Middle East Brand Summit 2020, a Transform magazine online conference

Welcome and opening address

Creativity will be our saviour

Creativity has never been as important. Once the bought-in service from agencies, boutiques and hot-shops companies are increasingly developing their own creative strength and the role of the chief creative officer is becoming more prevalent. Google’s Creative Impact Lead outlines his views on why creativity has to take centre stage.

Brand experience in a post-Covid19 world

There is no doubt that the Covid-19 will impact businesses in general.

Some industries might be shaped completely, and others will need to adapt to jump on the new "normal" wagon. Brands are here to stay and will become even more relevant than the people behind them as businesses continue to communicate and operate remotely.

In an attempt to equip ourselves with the future branding requirements post COVID-19, we will be looking to gain insights and collect data from industry peers, clients and prospects to understand their business and brand challenges in order to map the future brand experience journey post the pandemic.  The insights will help us analyse how to adjust our services/practices, methodology and deliverables to mirror this new mapping.

Transform Tales: Caterpillar 

Winning strategies from Transform Awards winners from around the world: Part one, Asia-Pacific

One outcome of the current situation is that the world has become somewhat of a smaller place. Going forward, brands may need to become more relevant to more local markets. The concepts of brand localisation may never have been more important. This was what Chinese brand agency, Creative Capital, did for the century-old Caterpillar brand . It revived the American heritage brand, repositioning it from being a mere purveyor of products to the living encapsulation of a classic brand story. It blended the brand’s genuine heritage with its urban explorer credentials to craft a successful localisation. By instilling the brand legacy and its industrial DNA into the visual identity and physical space, Caterpillar made its offering more relevant to a Chinese audience. Louis Houdart, group CEO of Creative Capital will walk delegates through this award  winning brand localisation.

Creative briefs: Infographics and Data visualisation

What can mainstream brands learn from the mainstream media

Media brands have been successfully reinventing themselves over the past twenty years, as media has become increasingly a digitally consumed product. 

The current crisis has taken our brand consumption online in a way brands would never have thought possible. Can those brands learn invaluable lessons from media brands and how can they put that into action. 

This session includes contributions from traditional print media, broadcasters and digital-first brands. 

Transform Tales: Coutts

Winning strategies from Transform Awards winners from around the world: Part 2, Europe

With so much of the world on lockdown family has become increasingly important. 

With more than 325 years of heritage, Coutts is an iconic name in private banking. But, the brand had become tired and needed an overhaul. External stakeholder research found that one of the most prized aspects of the bank is its family feel and unparalleled service. FutureBrand’s put family at the heart of its new brand positioning, adopting a bright colour palette and introducing a digitised logo. The updated brand strategy helped Coutts take two golds at this year’s Transform Awards Europe. FutureBrand’s executive creative director, Marie-Therese Cassidy talks us through this award winning rebrand. 

Short lunch break

We would normally allow an hour for lunch. It wouldn’t only be an opportunity to eat, but a chance to network; to meet new people and to catch up with old faces. We can’t do that now. But you’ve got twenty minutes. Why don’t you get your guacamole out of the fridge and then send an email to a LinkedIn contact you haven’t heard from for two years.

Challenges brands face as they grow

Facing challenges

The challenges that lie ahead for brands will be varied and many. For some brands the past few years have been beset with challenges. How have they coped and what can we learn from them.

Transform Tales: Kasowitz Benson Torres 

Winning strategies from Transform Awards winners from around the world: Part three, North America

U.S. litigation firm Kasowitz Benson Torres went for one of the most hard-hitting rebrands Transform magazine has seen. In the words of one of the Transform Awards judges “This was edgy and borderline aggressive, it doesn’t mince words in its brand messaging. The visual elements shock and transmit a message of confidence and clarity of purpose.” The overall intention of the rebrand was that if you wanted someone to fight for you - you would want this firm. 

Duncan Shaw, executive creative director of Living, shares the strategy behind this successful rebrand.

Pivot. Adapt. Evolve. 

Museums, galleries, exhibitions and event spaces throughout the world are all closed. A transformation in the way brands are experienced has shifted completely overnight. For long established brands such as the New York’s Metropolitan Museum or France’s 'Chateau de Versailles', the wealth of material made this online brand repositioning straightforward. But Saudi Aramco’s King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture – Ithra -- had only opened its doors to the public in June 2018. In this session we will hear how the young brand has repeatedly pivoted to address and respond to ongoing societal shifts, an evolving cultural landscape and now with Covid-19 crisis, the opportunity to extend the brand’s reach and programming and shrink the distance with its global audience.

Building sustainable brands

Brands have been discussing sustainability for a while, with some like Patagonia and Unilever looking like exemplars. But how do you put sustainability at the heart of a brand? Is it even possible to look at sustainability and brand on a spectrum of choices? WPP and Landor have put sustainability in a central role, and Landor’s Executive Strategy Director for the CEEMEA region Ashish Banerjee will share how sustainability can drive the brand development process, followed by a discussion with inspiring panelists.

Closing discussion

The transformative power of brand strategy and design in a Covid-19 world

Closing address