Dragoman breakthrough brands

Location: Abu Dhabi

  • The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO)

    The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO)

    The Prime Minister’s Office – Happiness Report

    Communicating the UAE Government’s success

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    PROJECT OVERVIEW  

    Attaining happiness is a global pursuit. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Government has always had deep regard for its citizens’ wellbeing and believed that there is a correlation between their happiness and the growth of the nation. As a result, it sought a deeper understanding of happiness amongst its citizens and residents.

    The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) conducted a state-of-the-art research study with leading partners to develop the UAE Government Services Happiness Model. This ground-breaking research was transformed into actionable recommendations at a government service level, with a view to better meet the needs of UAE citizens and enhance their overall happiness.

    This global first needed to be shared with academics and leaders across the world. Dragoman was appointed to write and design an in-depth report, documenting the project’s success.

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    WHAT WE DID  

    Dragoman worked with the PMO’s research team and senior management to tell the story of the research methodology, data analysis and key recommendations. A 5,000 word report, titled ‘Optimising Happiness to Impact a Nation’, was written and finessed, telling the compelling journey of the project and its achievements.

    The concept for the report was to create a design that has structure, order & clarity. The approach explores a contemporary report style that is well organised and formal, but remains engaging and accessible and is authoritative in its delivery. This is achieved through a disciplined grid system, distinctive typography and sophisticated colour palette.

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    PROJECT DELIVERABLES

    Communication strategy
    Copywriting
    Design systems
    Iconography
    Infographics
    Information architecture
    Literature design
    Tone of voice

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  • Nomas

    Nomas

    Nomas

    Let life flow.

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    PROJECT OVERVIEW  

    Create a brand for a residential development that was focussed on the lifestyle and not the buildings.

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    WHAT WE DID  

    Generosity can be highly contagious. When we act kindly toward one person,
    that person is much more likely to be kinder toward others in the future.

    This starts a ripple effect of kindness. It starts as a single act, but then spreads outward affecting many more.
    Our acts of kindness don’t only affect the people we do nice things for,
    but many other people who we may never even come into contact with.

    Nomas creates the ripple effect in our society, where shared values,
    views and moments will lead to the fulfilment of the simplest of life’s pleasures. It is here that every conversation and interaction comes to life. .

    The name ‘nomas’ means contentment and amplitude. 

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    PROJECT DELIVERABLES

    Brand positioning
    Brand strategy
    Design systems
    Brand identity
    Brand guidelines

  • Masarra

    Masarra

    Masarra

    From the wonder of Abu Dhabi
    to the world

    “Dragoman embraced the time challenge and our developing business plan to deliver a brand our team is very excited to promote across the globe to grow tourism in Abu Dhabi.”

    Asif Parker

    THE CHALLENGE

    Miral, the creators of the awe-inspiring experiences in Abu Dhabi, like Yas Waterworld, Ferrari World, WarnerBros. and Sea World sought to develop a destination management company (DMC) to elevate the tourism experience for travelers to Abu Dhabi and the UAE.

    HOW WE WORKED

    The goal was to soft launch the brand at WTM in November 2024, which gave us 8 weeks to deliver the brand. We worked intimately with Asif Parker (General manager) and his newly formed team, to develop the brand. We formed a very close working relationship exploring and testing new ideas as the business plan was unfolding.  We also set up a global community of travelers to provide real-time feedback on the brand as we developed it.

    THE SOLUTION

    DMCs often focus their brand on the role they play with travel operators and position themselves on their functional attributes. We recommended we define our brand purpose on the role we play in helping travelers fulfill their travel experiences.

    Purpose:

    Delight people in the wonder of our world 

    Promise:

    Savour the world 


    We then created an ownable name in Masarra that originates from the word for delight and happiness in Arabic but with a unique spelling for ownership. 
    Our identity combines the local flavor of Abu Dhabi with the opening of the window to the world. We combined with our GenPlus group partners and their PR agency to soft launch the brand at WTM and develop the comms for the brand as it goes to market to sign up its partners.

    OUR DELIVERABLES

    • Brand Positioning
    • Name, Identity, Visual system
    • Guidelines
    • Video
    • Communication

    THE RESULTS

    Masarra is successfully signing up global travel operators and local travel providers to curate and deliver authentic and extraordinary experiences for their Abu Dhabi visitors.  

  • DIFC — Harnessing Local Talent campaign

    DIFC — Harnessing Local Talent campaign

    Dubai International Financial Centre

    Harnessing Local Talent campaign — 82% increase in leads

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    Project overview

    DIFC wanted to support the UAE’s 2021 Vision of empowering local talent, supporting SMEs and promoting entrepreneurship within the country.

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    What we did

    Dragoman and the team at DIFC conceptualised the Harnessing Local Talent (HLT) competition. A national campaign aiming to attract local designers and homegrown brands, with the winners given the opportunity to set up a retail presence in The Design House, DIFC’s dedicated space for SMEs.

    Dragoman worked on the communication architecture and endorsement strategy, recommending that the HLT competition be linked back to the DIFC masterbrand. This enhanced DIFC reputation for supporting entrepreneurial talent and fostering creativity.

    The campaign ran across paid digital, social media, print, PR and environment branding, with strong targeting on creative audiences and the SME community. The campaign’s creative style visualised the many different aspects of design craftmanship, aimed at enticing SMEs from diverse sectors.

    The campaign produced an 82% increase in retail leads for DIFC. The initiative was so successful that it is now in its second year and is currently sponsored by the Dubai government’s cultural department, which has led to further funding and national exposure.

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    PROJECT DELIVERABLES

    Insights
    Brand architecture
    Communications strategy
    Design
    Animation
    Campaign management

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  • Majid Al Futtaim — Brand Audits

    Majid Al Futtaim — Brand Audits

    Majid Al Futtaim — Brand Audits

    Quantifying brand compliance across the organisation

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    Project overview

    Post the launch of the brand there was continued investment in the brand to ensure its effective rollout across all business units. With an ever increasing drive for brand consistency across the organisation, it was time to see how effectively the new corporate brand was being implemented.

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    What we did

    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.

    Dragoman worked with the brand and marketing department to design a brand audit and reporting process. The brand audit process sets out the mechanism, the scoring criteria and the reporting format. The collation of branding samples is done by Dragoman and the internal audit team. A report is then generated for each site or department that provides the brand and marketing team with quantifiable. The final audit report defines brand compliance across the organisations, helping management to assess key criteria such as the success of strategic brand initiates, employee and department capabilities and brand guidelines relevance and usability. Any practical implementation issues with the brand roll-out were identified, along with anything affected by changes in the business strategy, and the results are updated in the evolving brand guidelines. The brand guidelines are accessible to all employees and partners through the brand portal.

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    PROJECT DELIVERABLES

    Design systems
    Brand guidelines
    Brand engagement
    Brand portal
    Brand audit

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  • Al Forsan Village

    Al Forsan Village

    Al Forsan Village

    Activating a vibrant community 

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    PROJECT OVERVIEW

    The area surrounding the Al Forsan International Sports Resort (AFISR) was masterplanned to create a new and vibrant community in Abu Dhabi. This was also the first development of the newly formed Al Forsan Real Estate.

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    What we did

    To establish a new development brand in a crowded real estate market, we used the aspect of sport and its broader impact on a community as one of the key factors for the brand proposition. The impact that the development would have on the surrounding area and its community was also an inspiration, not only for the brand but also eventually the corporate development brand. The brand proposition, the fabric of the community, became the inspiration for a vivid brand. The various components of the development were brought to life through a tapestry of iconography and colour that conveyed a sense of excitement and created and engaging visual narrative that transcends nationalities and cultures to create a connected and vibrant community.

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    PROJECT DELIVERABLES

    Insights and research
    Brand strategy
    Brand architecture
    Brand assets
    Design systems
    Brand guidelines

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  • Al Forsan Real Estate

    Al Forsan Real Estate

    Al Forsan Real Estate

    Building communities that enrich lives

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    PROJECT OVERVIEW  

    Al Forsan Real Estate is the holding entity for Al Forsan Village, a vibrant residential community in Abu Dhabi.

    In the UAE, there is very little differentiation between property developers, as they all communicate the same brand proposition around quality, green spaces and sustainability. The congested market allowed Al Forsan Real Estate to create a unique brand and market proposition.

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    WHAT WE DID  

    Dragoman reviewed the company’s existing brand architecture and assessed the business’s components, to ensure that the new brand could house a future growing portfolio of real estate communities.

    Dragoman’s recommended brand proposition focused on Al Forsan Real Estate’s positive impact beyond their communities and into the surrounding neighbourhoods. In essence, positioning them as the master-developer that create ‘active communities that enhance the fabric of society’.

    The name Al Forsan (means knight in Arabic) and the company’s dynamic approach to development inspired the brand’s identity and visual style. Dragoman created the brand identity and the suite of brand assets, including the corporate stationery, company profile and digital assets. The design elements allowed Al Forsan Real Estate to have a strong presence at the upcoming Abu Dhabi real estate trade show.

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    PROJECT DELIVERABLES

    Brand strategy
    Brand proposition
    Brand architecture
    Brand identity
    Brand assets

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  • Kizad Launch campaign

    Kizad Launch campaign

    Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi – Brand Campaign

    Tailoring key sales messages to unique global markets

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    PROJECT OVERVIEW  

    Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD) plays an integral role in the economic diversification of the Emirate as outlined by the Abu Dhabi 2030 Vision.

    KIZAD needed a global brand campaign to take its business offer to 8 international markets. Dragoman was appointed to assist in communicating KIZAD’s bold business vision; ‘bringing global industrial business to the Abu Dhabi market’.

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    WHAT WE DID  

    Dragoman developed an overall sales messaging matrix. This involved working with the business development, marketing and management teams to assess the different industrial sectors that they wanted to focus on in each global market i.e. promoting KIZAD to the steel industry in Germany and it’s 0% tax value proposition.

    Each global market had tailored campaign creative, with its own unique key message and copy in the native language. The campaign ran across all digital channels and print, with Dragoman working alongside KIZAD’s media buying agency to execute the material roll out.

    The campaign messages were a balance between informative and engaging. This allowed KIZAD’s key selling points to clearly be communicated across intelligently designed layouts and executions.

    The impact of the campaign was considerable, generating quality leads for the business development team. The cost-per-acquisition for new tenants was the lowest on record, providing a new benchmark for marketing ROI at KIZAD.

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    PROJECT DELIVERABLES

    Advertising campaign
    Campaign management
    Key messaging

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  • 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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