Best in rebranding and brand development to be celebrated across Middle East and Africa
Now entering its seventh year, the Transform Awards Middle East and Africa is the definitive benchmark of excellence in rebranding and brand development. Previous winners include the likes of Meraas, STC, Virgin Mobile, the Kenya Ministry of Tourism, Red Bull and others.
Next year’s awards, taking place in late spring 2020, will feature the favourite categories from previous years like, ‘Best use of a visual property’ and ‘Best strategic or creative development of a new brand.’ But entrants can also submit their work in audio branding, place branding, brand consolidation, tone of voice development and visual identity excellence.
Ahead of the 2019 awards, judges met in person to discuss and debate each entry and the panel will be convened again ahead of the 2020 event. Brand experts from across the region take part in the judging panel, offering insights and providing critiques to every entry submitted to the awards. This rigorous process makes the winners of the Transform Awards the true standard-bearers for rebranding and brand development.
For the first time, Transform is broadening its scope to include sub-Saharan Africa in the Transform Awards. Transform magazine’s publisher, Andrew Thomas, “The Transform Awards just becomes more relevant each year. Last year’s shift to a more standardised judging process increased the credibility of the results and this year, as we see the scope of the awards widen to include all of Africa, the Transform Awards will become an even more definitive benchmarking of brand design and strategy.”
The entry process is straightforward and guidance is available here.
For questions, please contact Jessica Dunmall.
Entries are accepted until 30 January 2020, but those submitted by 21 November will receive a discounted entry fee and avoid the late fees which come into effect after 16 January.
Categories include:
BEST USE OF A VISUAL PROPERTY; PHOTOGRAPHY, ILLUSTRATION OR DIGITAL
This award is for the best use of imagery: graphic, still, video or digital, during a rebrand or brand development project.
BEST BRAND ARCHITECTURE SOLUTION
This category rewards the most efficient corporate organisational strategies developed for a brand.
BEST USE OF COPY STYLE/TONE OF VOICE
This award is for the brand that best uses a verbal style to reflect its overall identity and to differentiate the brand from its competitors.
BEST BRAND EXPERIENCE
This award recognises excellence in the experiential aspects of a brand or rebrand. Developments to a physical space, online portal or other location that enhance the user’s experience of a brand will be accepted.
BEST USE OF PACKAGING
This award recognises the company that most effectively communicates a brand’s positioning, values and visual identity via product packaging.
BEST WAYFINDING OR SIGNAGE
This award honours branded signage and wayfinding systems that have been strategically developed to be effective and reflective of the brand’s values and overall visual identity.
BEST USE OF AUDIO BRANDING
This award recognises companies that have employed an innovative use of sound in the development of their brand.
BEST USE OF TYPOGRAPHY
This award reflects the role that typography has played in a brand's journey. This could be where the typography is an actual component of a wordmark or where typography is used within the visual identity. Alternatively, this award could be given when visual identity and typography have been strategically aligned through an organisation’s brand guidelines.
BEST PLACE OR NATION BRAND
This award recognises the brand journey made by a nation or a place. Entries could be from national, regional, city or district level.
PROCESS
BEST EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDER RELATIONS DURING A BRAND DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
This award is for the best communication with external stakeholders throughout the process of a rebrand or during a brand development project. Companies should recognise that progress requires measured communication with all external stakeholders.
BEST INTERNAL COMMUNICATION DURING A BRAND DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
This award recognises the importance of effective communication with the internal audience during a brand transformation. Employees should be engaged and informed about changes in a company’s positioning or brand strategy, ensuring the changes takes place evenly throughout the organisation.
BEST IMPLEMENTATION OF BRAND DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
This award is for the best execution of developments to or rebrand of an organisation. The coordinated rollout of a change helps to ensure a new identity has maximum impact on audiences
BEST IMPLEMENTATION OF A BRAND DEVELOPMENT PROJECT ACROSS MULTIPLE MARKETS
This award is for brand development campaigns or rebrands that have been rolled out across multiple national markets to ensure that brand identity works across different languages and cultures.
BEST LOCALISATION OF AN INTERNATIONAL BRAND
This award benchmarks the effort of an organisation at bringing a global brand to the MENA region, making it relevant to the local markets.
STRATEGY
BEST CREATIVE STRATEGY
This award is for the best creative, thought-out, aligned strategy behind the repositioning of a brand.
BEST BRAND EVOLUTION
This award is for the brand that best moves its identity into the future while maintaining links with the past and evolving in a clear and creative way.
BEST STRATEGIC/CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW BRAND
This award is for the company that has adopted a strategic or creative approach when developing its new brand in order to differentiate the brand or the company amongst its competitors or within its sector.
BEST DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW BRAND WITHIN AN EXISTING BRAND PORTFOLIO
This category rewards companies that develop a new brand within their portfolio of brands. As well as acknowledging the strategy and development of the new brand the judges will also look to see what the development adds to the existing corporate or master brand.
BEST NAMING STRATEGY
This award honours innovation in naming. It is for the most appropriate new name for a new brand, rebrand or brand extension or where an organisation can demonstrate a clear and well thought through naming strategy.
TYPE
BEST CORPORATE REBRAND FOLLOWING A MERGER OR ACQUISITION
This award is for the best rebrand of an organisation following a merger with another company or the incorporation of another company into the original brand.
BEST BRAND DEVELOPMENT PROJECT TO REFLECT CHANGED MISSION/VALUES/POSITIONING
This award is for the best repositioning of an organisation to reflect a new approach to its business.
BEST BRAND CONSOLIDATION
This award is for the most effective alignment of individually branded elements and sub-brands of an organisation.
BEST REBRAND OF A DIGITAL PROPERTY
This award is for the best rebrand across the digital and online assets of an organisation, including its websites and apps.
SECTOR
BEST VISUAL IDENTITY FROM:
This award is for the best identity developed and used by a brand, including all visual aspects of a rebrand from logo to typeface in the brand’s sector.
- a charity/NGO/not-for-profit
- education
- energy and utilities
- engineering and manufacturing
- farming and agriculture
- financial services
- FMCG (fast moving consumer goods)
- food and beverage
- healthcare and pharmaceuticals
- industrial and basic materials
- lifestyle and wellness
- mining and extractives
- professional services
- property, construction and facilities management
- public sector
- retail
- technology, media and telecommunications
- transport and logistics
- travel, leisure and tourism
BEST OVERALL VISUAL IDENTITY
This award is for the best overall identity developed and used by a brand, including all visual aspects of a rebrand from logo to the typeface. You cannot enter this directly, all visual identity entries across different sectors will be automatically put forward for this award.
GRAND PRIX FOR EXCELLENCE IN REBRANDING
This award is for overall excellence in rebranding. You cannot enter this directly, all entries will be automatically put forward for this award.
