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.
Cultural Issues
The modern era is a cultural epoch that was defined by a certain way of viewing the world as expressed via culture. Where it raised many cultural issues such as:
The major reason for choosing Mother’s Day as a cultural issue is because motherhood should be honored and observed in different forms throughout the world.
This cultural interchange that was mainly due to all the mentioned factors identified several common cultural concerns shared by a number of countries, an example of that is Mother's Day. That’s why it was very important to choose this specific ad topic.
Mother's Day
​
Since few businesses, particularly telecommunications firms, place a don't priority on mothers or Mother's Day, it was necessary to bring attention to this issue and the vital role it plays in our lives. It's something that a lot of people can connect to. For companies that operate on a worldwide basis, paying enough attention to cultures in advertising is critical. Since Etisalat operates in a variety of countries, it's vital to highlight something that each country's culture appreciates since 2017. Etisalat has been emphasizing Mother's Day in their advertisements every year since then (Eldin, 2020). The reason for choosing this topic is because it is important to see the roles mothers have in our lives. Over the past decade or so mothers have always been represented in a very stereotypical way and advertisements seem to not want to change that representative image.
​
How Etisalat leveraged the cultural issue of Mother’s Day in their AIMC:
​
Etisalat, for example, made a special mention of Mother's Day in their commercial in 2019. It utilized a highly appealing phrase "the strongest connection ever" to emphasize the mother-baby relationship and to underline the connection with its consumers, and it featured earphones shaped like a mother cradling her baby. Furthermore, they utilized the color green in their advertisement, which, according to psychology, denotes a sense of security and safety (Radu-Golea, 2020) (Fig. 1).
​
Communication Platform:
​
-
Issue Being Addressed: Spreading awareness on the important roles they have in our life.
-
Communication Objective: Showing appreciation to mother's all over the world.
-
Target Audience: The ad is mainly targeting families and Mothers.
-
Compelling Benefit: Etisalat is showing the strong bond and connection a mother has to their kids and kids to their mother, at the same time saying that has the strongest connection just like a mothers bond to their child and vice versa.
-
Creative Strategy: The ad shows a headphone outlining a mother figure holding a baby. The text says “the strongest connection ever” which also resonates with Etisalat having a strong connection.
Figure 28: Happy Mother's Day Etisalat Print Advert
How Du leveraged the cultural issue of Mother’s Day in their AIMC:
​
Unlike Etisalat, Du did not mention Mother's Day in their advertisements until 2021, when it was launched for the first time. In 2021, Du emphasized Mother's Day. It released a video commercial of someone using the phone to send a letter to their mother, in which they mention something funny that their mother used to do for them when they were a child; this highlighted the close emotional connection between the mother and her child, as well as indicate that the company cared about this connection. It also concluded the video with a slogan that praised the strength of a mother. Furthermore, the advertisement was written in both English and Arabic, demonstrating the company's concern for cultural differences in language.
​​​
Communication Platform:
​
-
Issue Being Addressed: To shed a light and show appreciation on how much they do for us.
-
Communication Objective: Showing emotional attachment between mother and son.
-
Target Audience: Family members and mothers.
-
Compelling Benefit: Du is showing the strong emotional connection that mothers have to their kids and the company’s care for this bond.
-
Creative Strategy: This ad focused on the mother's-kids strong emotional connection while also indicating that the corporation cared about this relationship. It also ended the video with a phrase that complimented a mother's strength. Furthermore, the advertising was written in both English and Arabic, displaying the company's awareness of language distinctions.
Figure 29: Happy Mother's Day, Du video commercial
Communication Platform:
​
-
Issue Being Addressed: Mothers are always perceived as female roles.
-
Communication Objective: To show that there are people who don’t have the privilege of the stereotypical Mother figure.
-
Target Audience: Fathers who are single handedly raising their kids, kids that don’t have a mother.
-
Compelling Benefit: Addressing the issue to help those who feel left out on this day and emphasizing the importance to involve everyone in their Ads.
-
Creative Strategy: Du thinking outside the box and changing the stereotypical approach to Mother's Day.
Figure 30: How du could have addressed their issue differently
What Du could have done differently:
​
This is an Advertisement that we created to show a different interoperation. Rather than blending with Etisalat and doing the typical Mother holding her child picture, Du could have gone in a different path. Looking at this ad this is special and unusual since not every child is raised by a mother, but rather by someone who has a mother figure in their life. Some fathers are both mothers and fathers to their children, and this is a topic that not a lot of light is shed on.
​