New Abu Dhabi Brand Identity Unveiled
Communicating the essence of the Emirate, the brand is set to drive areas such as tourism and foreign investment
Abu Dhabi, November 7, 2007 - The Office of the Brand of Abu Dhabi and the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority today unveiled the highly anticipated new brand identity for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. In a special event attended by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Executive Council, and other Sheikhs, more than 400 leaders from government and the private sector were briefed on the brand itself and how it will be rolled out initially to generate tourism and direct foreign investment.
“Today’s launch is the culmination of a two year journey that has resulted in the development of a holistic brand that captures the spirit and essence of Abu Dhabi in a way that engages the audiences we want to attract to our Emirate,” said H.E. Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nayhan, Director General, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority. “This brand is much more than a logo or a slogan, it defines how we should project ourselves to the outside world and how we should interact as an Emirate.”
The development of the brand commenced with the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority’s (ADTA) desire to create a tourism brand. This initiative quickly evolved into a project of national significance because the initial work by the ADTA revealed the opportunity to create a brand identity as relevant to business and government as it was to tourism.
In order to best communicate the vision of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nayhan, President of the United Arab Emirates, ruler of Abu Dhabi, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Executive Council, mandated the ADTA to work in cooperation with the Executive Affairs Authority to carry out extensive research internationally and in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. This work was accompanied by a vast amount of design and creative development involving leading global agencies.
“The result is a brand with core principles that can be adopted across all Abu Dhabi organizations, ensuring a shared understanding and approach that will ultimately deliver a consistent experience for visitors across all sectors” added H.E. Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan.
To oversee the development of the brand and to drive its implementation, a new government entity, the Office of the Brand of Abu Dhabi has been established by a resolution of the Chairman of the Executive Council.This office will act as the guardian and patron of the brand and will help the public and private sectors understand its purpose and applications to ensure the Emirate’s image is represented appropriately.
The Brand Elements
The brand identity is divided into two key elements:
- A visual tool kit including logo, fonts and color palettes that will be provided to select Government Departments mandated with the promotion of Abu Dhabi as a tourist or investment destination, or foundations and associations specifically established to protect and promote the cultural identity of Abu Dhabi.
- Guidelines to help organizations adopt the core brand principals and incorporate this in such areas as behaviours, sponsorships, associations and environment.
“In order for a brand to be successful it must communicate with its target audience in a certain way and connect with what’s important to them in order to motivate them to act,” said H.E Reem Al Shemari, General Manager, Office of the Brand of Abu Dhabi. “That is why the new brand of Abu Dhabi is much more than a logo – it also encompasses a set of principles and values that all organization with the Emirate can adopt.”
It was revealed that the recent transformation of Abu Dhabi taxis by the Department of Transport benefited from the new brand identity. The taxi livery has a colour palette and design that is sophisticated and contemporary, yet remains true to the Emirate’s Arabic heritage. In addition, the introduction of a new code of conduct will improve all areas of taxi operation including driver identity, hygiene, language skills, a new call centre and driver tracking capability, and the introduction of LCD screens. The result is that every area of the taxi customer’s experience will improve.
An online resource has been created to assist government and corporate entities in understanding, and where appropriate, applying relevant elements of the brand. This “extranet” resource can be found at www.brand.abudhabi.ae
International Outreach
As the leading organization mandated with the promotion of Abu Dhabi to international audiences, the ADTA has adopted core elements of the brand to create a new corporate identity, also unveiled today. It was announced that the ADTA will drive the first phase of international outreach for the brand at the World Travel Market in London on November 12-15 2007, as the principal sponsor of the event.
“ADTA’s commitment to the brand is absolute - that is why we have adopted elements of it within our new corporate identity and will also use key elements of the brand to develop consumer based marketing campaigns in the coming months,” said His Excellency Mubarak Al Muhairi, Director General, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority. “We believe very strongly in its potential to connect us with the types of visitors that we wish to attract and the partners that we wish to work with.”
It was also revealed that following the World Travel Market, ADTA will finalize plans for an international marketing campaign which will include advertising in European markets aimed at building brand awareness and driving tourism for Abu Dhabi.
Delegates at the briefing heard how work will next begin through the Department of Planning and Economy to utilize the brand in order to further drive the promotion of Direct Foreign Investment.
For editorial enquiries please contact:
Khaled Al Felasi
Tel: 02 616 1461
khaled.alfelasi@eaa.gov.ae or info@brand.abudhabi.ae
Anita Kean
Tel: 02 616 1444
Tel: 050 610 4565