In the heart of Dubai’s creative district, the Middle East Brand Summit explored the region’s passion for, interest in and understanding of brand. Following the summit, the Transform Awards MENA honoured excellence in brand strategy and rebranding.
The Transform Middle East Brand Summit and Transform Awards MENA successfully celebrated and debated brand development, rebranding and brand positioning in the Middle East for the second year. The awards was marked by a diverse group of winners that reflect the versatility of the region’s branding community and the recognition among businesses within the region of the importance of brand.
Winners at the event included Batelco and GO Telecommunications, which took home the ‘Overall visual identity’ and ‘Grand Prix’ awards, respectively. Others were honoured for their use of copy style, their successes in brand implementation and their development of new and existing brands.
Brittany Golob, editor of Transform magazine, said: “All of the winners of the Transform Awards MENA deserve the recognition they received last night as they succeeded in a competitive, rigourously-judged field. We are proud to announce the winners of the second annual Transform Awards MENA and wish all of the successful brands our congratulations. It was a pleasure to see the dedication and level of work going into brand development and rebranding projects in the Middle East.”
The Middle East Brand Summit was a true success as over 100 brand professionals discussed, debated and explored the world of brand communications in the Middle East. The summit began with a look at the way brands build communities among their stakeholder groups. Following that, the concept of innovation was examined as a force for change in the branding industry.
The day proceeded with both discussions of the process involved in developing a brand or a rebrand and of the psychology and emotional impact behind that brand. Explorations of the built environment and of brand language drew interest from delegates, as did a comparison of the objective and subjective decision making processes. A look at luxury and at businesses with a social mission rounded out the day.
Tanita Sandhu, executive director of marketing, brand & communications for Dubai Design District, a speaker at the summit, said: We want to be seen more as a country with soul and spirit, not just for the glitz and the glamour.” Branding, she noted, is a primary means of achieving that shift in the UAE.
For both the Transform Awards 2015 and the Middle East Brand Summit, interest in and quality of entries has doubled since the inaugural event last year. The events held in Dubai yesterday were a mark of the desire by the Middle East’s brand community for further development of its expertise, quality and versatility in rebranding and brand development.