2014 Winners & Shortlists

Brief Explanation

• Multinational agency networks and expatriate talent and creative thought dominate the Arabian Gulf. • Local agencies find it hard to compete for regional accounts. • Local talent cannot group with enough concentration to produce the critical mass required for a local creative school of thought to emerge. • This situation led to mediocre creative output, non-connecting communication and dilution of local cultural identity. Our key objectives: • Develop a unique brand with universal appeal and a hint of local authenticity. • Our new brand would bear clear relevance to the unconventional branded entertainment and content approach of the agency.

The Brief

• DarOtakwin, an agency with a majority of local talent, aspired to start an authentic creative and design movement in the Arabian Gulf. • After 4 years of fair success and growth in four major cities in the region, we were still not able to penetrate the major league of large regional accounts. The brands of the international networks were too dominant. • An opportunity arose when the agency was featured by thenetworkone as one of 13 leading independent agencies of the world. • We decided to rebrand and launch a bold brand that would establish market leader positioning.

How the final design was conceived

• We rebranded as DaDeDo a universal lyrical name that describes the creative frontier where no one has gone before. • DarOtakwin was abbreviated to DO, then it was accentuated to create a familiar Arabic tune from school days. • We conceived a dynamic logo that constantly changes and evolves. • Identification and consistency are achieved by the name, the rhythmic capital D’s and small vowels and the Arabic accents. • The identity can be read simultaneously in English and in Arabic. • We created a unique 5th element by portraying our team members as “everyday superheroes”, each with their own unique superpowers.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

• We sent Teaser emails to our clients, inviting them to see our “true identity”. • The email and social media posts lead viewers to our launch film “Everyday Superheroes”. • The unconventional brand identity was supported by unorthodox business cards and stationery that focused on the “superpower” of each staff. • We also developed a new website that complemented the launch and tied it all together with a “Reveal” Emailer. • Our clients and prospects in the region were surprised by the new brand identity as one client said “It put a smile on my face all day”.