables efficient rollout across summit, video, and web.

  • Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites (RCMC)

    Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites (RCMC)

    Royal Commission  for Makkah City and Holy Sites

    A renewed experience  

    THE CHALLENGE 

    In 2018, the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites (RCMC) was established by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Dragoman was appointed to create the identity, design systems and all brand assets. This was then approved at the highest level by HRH Salman bin Abdulaziz Al–Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.   

    As a new brand and organisation, it was imperative for extensive brand guidelines to be created to ensure the consistent rollout of the brand, both internally and across external communications.  

    THE SOLUTION

    The guidelines introduced the brand strategy and showcased how to use the RCMC brand assets correctly and confidently. It also influenced how they speak as an organisation and will be used long term to assist in the development of their company culture.   

    The document includes all guidelines around the new brand identity, to ensure it is used with the utmost respect and always reproduced using the official artwork files.  

    The identity guidelines were supported by a unified set of brand assets and a colour palette that are distinctively RCMC. These allow the brand to visually express itself while staying coherent and considered.  

    Additionally, photography was used as the primary method of visual brand storytelling. The guidelines included a library of images that can be utilised across all types of communication.   

    These visual components were paired with the introduction of a dual language font, to reflects the brand’s ambition for clarity, legibility and accessibility.   

    The guidelines detailed the application of the brand across a broad range of internal elements and communication collateral, including stationery, employee welcome pack, staff apparel, livery, publications, website, digital advertising, social media and corporate office interiors.   

    Finally, the production specifications and paper stocks were rigorously selected. Highgrade proof testing, across digital and offset, was completed to ensure a premium reproduction of the colours and metallic finishes.   

    The first round of these guidelines are now complete and being introduced internally through a brand ambassador program. Further iterations will continue as we work with this long term client.

    PROJECT DELIVERABLES

    Insights and research
    Brand strategy

    Brand identity

    Design systems

    Brand guidelines

    Brand management


     

  • Majid Al Futtaim

    Majid Al Futtaim

    Majid Al Futtaim

    From brand management to brand value

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    Project overview

    Majid Al Futtaim is the leading shopping mall, hotel, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia. It is one of the United Arab Emirates’ most respected and successful businesses, spanning 15 international markets and employing more than 43,000 people.

    Dragoman has worked with Majid Al Futtaim’s brand team for nearly 5 years and is involved in the full spectrum of brand activity, from launch of the new brand through to the ongoing management of the brand. At the end of 2014, a new Majid Al Futtaim brand strategy provided a branding solution for the entire brand portfolio, consolidating it under one master brand.

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    What we did

    Brand Launch & Guidelines

    Dragoman was appointed to define the brand architecture, design system and brand guidelines for the launch of the brand at the end of 2014. We worked with the management team and the launch team as the lead agency on a brand council, liaising with several communication, PR and digital agencies, production companies and printers. The brand was launched to much fan fair, signalling the new intent of the organisation and starting a remarkable branding journey which we are proud to still be part of today.

    Brand Architecture

    Dragoman created the structures and endorsement systems for the business portfolio, breaking it down into relevant categories that could be referenced for future brand development or acquisition. Defining the relationship between each category allowed us to ensure that brand equity was always transferred towards the masterbrand. Ernst & Young was then appointed to test the equity link between each brand in market. Dragoman went on to complete the products & services brand architecture, outlining what elements required a separate brand and subsequently assist in defining the level of investment required todevelop it. A self-guided decision tree allowed Majid Al Futtaimstaff members to take themselves through the questionnaire to determine the correct outcome.

    The brand architecture continues to evolve as the business grows and Dragoman reflects these changes in ongoing iterations.

    Brand Management

    Post the launch of the brand, Dragoman was appointed as the lead agency for Majid Al Futtaim’s ongoing corporate brand management. We designed all touch points from stationery items to environmental branding. We ensured the brand guidelines remained updated as the organisation grew and the brand needed to extend across new business’s or new activations. We also deployed several strategic initiatives across the organisation to support the management and rollout of the brand. These included a brand management portal where all employs and partners could access information and digital assets related to the brand and the creation of a brand ambassador program.

    Brand Audit

    The brand audit forms one part of the broader brand management services that Dragoman provide Majid Al Futtaim. The brand audit provide senior management with quantifiable year-on-year statistics of the organisation corporate brand compliance. (click here to read more)

    Brand Portal

    Dragoman designed and built an online brand management portal to house all corporate brand guidelines and assets essential to the rollout and management of the Majid Al Futtaim brand.

    Brand Ambassador Program

    It was critical to Majid Al Futtaim that the brand was effectively delivered in the market by their staff, as they are the primary interaction point with customers and partners. Dragoman designed a brand ambassador program that identified key employees to act as champions of the brand across the organisation. The program reduces the stress on the corporate branding team and introduces the importance of brand across the organisation with the ultimate goal of achieving brand consistency across the organisation and empowering departments and business units to make the right brand decisions.

    We provided the ambassadors with toolkits to use in their departments or business and set out a schedule of reviews with the ambassadors to feed information back into the Majid Al Futtaim brand team that helped to assess the current mechanisms for brand rollout, identify best practice and any required updates to the guidelines.

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    PROJECT DELIVERABLES

    Insights and research
    Brand strategy
    Brand architecture
    Brand assets
    Design systems
    Environment design
    Brand guidelines
    Brand engagement
    Brand portal
    Brand audit

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