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.
Near Future Era (2022-2030)
Big Brother Ideology
Technology can be used to do a number of things. We can use it to better our lives or for a destructive purpose. The technology we use is not always the best for us, but there’s no denying that we cannot survive without it. Technology has advanced so much that it is hard to keep up with it. The use of technology in the processing of information can therefore not be seen as ethically neutral. In this work we will discuss the use of technology in Big Brother and how privacy is invaded in such ways which can be regarded as unethical.
Big Brother in the society will cause some loss of privacy but on the other hand it can also mean that continuous monitoring will decrease crime rate and criminal activities can be easily caught. While advances in technology bring many conveniences into people’s lives, they can also overwhelm, stress out, and invade privacy. Every year news headlines warn a new technology means privacy is gasping its final breath. (Jones,2013). Privacy is dead – if you haven’t realized it yet, you soon will. As the internet becomes more and more of a part of our everyday lives, we are giving up huge chunks of privacy all the time – from the convenience of online shopping to the dangers of online scams. The duty to respect a person's privacy is furthermore a prima facie duty. (Xavier,2018)
As far as Big Brother is concerned, it is not worth the price of privacy that the general public will lose. Continuous monitoring will make people alert and they will fear that they are being watched, their freedom which is a human right will be lost. It will make them mentally ill and that will eventually give rise to multiple other problems for the country.
Contradiction
The UAE is a society that has been built on the basis of trust and respect, principles which have become ingrained in our culture. So, it’s not surprising that Emiratis and expats alike feel uncomfortable with the idea of being watched in their country. This shows that the rise of the invasion of privacy makes people lose trust in the technology that is why the UAE government doesn’t approve of that kind of behavior as harmful to society. The UAE Government has always respected the privacy rights of individuals. The laws governing personal data in the UAE are clear and well established. The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has also played an important role in protecting the privacy of subscribers by making sure that telecommunication providers abide by the data protection rules. Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority-TDRA shall not collect personal information about you while you access the website. (Obrien, 2020)
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But there are still some concerns about privacy rights when it comes to new technologies, such as mobile phones and social media. Due to the ability of cell phone providers to use cell phone towers to pinpoint users’ locations. (Tsal, 2009) The most common concern voiced to me is about location tracking, which is an important feature for some smartphones. However, this can be disabled if a person does not want to be tracked.
The responses reveal that consumers are becoming increasingly intentional about what types of data they share—and with whom. (Anant, 2019) Location tracking works by tagging your smartphone’s SIM card with your account details so that you can be located anywhere in the world at any time, which is a valuable safety feature for many people. It’s also easy to disable this feature if you are not comfortable with it and do not wish to use it.
Myths
“The Cyber Attack” Myth, Etisalat
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The privacy of Etisalat customers is of paramount importance to the company. All reasonable and appropriate steps are usually taken to protect against unauthorized disclosure or use of a person’s personal information. In order to offer quality service and a good experience, Etisalat strives to make sure all their customers are happy. Etisalat Website may collect various types of information from Users when they visit the Etisalat Website. This may include User IP Address, User Date/Time, Type of Internet Browser, and URL of any website that may have referred User to Etisalat Website. (Etisalat, 2021). In this way, they insure privacy and security for the user. However, because
Hackers often target less secure networks and use PBX systems for outgoing calls as a gateway to redirect calls to external destinations to create fraud on a company's telephony system. Hackers are more likely to utilize unprotected services to gain entry into systems and begin making expensive international calls. Several hundred dirhams' worth of bills could be accrued by the affected customers in a few hours, resulting in damage to the company's reputation and several other issues. Despite PBX fraud, Etisalat is continually devising ways to protect customers. By investing in a network-level fraud mitigation system, they prevent breaches and fraud at earlier stages while also reducing attacks on their customer's infrastructure.
Etisalat Co-authors
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The UAE is the main co-author of “The Cyber Attack” myth because the country has been on the rise as they have always been a country where privacy is found for every citizen living. Also, they manage to come up with strictly beneficial rules that can protect its citizens from any harm. With the UAE's impeccable safety record and the lifestyle expats can enjoy without worrying about crime, the country is often hailed as a destination for luxury and safety. The UAE is safer than other highly populated countries, with the rare exception of violent crime; however, petty crimes do occur, and residents should exercise normal precautions. (Expat Arrivals, 2021)
Etisalat Populist World
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The business industry is the populist world because they are the industry who is mainly affected by the myth. All organizations should maintain and protect the privacy of their customers and employees. It’s crucial that privacy management must go beyond legal requirements since it can majorly impact an organization's reputation which will lead to financial losses due to the legal cases, lawsuits, and the revenue loss.
Etisalat Creative Execution
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Communication Platform:
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Issue Being Addressed: Many people are too busy to sit at their workstations all day or to accept critical work matters or urgent calls in public.
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Communication Objective: Raising awareness for people’s privacy by building trust within Etisalat as a brand. To make everyone’s lives easier and make taking calls in public places more convenient.
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Target Audience: It's targeting employees, men/women that ages between 23 to 50 who tend to be busy and usually on the go. Also, people who get a lot of work calls at all hours of the day.
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Compelling Benefit: Etisalat’s private pods ensure that everyone has the comfort of being able to find the privacy needed especially in public places without having to worry about answering phone calls in busy public areas such as offices and shopping malls.
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Creative Strategy: Etisalat created private pods that will be inserted in the most crowded/ busiest places like the malls as well as businesses across UAE to help its customers get a bit of privacy in public areas by allowing them to answer urgent calls or attend meetings. The pod is designed in a way where once a person enters inside the pod, the glass door becomes cloudy in which it's invisible for the people outside. Once the person is done, the glass reappears back to how it was and the pod becomes vacant and available for the next person.
Etisalat Private Meeting Pods
Figure 41: Etisalat’s Private Meeting Pods
Social Media Posts
Figure 42: Etisalat’s Private Meeting Pods- Instagram Story & Post
“Service Trust” Myth, Du
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At du, the customer’s privacy protection is crucial and very important to them, and they are always focusing on ways to keep all of your information secure. The Privacy Policy clarifies how du utilizes each individuals’ data information that they have created or gathered. Many of the products and services that du offers require them to obtain specific personal data about each individual in order for them to perform the services that they are trying to provide. (Du, 2021)
In the year of 2021, du collaborates with Thales to find a way and enhance their data security processes. Thales, a worldwide leader with data protection and they are here to enhance Cybersecurity and the Digital Trust. Because the frequency of data breaching has been increasing over the past few years, du has prioritized their main focus on trying to enhance data security, through their digital cloud and on-premises. (Writer, S, 2021)
Du always tries to partner with the external partners to counter threats and to also prevent any possible digital discrepancies from negatively affecting their clients, the government, the customers and the community itself. (Writer, S, 2021)
Du Co-authors
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The Ministry of Human Resource & Emiratization (MoHRE) is a co-author of the “Service Trust” myth. The Cybersecurity department in the UAE, aims to plan and build a secure and robust cyberinfrastructure which will enable the people to achieve their goals and businesses to thrive and prosper. Their main strategy was officially launched in 2019 by TRA, in which they are the ones responsible for the ICT sector and the digital transformation within the country. In order for them to implement this type of strategy, the UAE will have to develop an ecosystem which mobilizes the entire cybersecurity industry through different mechanisms and pillars. (Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratization, 2021)
As part of the National Cyber Security Strategy, the UAE strives to secure communication and information within the country and to also provide and create a safe informed society. As a result of implementing this framework, MOHRE has been able to protect their financial data, intellectual property, all types of customer information, as well as managing and reducing the risks of any personal information. (Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratization, 2021)
Du Populist World
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The public in general are the populist world that are affected negatively by the privacy issue. The collection of people's data is becoming more and more skeptical and unethical. Many people have stated that they have been starting to get concerned about the invasion of privacy and the amount of data that is being collected from them. One of the major reasons is that people across many countries around the world are becoming a lot more aware of how companies are using their data.
Du Creative Execution
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Communication Platform:
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Issue Being Addressed: There are a lot of data breaches which are rising frequently in the digital world.
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Communication Objective: To raise awareness on the issues of privacy, in which they partnered with a worldwide leader in data protection to protect the consumer’s privacy.
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Target Audience: Males and females, ages between 18 to 55, who are most likely to have private information throughout their devices. It is for the users who are concerned about their privacy being exposed and to the users who don’t like being tracked.
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Compelling Benefit: Du wants to offer a safeguard and ensure everyone has their own privacy.
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Creative Strategy: A press release is made in which du made a statement on their newest partnership with a worldwide leader in data protection and that MoHRE officials approve.
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A new feature on du’s app is made in which it will allow the users to know more about their personal data protection, allow the users to scan any sort of data that has been tracking them, and to also allow users to analyze the websites tracking them. In addition, a YouTube advert has been created which showcases the new feature on their app.
Du Press Release
Figure 43: Du press release
App Feature
Figure 44: du CyberTrust privacy app feature
YouTube Video Advert
Figure 45: Du CyberTrust Privacy Feature - YouTube Advert
