Digital Boom

Category: Marketing

  • Things You Need To Know Before Getting Started With SEO

    Things You Need To Know Before Getting Started With SEO

    If you have just learned about search engine optimization (SEO), you might feel a little bit intimidated because it is so much you need to learn. It might not be helpful, but you should know that even those who started using SEO a decade ago are still learning new tricks with SEO today.

    However, it would be best if you learned things before you got your first foot in the SEO world and later on catch up with new tricks as they present themselves. Before you get overwhelmed with too much information, understand the meaning of SEO and its importance to the business.

    We can define Search engine optimization as an online marketing strategy that helps individuals and businesses to increase the chances of their online content being found faster on search engines such as Google or Bing.

    SEO helps to improve your search engine ranking under organic listings.

    Organic listings are search engine results that are free. When you search for anything through Google, you will first see the paid advertisements and organic listing on the first search result page.

    If SEO can help you appear among the first organic listings, then you are guaranteed to enjoy numerous benefits from this experience.

    Some of the benefits you can enjoy from effective SEO services is increased brand awareness, more traffic on your website, and becoming more competitive, among other benefits. Here are other essential things you need to grasp about SEO.

    1. Content Is Everything

    Content is anything you input on your website, or any other online platform, that holds your brand information. It can come in text, images, audio, or even videos.

    You need to know that Google and other search engines love good content, and the quality of your content will determine your success with SEO or any different online strategy.

    The content you put online is significant because it is the thing that will drive traffic to your website and also encourage your website visitors to visit over and over. If you can consider HigherVisibility’s SEO guide for beginners, you will learn more about the importance of content when it comes to SEO. Put more effort into providing quality information, be thoroughly engaging, and be as relevant as you can.

    2. Performance Is Essential

    You need to know that no client will keep trying to open your website if it’s slow or keeps on giving errors when loading.

    It means that as much as you may have the best content, your website must be performing very well for you to enjoy the benefits of SEO.

    Make sure your efforts from coding, optimization of images, and compatibility with different devices, such as mobile phones, are top-notch.

    User experience is everything because it will encourage them to visit your website the next time they look for similar items you sell. How your website performs will impact how well search engines will serve your content.

    3. Link Building

    It is possible to link someone else’s business in your content using anchor texts, and they can also do the same for you. Link building is perfect because search engines, such as Google, use search algorithms to review links between different sites.

    While it is an excellent way to create content on external websites and thereby increase traffic towards your content, you must be very careful to avoid falling on the wrong side of your favorite search engine.

    Your search engine will determine if your linking with other websites passes the quality and quantity criteria for it to be considered a good or a bad vote for your website content. The sources of links also matter.

    4. There Are Rules Involved In SEO

    If you are targeting Google as your search engine, you must abide by the rules laid by Google when creating your content. Taking by the rules will increase your chances to be ranked high and therefore be found faster by potential clients.

    First of all, your keyword research should be very effective because it will help you build content based on what people are searching for on the internet.

    The bottom line, follow all Google guidelines to the latter. If you choose not to follow the rules, you will have to pay high penalties, such as Google Panda or Google Penguin, which will be an awful experience for you and your business. Being banned or penalized by a search engine can kill your business, especially in today’s digital world.

    Try to play it smart and do the right thing.

  • Deezer appoints Kijamii as its digital agency in MENA

    Deezer appoints Kijamii as its digital agency in MENA

    The internet-based music streaming service Deezer has appointed Kijamii as its digital agency in the Middle East and North Africa region.

    Kijamii will be responsible for the execution of Deezer’s strategy across digital and social  in Arabic across the MENA region countries.

    Founded in 2011 by Bassem El-Hady, Bahy Abo El-ezz and Coucha Ahmad. Kijamii is recognized for its global footprint, strategic integration, and creative innovation. It has an extensive experience in internationalization of global brands such as Arsenal, Liverpool FC, Chelsea FC in England, AS Roma in Italy, Soundcloud and FC Bayern Munich in Germany.

    https://www.facebook.com/DeezerMENA/photos/a.1774501066009323/1775656412560455/?type=3&theater

  • How to Build a Strong Brand Identity

    How to Build a Strong Brand Identity

    This is the era of startups and technological innovations. A significant rise in self-employment has also been observed in the past few years as working professionals are finding comfort and peace of mind in doing something on their own rather than working in an organization. However, this means that the competition has increased, too which is where the concept of brand identity comes in.

    What is brand identity? Why is it important?

    Brand identity is a collection of ideologies, mission statements, and business practices that a company is associated with. In other words, it’s the sum of what makes your company stand out from the rest. 

    Brand identity comprises of brand name, brand voice, brand relationship, and brand personality. It’s important for every business that wants to grow and build trust in its customers. 

    If you are interested in building a strong brand identity, then just follow these steps:

    1. Define Your Target Audience 

    You don’t have to read the stories of huge branding fails from famous companies to understand that you can’t get expect to make a profit when you are selling your products and services to the wrong customers. Only when you know what your market is, you can actually work on ways to capture leads and convert them into paying customers successfully. 

    2. Establish Your Value Proposition 

    Your unique value proposition aka unique selling proposition (USP) is what makes your business different than others. It helps you to identify your position in the market and leverage the qualities you have to gain traction. 

    To establish your value proposition, take the following steps:

    • Identify your competitors and understand their brand. Analyze how they are they doing business differently than you.
    • Define the problems that your services or products solve. 
    • Create a mission and attach a strong message to it.

    3. Develop Your Brand’s Creative Elements 

    There are various audio, visual and other communicative elements that are a part of a complete brand identity. These are:

    • Company website
    • Logo
    • Social media banners and content
    • Business cards
    • Promotional videos
    • Jingles

    4. Establish a Marketing Strategy

    How to Build a Strong Brand Identity
    Image Source: Target Marketing Magazine

    How do you plan to market your products on the Internet? This is one of the most important questions that you must ask yourself. For instance, if you are interested in social media marketing, which ideally you should be, then there are a few things you should remember. First, whenever you are making a marketing decision, think mobile. This is because more people access social media on their smartphones than any other device. The distribution of Facebook users alone shows that 95% of them access the platform on mobile devices.  

    Another thing to remember which is also one of the best tips you will ever get for your Facebook and Instagram marketing campaigns is that you shouldn’t be afraid to take risks. There is a huge competition on social media, and if you stick to safe topics and content formats, then you won’t get far and become lost in the crowd. So, it’s critical that you experiment with your campaigns and see what kind of results you get. Don’t be discouraged if certain types of posts don’t work for you. Try again and again until you hit the nail on the head!

    5. Plan Brand Marketing Strategy 

    Building a strong brand takes a lot of effort and time. However, to get the desired results, you must market it well. For instance, you want to customize your blog, website, social media channels in line with brand elements including a particular color scheme, a brand voice that is reflected in the content you share on social media, etc. You also need to create a story for your brand as every business needs powerful storytelling to grow in today’s commercial landscape.  

    6. Set up Social Listening Tools 

    To create a strong brand that cares for its customers and is thus treated with love and respect, you must be willing to learn what your customers have to say. For that, you need social listening tools.

    Social listening tools allow you to check on social media users to learn what they are saying about your brand. You can monitor a variety of elements including retweets and mentions, complaints and compliments, shared website links, and more. 

    The following are some of the best social listening tools that you can use:

    • Hootsuite: Hootsuite is one of the oldest and most powerful social media manager programs in the world. It allows you to monitor multiple streams in one place which cover Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Foursquare, and even WordPress blogs. It’s affordable and supports cross-platform usage which means that you can use it on both your computer and smartphone (both iOS and Android). 
    • Klout: It’s one thing to keep a track of the “likes”, “retweets” and “comments” on your social media posts, but another when you want to measure your brand’s actual influence on the popular platforms. Klout is the perfect solution for this. It measures dozens of variables from popular social media platforms to give your brand a rating ranging from 1 to 100 which reflects your “true reach”. 
    • BuzzSumo: If you want to identify your top influencers i.e. social media users that are spreading your brand’s name around by sharing your content, then BuzzSumo can help you with that.  It allows you to set up keywords and monitor social media activities based on them in real-time.

    7. Measure, Analyze, and Refine 

    How to Build a Strong Brand Identity
    Image Source: SFDC Static

    You can’t make your company successful unless you track its progress in terms of tangible factors. So, it’s important that you monitor your social media campaigns and sales reports to ensure that you are headed in the right direction. There is always room for improvement and changes have to be made from time to time. So, take note of that, and continue to refine your brand so that it stays ahead in the competition. 

    Conclusion

    Brand identity is extremely important for both small and large businesses. However, getting it right usually takes some time. So, be patient, and eventually, your efforts shall bear fruit. 

    Good luck!

  • Shell’s Social Media Guru to Speak at Marketing Kingdom Cairo 4

    Shell’s Social Media Guru to Speak at Marketing Kingdom Cairo 4

    Tom Webster, Global Social Media Strategy Manager – Retail, Lubricants & Motorsport at Shell in the UK is one of the keynote speakers at the fourth edition of the Marketing Kingdom Cairo, scheduled to take place from 17-18 October at the Royal Maxim Kempinski Palace in Cairo.

    At Shell, Tom oversees the running of multiple social media channels, advises on content strategy and best practice, and builds Shell’s social media audience worldwide. Previous to Shell, he was Social Media Producer at ITV, running all aspects of social media for the network’s three digital channels. He has also worked at several startups and was a member of BAFTA’s digital committee.

    We recently sat down with him and asked him to give us 5 tips for the Egyptian social media marketing and PR professionals.

    1. Act like a publisher. There’s a good chance your business does not rely on traffic from social media to keep making money. Some businesses do. Look at Buzzfeed. Look at Vox.  If their social content is not the very best it can be, they don’t make money and they cease to exist. Learn from them. Copy them – don’t copy their content, but copy their techniques!
    2. Work with the platforms. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube…they are all in the business of making money. They all have plans and goals and a roadmap of where they want to be. Learn what they are and align your social media plans to theirs. For example – Facebook wants to make money from video. To do this they need a big library and to be the place people think of for online video. They therefore want more video uploaded. So video gets more prominence in the newsfeed. Brands should focus their attention on video. They get more views of their content and Facebook gets to become a player in the space. Everyone benefits (Except YouTube!)
    3. Dig into your data, and use it! Long gone are the days where you could look at the number of likes on your account as a key data point. Now, good social media tools allow you access to all kinds of data on your content. Use it! Your data can help you identify your biggest fans and harshest opponents, what specific markets like (and don’t!) and all manner of other factors. This is all very good, but unless conclusions are drawn and plans are improved based on the data – it’s useless.
    4. Look beyond the platforms you know, and look to where your customers are. Some people get trapped in a mind-set that social is just the platforms they use. ‘If I’m on Facebook, that’s where our customers are!’ Not so. And this is especially relevant to those working internationally. Find where your target demographic are, and where communities may already exist. They may be on Reddit, or Swarm, or WeChat. Learn these platforms. Conversely, don’t be tempted to be everywhere. Snapchat may be pretty cool, but it might not be the place for you.
    5. Don’t forget to be social. Facebook was recently described as a ‘Free Content Ad Platform’, rather than a social media site. Twitter moved from ‘Social Networking’ to ‘News’ in the App Store. Social media is getting a little less social. But the social element is still a core property. It’s easy to publish and forget. But it’s sub optimal. Maintaining the social aspect builds trust, brand preference and can nullify problems and issues before they get out of hand. Being social also forces you to listen to your customers. Not a bad thing really!

    To meet Tom plus global marketers from Facebook, Unilever, Twitter, Microsoft, YouTube, Nespresso, Infiniti and FP7 MCCANN/MENA, grab your discounted ticket for the Marketing Kingdom Cairo 4 on this link.

    The Marketing Kingdom Cairo is organized by P World, an international creative agency with operations in 35 markets around the world.

    The first ever edition of the event was organized in March 2011 and since then 14 countries have hosted the event. This year the event is also going to be organized for the first time in North America, from 18-19 October in Vancouver, Canada.

  • UAE’s new influencer marketing policy comes into effect

    UAE’s new influencer marketing policy comes into effect

    The national media council’s law to regulate influencer marketing industry has came into effect on Jun 1. UAE-based social media influencers who are making commercial gains from their online popularity are now requested to obtain a license before the end of June 2018, that costs 15,000 AED and is valid for a year.

    In March, the National Media Council of the UAE revealed a new set of rules targeted at digital media platforms such as social media, e-commerce sites, online publishing institutions, video and audio distributors, as well as advertisement firms.

    The recently unveiled guidelines will apply to all the aforementioned digital platforms operating in the UAE.

    Mansour Al Mansouri, who serves as the Director General of the NMC, made the announcement in Abu Dhabi. He also stated that the new regulations were intended to help UAE’s social media platforms and other digital media to stay up-to-date with the rapid developments happening in the sector.

    However, some media experts say that the laws were put in place to stop influencer marketing and had nothing to do with bringing transparency to the sector or any other kind of enhancements.

  • Sponsors hijack Egypt’s World Cup 2018 airplane branding

    Sponsors hijack Egypt’s World Cup 2018 airplane branding

    On Tuesday, Egypt revealed the 2018 World Cup airplane sparking frenzied criticism on social media over the state-owned mobile operator’s excessive branding, which dominated the paintwork.

    Egypt's national football team airplane branding, Sponsors hijack Egypt's World Cup 2018 airplane branding
    Photo Credit: ON Sport

    “These are not the colors of the Egyptian national team… I feel like this is the airplane of WE’s team,” said Osman Badran, founder of Brand Bees advertising agency, in a Facebook video post that was shared over 600 times.

    Badran also criticized the quality of team photos and their placement, noting that some key members, like Goalkeeper Hadari and Coach Cooper, were sidelined.

    “Having a branded airplane for our national football team is something we should all be proud of, but it has to be done right for Egypt’s image,” said Badran.

    World Cup 2014 Airplanes

    Most countries are yet to reveal their national team airplanes, but here is a look at some of the 2014 World Cup planes. Germany’s Lufthansa went for a simple, elegant design while changing its name temporarily to Fanhasa. Air Berlin also changed its name to Fan Force One, mimicking Air Force One, which carries the president of the United States.

    Twitter shares the same opinion

    Thoughts!

    Reporting by Ahmed Maher; Editing by Sara El-Khalili

  • Who Egyptians trust most, least when it comes to brands

    Who Egyptians trust most, least when it comes to brands

    Trust is one of those intangibles which we as communicators must always focus on. Trust, that notion of one person relying on and believing in a second person, is key to changing attitudes and behavior. But how do you build trust, and what channels should you focus on? These are the questions that we need to answer to be able to do our job of building and protecting reputations. So, where should one begin when looking to build trust?

    Based on research by YouGov, which was commissioned by the Middle East Public Relations Association and which included a survey across the six Gulf states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates), Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon, the place to begin isn’t online, but rather face-to-face. Fake media, less impactful advertising, and third-party advocacy are also reshaping where consumers in the region put their trust.

    Here are the research results from Egypt. The research is quantitative, so there are no explanations from those surveyed as to why they chose what they did.

    Survey Base

    1004 people were surveyed in Egypt, 97% of whom were Egyptian and 3% were ex-pat. When it comes to gender, 51% were male, and 49% were female. Just over 40% were aged between 18 and 29, 21% were between the ages 30 and 39, and 39% were aged over 40.

    In terms of geography, it’s no surprise that over a third were Cairo-based, with 36% living in the capital. Of the remainder, 24% live in the Delta, 17% in Alexandria, 16% in Upper Egypt, and the remainder in the Canal Zone/outside of these areas.

    In terms of salaries, 30% earn less than US$266 per month, 24% earn between US$266 and US$532, 17% earn between US$533 and US$1,065, 8% earn between US$1,066 and US$2,665, and 3% earn more than US$2,666. Approximately 18% of people refused to disclose their earnings.

    Finally, 41% described themselves as single, 47% as married with children, and 6% were married but had no children. The remaining 6% were classed either as other or did not respond.

    The Influence of Family, Friends and Third Parties

    When it comes to those closest to them, Egyptian respondents said they have an 85% level of trust in face-to-face conversations with friends and family about products and services.

    Only 3% of respondents said that they would not trust a face-to-face discussion. Those who displayed the highest levels of trust include respondents earning between US$533 and US$1,065 (90%), those living in the Canal Zone (96%), and those who are married with children (88%).

    Trust in social media posts by friends and family about products and services averages at 51%; mistrust comes in at 14%. Trust is most pronounced in those earning above US$2,666 (62%).  Those who are between 18 and 24 are least likely to trust such posts (20%), as are those living in Alexandria (22%).

    Egyptian respondents have a higher trust in third-party endorsements of products and services than most other countries in the region; 62% agreed that they trust third-party endorsements more than what a brand says about its own products and services, compared to 6% who don’t. The highest trust is among those who are earning less than 500 Egyptian Pounds and those who are earning over 10,0001 Egyptian Pounds (both 70%), as well as ex-pats (76%).

    Trust in Social Media

    Egypt’s respondents were torn over social media posts by influencers and people with lots of followers on products and services; 32% said they found such posts trustworthy, and 31% said they found them untrustworthy. Men were much more likely to be trustworthy (37%) than women (27%). Those who are earning between US$1,600 and US$2,665 also had the most trust (51%) in such posts. The least trusting were ex-pats (23% for, 43% against).

    Unsurprisingly, social media has become a vital source of information for Egyptian respondents; 57% of respondents agreed that it has become more important to them as an information source today than five years back (12% disagreed). This is especially true of younger respondents between 18-24 (63%). However, almost half (45%) have low trust in what they see online.

    When it comes to the most popular social media channels for information on goods and services, it may be no surprise that Facebook is the most popular by far (71%), followed by WhatsApp (8%). In third with 8% was the choice of none. It seems that if you want to do social media in Egypt, you have to be on Facebook.

    Trust in Media & Advertising

    Only two media channels scored higher for being trustworthy than untrustworthy among those polled – they were brand websites (46% versus 18%), and website articles (35% to 24%). All other media scored higher for not being trustworthy, with television and blogs both at 27% (their untrustworthy scores were 41% and 35% respectively), and radio at 30% positive, compared to 35% negative. Respondents weren’t asked why, but it’s probably fair to say that Egyptians have a healthy skepticism of official media, given the events of the past seven years.

    Levels of trust in advertising are approximately the same as the media, with billboards being the most trusted (34%), followed by television and radio (both 30%), and finally online at 28%. For online, radio, and television, they’re not trusted more than they are trusted, with negative scores of 32%, 31%, and 33% respectively.

    When asked if they trust advertising less today than they did five years ago, 62% agreed and 8% disagreed. Those earning the least (500 Egyptian pounds) trust advertising the least, with a 70% rating. Over two-thirds of respondents (69%), agreed with the statement that so-called ‘fake news’ has lowered their trust in mainstream news media. Only 8% disagreed.

  • The evolution of the Twitter brand

    The evolution of the Twitter brand

    Research: 90% of internet users recognize the Twitter logo.

    What is a logo? Why do companies put in the effort to redesign, refresh, and update their logo? By definition, a logo is a symbol adopted by an organization to identify its products or services. Ultimately, the logo is the company, and the company is the logo.

    As the year draws to a close, we marked the occasion by looking back at how our logo, or the Twitter bird, has evolved alongside our brand. What first started as our CEO, Jack Dorsey’s idea of an SMS-based communications platform, Twitter has now evolved to a company with a clear purpose: it helps people stay informed about what’s happening globally and what people are talking about right now.

    From breaking news and entertainment to sports, politics, and everyday interests, that is what makes Twitter unique. It means different things to different people regarding how much they may or may not Tweet, but for being informed about all the world’s happenings as they unfold publicly.

    In 2016, on our tenth anniversary, we commissioned a study to gain a deeper understanding of our brand legacy from people worldwide and found that 90% of internet users globally recognize the Twitter brand. Our purpose was clearly recognized, understood, and appreciated by users the world over, and for non-users, the brand was almost unanimously recognized.

    This, of course, starts and ends with our logo.

    First logo launch: 2006

    Our original logo spelled out the company name ‘Twitter’ in blue to convey simplicity.

    twitter logo 2006, evolution of the Twitter brandThe bird iterations: 2006 – 2009

    The second logo in 2006 saw the debut of the bird icon. A year later, we introduced an update to the bird, now facing right, drawn by our co-founder, Biz Stone. This logo evolved in 2009 to make the bird more friendly.evolution of the Twitter brand, twitter logo evolution 2006 to 2009

    The removal of features: 2010

    The next step in 2010 saw the introduction of the silhouette design. The bird’s shape was now streamlined; its features and legs were removed, and the beak was made to be less curved, resulting in a solid blue minimalistic logo.evolution of the Twitter brand

    The most recent logo update: 2012

    evolution of the Twitter brand

    Finally, in 2012, we introduced the latest change to the Twitter bird, which is now crafted purely from three sets of overlapping circles, similar to how our audience’s networks, interests, and ideas connect and intersect with their followers. We removed the tuft on the head, reshaped the wing, and moved the beak upwards.

    Now the bird signifies the brand all by itself, and there’s no longer a need for text, bubbled typefaces, or a lowercase ‘t’ to represent Twitter. Basically, the Twitter bird is both a symbol of what we are and a metaphor for its permits. It is the ultimate representation of freedom and wide-open possibility, and of course, it can tweet.

    As our Chief Marketing Officer, Leslie Brand, once put it, “The way I like to think about it is, you now see the bird as a window into what’s happening in the world.” It’s been an exciting journey, and we’re extremely proud to represent a brand that’s become universally recognized in just over a decade. After all, the bird is Twitter, and Twitter is the bird.

    To download the latest Twitter logo, please visit brand.twitter.com.

  • Egypt’s Narrative Summit: Digital is the key to promoting ‘Brand Egypt’

    Egypt’s Narrative Summit: Digital is the key to promoting ‘Brand Egypt’

    If Egypt is going to be a competitive nation brand globally, the country must make better use of digital communications and marketing – The sentiment was a common theme amongst the communications and marketing experts who were speaking at the second Narrative Summit last month in Cairo.

    With an agenda that was focused on how Egypt could improve its brand image both at home and abroad – Several dozen national and international experts spoke on how the country could re-establish itself as a leading destination for trade, investment, and tourism.

    Comparing Egypt to other key regional markets, Kailash Nagdev, CEO – MENA and South Asia – ‎YouGov MENA, shared research on how Egypt and Cairo performed in terms of mentions and overall content shared online – Over a set period, Dubai, Istanbul and Turkey received 57, 47 and 30 million mentions respectively. In contrast, Egypt and Cairo received 10 and 3 million mentions respectively.

    On the vacation website Tripadvisor YouGov’s research painted a similar picture. Where Dubai had over 360 thousand reviews for things to do and 315 thousand restaurant reviews, Cairo had just over 50 thousand reviews for things to do, and just under 30 thousand restaurant reviews.

    “It’s clear that Egypt needs to do more to create and curate content, which better reflects the country’s various attractions to improve how the national brand is showcased globally,” said Nagdev. “In effect, Egypt’s marketers and communicators should seek to tell the country’s story themselves, through effective online content marketing.”

    The audience heard various examples of how other nations have sought to brand build online, including #MyDubai and VisitSweden’s experiment to allow Swedish residents control of the @Sweden Twitter account, to tell their own national story.

    Hany Mahmoud, chairman of Vodafone Egypt, spoke of the need to look outside the country, to learn from others and emulate their branding successes.

    “We must use the tools used by other countries to create change, promote a distinctive self-image and foster an international reputation that serves the nation’s interests in a positive and effective way,” said Mahmoud.

    Egypt’s brand custodians may have their work cut out for them. According to Brand Finance’s recent rankings, the country’s brand value and ranking has actually slipped over the past year, from 55th to 57th, even as the economy and tourism recover. One attendee summed up the challenge.

    “There’s so much talent in the country, and we’ve transformed the country through using online tools,” explained the person who wished to remain anonymous. “However, we need to change the mindset of those at the top, so that they let our marketing and communications experts get on with the job. Let our talent loose, and they’ll show you how good a job we can do of branding Egypt online.”

    Egypt’s Narrative Summit in Pictures

  • Vodafone Unveils New Brand Identity As It Moves On From ‘Power To You’

    Vodafone Unveils New Brand Identity As It Moves On From ‘Power To You’

    Vodafone revolutionized its brand positioning strapline, strategy, and visual identity globally. These were the first changes to a renowned brand since the “Power to you” strapline  introduction in 2009.

    The strategy is meant to be implemented in all the 36 countries that Vodafone brand exists, with Egypt included. It is designed to instill Vodafone’s belief that digital services and new technologies will help transform society by improving the quality of life of people in the years to come.

    Vodafone new brand identity global campaign

    On 6th October 2017, Vodafone kick-started their largest campaign in its 33-year history with 60-second advert, The Lead TV Commercial, that was focused on showing how human interactions have remained the same while technologies has continued to evolve. The advert was produced by Riddley Scott Associates.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TqaxX5K8yg

    These advertising campaigns and strategy were developed after extensive research and pilot testing, including qualitative and quantitative inputs conducted in 17 countries on nearly 30,000 people.

    Vodafone new brand Identity advert in Egypt

    Their new strapline “The future is exciting. Ready?” shows that they are optimistic about the future. In Egypt, the strapline was presented in Arabic language as “اللي جاي أقوي، جاهر؟“.

    https://www.facebook.com/Vodafone.Egypt/videos/10155062961843437/

    Visual Identity

    This new visual identity puts more emphasis on “speech mark,” Vodafone’s logo, in one of the biggest changes to symbols of Vodafone since the logo was created in 1998. The “speech mark” logo will now take center stage in marketing activities. It will appear in 2D design instead of the skeuomorphic 3D outcrop.

    Vodafone logo evolution (1998 – 2017)

    vodafone logo evolution
    Source: Vodafone Group on Youtube

    Assessing Grounds for Optimism

    After commissioning opinion from almost 13,000 people in 14 countries about their prospects, Vodafone, through YouGov found that:

    • Everyone agreed that technological innovation would have great impact on the future in the next twenty years
    • People of all ages believed that their living standards and those of their kids would improve greatly in the next twenty years
    • People between 18-24 years are the most positive about the future. 62 percent of the younger generation were optimistic that their living standards would be better in twenty years’ time as compared with today

    Also, Vodafone, through Futerra consultancy, carried out research on the top ten emerging trends that could transform working life. Technology trends identified from five countries  included:

    • 3D bio-printing of limbs and organs
    • A five-fold increase in power generation capacity globally as more people are using clean energy such as solar panels
    • Innovating public train transportation systems connecting cities with speeds of up to 966kph (600mph)
    • 3D housing construction designs and 4D printed components
    • Large-scale water capture projects that will ensure enough supply to water-constrained areas
    • New proteins sources to displace meat

    See the full paper

    Serpil Timuray, Vodafone Group Chief Strategy and Commercial Operations Officer, said that “they believe the future is bright as emerging innovations in technology and science are positively impacting on society.”

    She continued saying that “Vodafone has been in the frontline bringing new technologies to hundreds of millions of people globally, thereby transforming their lives”. She claimed that the new brand positioning is envisioned to exemplify Vodafone purpose and mission to help communities and customers prosper by embracing new trends that are reshaping the world.