Transform Awards MENA reveals winners

The winners of the inaugural 2014 Transform MENA awards were announced at a gala dinner held in Dubai’s JW Marriott Marquis hotel last night.

The event realised the expansion of the prestigious Transform events, and launched the first edition of Transform; a global magazine dedicated solely to rebranding, brand repositioning and brand transformation.

The awards has celebrated outstanding strategic rebranding in Europe for five years, but 2014 sees the awards launch globally to recognise work done by Middle Eastern and North African agencies and companies.

Gold winners on the night included Mubadala and Brash Brands for ‘Best visual identity from the  property sector,’ Dubai Airports and StartJG, for ‘Best internal communication during a rebrand,’ and Milaha and Bellwether, who took home four golden butterfly awards including ‘Best overall visual identity,’ for a rebrand that successfully visualised Milaha’s global reach and ambitions. Telecommunications company, du, took home the Grand Prix for a brand development project that a judge described as “an undeniably successful commitment to the role of branding and the results are outstanding.”

Prior to the Transform MENA awards the Transform MENA conference brought together industry leaders to discuss the issues surrounding rebranding and reputation. Topics covered included an analysis of Gen-Y’s relationship with brands, and the importance of strategy and implementation when developing a brand. The conference was a great opportunity to bring together industry leaders and share expertise.

Andrew Thomas, the publishing editor of Transform magazine says, “We were delighted not only with the calibre of work submitted and the reaction of those who won but also by the commitment from all who were there to make the Transform Awards an important fixture in the region. We have already started work on next year’s event.”

The Transform awards continues to grow with the Transform Asia-Pacific awards, to be held in Hong Kong this November, an early-bird discount will be applied to entries submitted before 18 June. The first Transform magazine was launched at the MENA event and will be available to download on android and iPad shortly.

Content
Best use of a visual property
Gold – Seef Mall and Unisono
Silver – Al Alan TV and Turquoise Branding
Bronze – dnata and Brash Brands
Bronze – King Abdullah Economic City and Turquoise Branding
Highly commended – Commercial Bank of Qatar and Industry

Process
Best external stakeholder relations during a rebrand
Gold – Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and StartJG

Best internal communication during a rebrand
Gold – Dubai Airports and StartJG
Gold – EQUATE Petrochemical Company and Fresh Insight Associates
Silver – dnata and Brash Brands
Bronze – Milaha and Bellwether
Highly commended – Cluttons and Industry

Best implementation of a rebrand
Gold – Gama Aviation and Brash Brands
Silver – Abu Dhabi Airports and Face to Face
Bronze – Emirates Islamic and Endpoint

Strategy
Best creative strategy
Gold – Milaha and Bellwether
Silver – Al Nahdi Medical Company and Landor Associates
Bronze – Gürallar Artcraft (Turkey) and Landor Associates
Bronze – Qatar Museums Authority and Landor Associates
Highly commended – Cluttons and Industry
Highly commended – dnata and Brash Brands

Best brand evolution
Gold – du
Silver – Mey İçki (Turkey) and Landor Associates
Silver – Toyota (Al-Futtaim Motors) and Bellwether
Bronze – Commercial Bank of Qatar and Industry

Best strategic/creative development of a new brand
Gold – Mubadala Petroleum and Omnia
Silver – ARN and Brash Brands
Bronze – Abu Dhabi Technology Development Committee and Brand Union
Bronze – The Supreme Council of Health and Agency222
Highly commended – Al Mutawakelah and Omnia
Highly commended – Fundo Soberano de Angola and Grayling

Type
Best rebrand to reflect changed mission/values/positioning
Gold – Intel and Red Peak
Silver – Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and StartJG
Bronze – Commercial Bank of Qatar and Industry
Highly commended – Doha Film Institute
Highly commended – Pace and Garden

Best brand consolidation
Gold – Toyota (Al-Futtaim Motors) and Bellwether
Silver – Albatha and Bellwether
Bronze – dnata and Brash Brands

Best rebrand of a digital property
Gold – .Xplored for GardaWorld and Bladonmore (Middle East)

Sector
Best visual identity from a charity/NGO/NFP
Gold – Doha Film Institute

Best visual identity from the technology, media & telecommunications sector
Gold – MixFM and Turquoise Branding

Best visual identity from the financial services sector
Gold – Emirates RE and Omnia
Gold – alizz islamic bank, Oman and OHI Leo Burnett, Oman
Silver – Arab Link and Unisono
Bronze – Commercial Bank of Qatar and Industry

Best visual identity from the industrial and basic materials sector
Gold – Milaha and Bellwether

Best visual identity from the property sector
Gold – Mubadala and Brash Brands
Silver – Amlak and Unisono
Bronze – Cluttons and Industry
Bronze – Dilmunia and Unisono
Highly commended – Al Wa’ab City and Unisono
Highly commended – Blackstone and Brash Brands

Best visual identity from the retail sector
Gold – 1915 by Seddiqi and Brash Brands
Silver – The Galleria and Brash Brands

Best overall visual identity
Milaha and Bellwether

Grand Prix
du