Andrea Assi
Nour Haddad
Sahar Nifnaks
Andrea Assi
Nour Haddad
Sahar Nifnaks
​​In order to establish and promote the identity brand of Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways in two periods across the future era, we have to implement cultural branding strategies explored and discussed by Douglas Holt in “How Brands Become Icons: The Principles of Cultural Branding” (2004). Holt suggests that too often advertisers rely on the use of traditional mind-share principles and brand attributes when it comes to selling to a customer. However, he reveals an alternative; a cultural branding strategy that focuses on building relevant “identity myths” that are formed through the deep analysis and understanding of ideologies, populist worlds, and consumer anxieties. Holt defines cultural branding as the “set of axioms and strategic principles that guide the building of brands into cultural icons”. This formula of cultural branding principles has led to the mass success of iconic brands.
We will be creating an identity myth chart for the two potential periods in the future era of Etisalat and Du branding. The first step is to identify the appropriate ideologies along with their contradictions for each period. By analyzing the potential social, political, and economical issues that could arise in the future while keeping in mind the understanding from previous research conducted in the past and present era we have developed, we were able to create four myth markets (two myths per period) in order to address the anxieties, desires, and needs.
​​In order to establish and promote the identity brand of Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways in two periods across the future era, we have to implement cultural branding strategies explored and discussed by Douglas Holt in “How Brands Become Icons: The Principles of Cultural Branding” (2004). Holt suggests that too often advertisers rely on the use of traditional mind-share principles and brand attributes when it comes to selling to a customer. However, he reveals an alternative; a cultural branding strategy that focuses on building relevant “identity myths” that are formed through the deep analysis and understanding of ideologies, populist worlds, and consumer anxieties. Holt defines cultural branding as the “set of axioms and strategic principles that guide the building of brands into cultural icons”. This formula of cultural branding principles has led to the mass success of iconic brands.
We will be creating an identity myth chart for the two potential periods in the future era of Etisalat and Du branding. The first step is to identify the appropriate ideologies along with their contradictions for each period. By analyzing the potential social, political, and economical issues that could arise in the future while keeping in mind the understanding from previous research conducted in the past and present era we have developed, we were able to create four myth markets (two myths per period) in order to address the anxieties, desires, and needs.
Du
Brand History
Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC) (Arabic: شركة الإمارات للاتصالات المتكاملة). It became UAE’s second integrated telecom provider by the end of December 2005, which was mainly owned by the UAE Federal Government. In February 2006, EITC revealed that they would be changing their brand name to du in the upcoming months (Who are we, n.d). They received its integrated provider license, which ended Etisalat’s 30-year monopoly on the telecom services within the UAE. By April 2006, almost 20% of du’s shares were listed on the Dubai Financial Market. Few months passed, in February 2007, the company officially rebranded their name to du, and launched their domestic mobile services (Du, 2021).
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Du offers mobile and fixed telephony, broadband connectivity and Internet Protocol Televisions (IPTV) services to people and businesses. Furthermore, it also provides carrier services for businesses and satellite services for TV broadcasters. Du also offers multiple values, while it continues to always try to enhance their services (Du, 2021).
Vision and Mission
Du’s main vision is to enhance your life, anytime and anywhere. Their focal mission is that they want to delight their customers, to be the employer of their own choice for the best talent, and to always create an optimal value for their own shareholders through the business and the innovation, and to always find ways to contribute to the transformation of their community. du works hard to deliver their vision by using their talent, skills, inspiration, energies to connect and the rewards every day.
Their brand values are based upon having confidence, where they take responsibility and have the courage to trust their own judgments. Friendly in a way where they can relate to everyone in a human way, in a way of being approachable yet respectable at the same time. Honesty, with the basis of trust, being straightforward with the truth. As well as, surprising, which is based upon finding new different and better ways of doing things.
Logo and Slogan
2006
The du logo has been in use from 2006 until 2019. The color blue is mostly associated with business and it represents reliability, trustworthiness, as well as communication. Also, the light blue color represents inspiration, confidence, stability, and intelligence (Bourn. J, 2016). They created the color of the logo symbolizing their mission and values to the company. Du’s slogan is about their ambition to make the public realize through their corporate values and their behavior that they do. So, they put their slogan as “add life to life”.
2019
In 2019, du launched their new brand campaign with the slogan “be more you” which highlights the self-identification of their customers and to be more modern and human. The slogan that they previously had “add life to life” needed some refreshing, and so the new slogan is meant to somewhat create a more positive impact on people’s lives and to allow them to follow their dreams.
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The new brand identity comes with du’s growth and helps them prepare for the upcoming phases. This is a new chapter in the telco’s evolution towards having a better lifestyle brand of choice that has been built upon delivering the best-in-class telecommunication services. This new step will be across all of the du connected phones through the mobile networking change of name. The gradient of the colors light blue to dark blue and to purple has a nice touch behind the color symbolism. Light blue is associated with trustworthiness and inspiration. Dark blue represents depth and stability. And purple relates to power and ambition. Those three colors combine into a gradient finish, having the logo looking more aesthetic and well thought off.
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Figure 2: Du's logos over the years
