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 videoed 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.

Sales

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).

Reach/cultural impact

Omani 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 and coming young artists.

We began with a key insight into youth, that they have switched off from traditional marketing. Our research shows that youth crave individualised products and services, that they want to be listened to, not preached at. We developed a strategy built around

co-creation, the idea that the best way to make a brand relevant to youth was to have youth themselves design the brand. Other brands have used user-generated content in elements of their marketing. To our knowledge, no one has ever allowed an entirely

user-generated brand identity. We invited youth to create the logo, the visual identity system and to design all of the touchpoints of the brand. Most brands, when they engage with user-generated content, make the mistake of trying too hard to influence them. We wanted youth to show us their world, their Oman, and most of all, to make Shababiah their brand.

Situation

How do you gain the attention, interest and respect of youth who love to stare into their phones, live life online and are immune to everyday communications? It’s a challenge for most brands and particularly acute for telecom operator Ooredoo in Oman, where half the population were born after 1992, making youth a demographic juggernaut vital for growth.

Brief

Our client, Ooredoo Telecommunications, asked us to create a brand named Shababiah (which means “youthy” in Arabic), and use this as the platform for engaging Omani youth.

Objectives

With the commercial objective of acquiring 40,000 new customers in the first six months, the inherent challenge in this brief was how to reach out and grab the attention of youth in Oman, a generation notoriously immune to marketing and jaded in how they consume brands.