The big idea was to have young Omanis create the brand identity themselves so that it would be relevant to youth, with us curating their designs into a world class brand.

We invited an Omani calligrapher to create the logotype. We sourced up and coming young Omani artists and gave them a very simple brief... to create their own versions of the Shababiah logo and identity. All they were given was the logotype and free reign for their creative imaginations.

The young artists involved include Shayma who creates stories using sand, Saif who creates light paintings with calligraphy, Sarah, an Omani conceptual portrait artists whose art tells hidden stories, Amira who does stunning doodles, Nabhan, an illustrator, Waleed, a figurative painter with a surrealist edge and Rawan, interested in humanism and feminism.

We filmed the artists during the creative process and this became part of the brand’s content for launch on social media. The early stages of their drawings provided interesting ‘teaser’ content as it engaged viewers in the artistic process before the logo was even launched. Some of the artists went beyond the logo space itself, creating entire canvases for the brand which became the brand’s advertising, SIM card packaging, vehicle livery, press packs and merchandise as well as in its content online and on social media. In every way this was a brand created by youth, for youth.

The effectiveness of Shababiah far exceeded expectations with all targets smashed since its launch on 28th July 2016.

At the end of six months Shababiah had acquired 200,000 new young customers against a target of 40,000 and has gained 10 per cent market share of the youth segment.

What is more, the new customers are using the service and spending more than expected with average revenue per user over target by 57% (Source: Ooredoo Oman).

Oman is a conservative culture. Traditionally, to be commissioned as an artist, you had to be part of a recognised artistic institution. Shababiah opened up new opportunities for young Omanis to gain recognition. The artists involved in the brand have all reported a big increase in commissions. Shababiah gave them a platform for recognition and made it cool to commission up and coming young artists.