Opportunity: The rise of a global leadership powerhouse 

Born from the visionary Misk Foundation, the Saudi Leadership Society (SLS) emerged as the next bold step in realising its purpose: to nurture and empower the next generation of Saudi leaders. SLS provides a vibrant home for these leaders to grow, forge connections, and create collective impact. Although still in its early stages compared to other leadership societies, SLS harbours the ambitious goal of standing out on the global stage.  

The time had come for SLS to begin its transformative journey into a member-led, independent global leadership society, with an image reflecting the exceptional calibre of its members. Despite the clarity of this ambition, the transition posed organisational challenges. While imminent, it was crucial not to lose the credibility associated with being part of the esteemed MISK Foundation. We needed to work swiftly and strategically to catalyse the society’s evolution, ensuring it was ready for the new cohort at the SLS Annual Assembly. 

Concept: Circles of Influence 

The visual expression of the proposition’s pillars of Grow.Connect.Impact, strikes a balance between a modern, digital-first design system and a subtle, contemporary interpretation of the Saudi aesthetic. This identity possesses the flexibility to evolve into its full expression when the society’s governance is handed over to its members, empowering them to take control of their destiny and create lasting impact that propels Saudi Arabia towards Vision 2030 and beyond. 

Solution: Igniting impact through influence 

In partnership with SLS, we engaged key stakeholders to craft an effective strategy for signalling to the world that SLS is an established society with a clear purpose: accelerating the realization of Vision 2030 and beyond through Collective Impact. Operating within Misk’s brand architecture, we created an identity that deftly pushed governance principles to forge a unique, dynamic visual identity. This identity reflected a crystallised, purpose-led proposition co-created with key stakeholders in the SLS ecosystem.

Governance and Activation: Bringing the brand to life 

With the proposition defined and brand identity created, we worked closely with the SLS team and external providers to ensure that the new brand was fully expressed at the inaugural 2024 Annual Assembly across all communications. We equipped SLS communications teams with a comprehensive Brand Toolkit detailing all visual and verbal elements, containing the core components needed to create compelling communications and collateral.  

Beyond the identity guidelines, we developed clear plans for brand activation on three levels: current touchpoints, campaign communications, and future experiences. Armed with these tools and plans, SLS is poised to bring their brand to the world with coherence, consistency, and lasting impact.

At your service: Ushering a new era in elite private and corporate concierge, chauffeur, travel and lifestyle management services.

Objective

Cevalon wanted to grow their online presence within the European and Middle Eastern market. In our early engagement days with the client, our deep research into the current landscape of the industry lead us to the knowledge that our client’s main competitors have already created a strong presence for themselves within those targeted spaces.

Cevalon were looking to increase the authority of their domain and enhance their overall visibility in the SERPs, becoming the go-to place for all things elite private and corporate concierge, chauffeur, travel and lifestyle management services.

Strategy:

Given the challenges presented to us, our recommended strategy for Cevalon chose to supplement our ongoing SEO activity with content production. The defining factor in the success of this strategy would hinge on our ability to produce compositions that were: high-quality, engaging, strategically frequent, keyword driven, and optimised for SEO.

With our main focus here on technical search engine optimisation (SEO), we could ensure that there would be an increase in organic traffic towards the Cevalon site, and that it would be as technically sound as as possible.

Results:

We were successful in increasing the domain’s visibility in the organic search engine results. We were able to rank Cevalon 1st on several keyword searches are frequently used within the luxury travel industry. The well executed SEO strategy yielded a 36.36% increase in new users and an increase of 173.08% improvement in google SERP inside of one month with our planned approach.

About Aeron

We are Aeron, a London brand design consultancy that specialises in SEO services, business transformation, brand strategy and design. Our purpose is set on helping ambitious businesses thrive in today’s market place.

Based on fundamental insights, our London brand design consultancy is expert in helping organisations define their brand purpose; a clear, relevant, ownable and defendable territory – which delivers genuine value to customers.

With a reputation for linking brand strategy and innovative design with clear financial outcomes, our London branding agency combines intelligent data, imaginative insight with inspiring creativity and transformative digital technology to deliver enduring growth.

At your service: Ushering a new era in elite private and corporate concierge, chauffeur, travel and lifestyle management services.

Context

The main objective of this digital engagement campaign was to give Cevalon more exposure online by using the various digital tools and strategy practices available, to drive more traffic to the website as well as showcasing and promoting their unique services and offerings.

The Activities

1. Website Enhancements
2. Social Media Management
3. Newsletter

Website Enhancements

To improve the potential client engagement on the Cevalon website we added a live chat feature and a popup form, allowing visitors to join Cevalon’s exclusive mailing list.

Social Media Management

We focused on growing the social audience and follower base through: hashtag campaigns, strong use of keywords, sharing relevant news, and articles and staying updated within your industry, and contributing our unique content with relevant images to broaden reach.

We also focused on sharing Cevalon’s service offering and knowledge within the industry through branded engagement to raise awareness and increase their social media presence.

Engagement Analysis

Taking on this project meant having to start from zero and creating a presence for Cevalon across the dominant social media platforms that are frequented by Cevalon’s target demographic. Over a short space of time, our activity proved to be effective in creating a notable rise in online engagement. Our content successfully yielded 2,700% increase in unique users through social media and an 80% growth in followers.

Context

Gate One is a specialist management consultancy, solely focused on the acceleration of successful digital and business change through smart, well-defined and executed portfolio, programme and project delivery.

Ambition

Gate One provide small, highly experienced and innovative teams embedded seamlessly alongside their clients’ teams, who get to the crux of problems quickly, shaping intelligent solutions and delivering lasting transformation results which can be felt across the organisation.

Aeron were tasked with supporting Gate One with their next chapter of their growth with the development of a clear brand positioning, a defendable proposition and a refreshed compelling verbal and visual identity system.

Action

We helped define Gates One’s purpose as co-piloting the reinvention of some of the world’s most interesting and influential organisations: whilst positioning the business as a collective of ex-big firm consultants, unified by a simple ideal – more meaningful business transformation, delivered as consulting should be.

The ‘Ripple’ icon graphically brings to life the force multiplying ripple effect which Gate One believe is at the heart of every successful business transformation. It speaks to the journey, in partnership with Gate One’s clients, to deliver change that counts. It encapsulates Gate One’s DNA, which is a blend; a combination of founders’ mentality, tempered with humility and a brilliant team spirit – which means Gate One genuinely relish taking complex situations apart, and designing something better. The colours reflect the care, passion, loyalty, humanity, empathy, warmth, approachability and dynamism Gate One hold true to their core.

Result

The new brand was launched in October 2017, commencing with an internal engagement programme supported by the provision of assets and tools to effect a seamless transition to the new brand from templates, brochures, stationery and digital asset design direction. The brand has now been implemented with an integrated external communications and marketing programme in conjunction with a next generation mobile and desktop website and digital assets.

About Aeron

We are Aeron, a London brand packaging design agency that specialises in business transformation, brand strategy and design. Our purpose is set on helping ambitious businesses thrive in today’s market place.

Based on fundamental insights, our London brand design consultancy is expert in helping organisations define their brand purpose; a clear, relevant, ownable and defendable territory – which delivers genuine value to customers.

With a reputation for linking brand strategy and innovative design with clear financial outcomes, our London branding agency combines intelligent data, imaginative insight with inspiring creativity and transformative digital technology to deliver enduring growth.

Retail Design and Brand Environments for Grand Mills

Context

Agthia is a leading Abu Dhabi based food & beverage company.  And proud to be known for providing high quality, trusted, and
 essential food and beverage products to customers and consumers alike across the UAE, GCC, Turkey and the wider Middle East.

Set up in 1978, Grand Mills was formed to help the UAE nation achieve food security. Initially flour and silo based, animal feeds followed in 1981 to become Grand Mills Flour and Feed. Both activities were incorporated into Agthia when it was established in 2004.

Ambition

Agthia is justly proud of the Grand Mills name, and the reputation the business has grown, both for high quality healthy flours, foods and innovative, high quality, value for money animal feeds.

The ambition was to move away from a shared vision, to a company with a sharper, specialised focus on the industry issues and demands that matter to its customers most. Following a thorough rebrand which we led, the ambition was to develop a strategy to effectively bring the revitalised brand to life in a retail context.

Action

The Grand Mills Feed business was re-invented and revitalised as Agrivita in 2014 and thus came the opportunity to reinvigorate the Grand Mills brand.

The vision and brand proposition is to move ‘beyond flour’ to provide a committed and commercial service, offer wide ranging innovation, delivered through a team of experts and an evolving high performing and extensive product range.

Following extensive research, competitive analysis and mapping relevant customer journeys we developed a full concept tool-kit for retail and wider brand environments plus consumer in-store communications.

About Aeron

We are Aeron, a London brand design consultancy that specialises in business transformation, brand strategy and design. Our purpose is set on helping ambitious businesses thrive in today’s market place.

Based on fundamental insights, our London brand design consultancy is expert in helping organisations define their brand purpose; a clear, relevant, ownable and defendable territory – which delivers genuine value to customers.

With a reputation for linking brand strategy and innovative design with clear financial outcomes, our London branding agency combines intelligent data, imaginative insight with inspiring creativity and transformative digital technology to deliver enduring growth.

Beyond Flour. A new chapter for the regions leading flour business

Context

Agthia is a leading Abu Dhabi based food & beverage company.  And proud to be known for providing high quality, trusted, and
 essential food and beverage products to customers and consumers alike across the UAE, GCC, Turkey and the wider Middle East.

Set up in 1978, Grand Mills was formed to help the UAE nation achieve food security.  Initially flour and silo based, animal feeds followed in 1981 to become Grand Mills Flour and Feed. Both activities were incorporated into Agthia when it was established in 2004.

Ambition

Agthia is justly proud of the Grand Mills name, and the reputation the business has grown, both for high quality healthy flours, foods and innovative, high quality, value for money animal feeds.

The ambition was to move away from a shared vision, to a company with a sharper, specialised focus on the industry issues and demands that matter to its customers most.

Action

The Grand Mills Feed business was re-invented and revitalised as Agrivita in 2014 and thus came the opportunity to reinvigorate the Grand Mills brand.

The vision and brand proposition is to move ‘beyond flour’ to provide a committed and commercial service, offer wide ranging innovation, delivered through a team of experts and an evolving high performing and extensive product range.

Results

Our team helped Agthia develop a new name, simply Grand Mills, a clear proposition, a rationalized product portfolio with clear price positioning, and a compelling visual identity system including a new corporate identity, enhanced product and packaging, brand environments and tools and applications to bring the brands to life across marketing and sales channels.

The brand launched in February 2014 with a launch to 500 industry professionals and customers to very positive reviews.

We have continue to serve and support Grand Mills in their brand driven growth.

About Aeron

We are Aeron, a London brand design consultancy that specialises in business transformation, brand strategy and design. Our purpose is set on helping ambitious businesses thrive in today’s market place.

Based on fundamental insights, our London brand design consultancy is expert in helping organisations define their brand purpose; a clear, relevant, ownable and defendable territory – which delivers genuine value to customers.

With a reputation for linking brand strategy and innovative design with clear financial outcomes, our London branding agency combines intelligent data, imaginative insight with inspiring creativity and transformative digital technology to deliver enduring growth.

Brand Implementation and New Product Development for Regional Leader in Animal Feed Agrivita

Context

Agthia is a leading Abu Dhabi based food & beverage company.  And proud to be known for providing high quality, trusted, and
essential food and beverage products to customers and consumers alike across the UAE, GCC, Turkey and the wider Middle East.

Set up in 1978, Grand Mills was formed to help the UAE nation achieve food security.  Initially flour and silo based, animal feeds followed in 1981. Both activities were incorporated into Agthia when it was established in 2004.

Ambition

Agthia is justly proud of the Grand Mills name, and the reputation the business has grown, both for high quality healthy flours, foods and innovative, high quality, value for money animal feeds.

The ambition was to move away from a shared vision, to a company with a sharper, specialised focus on the industry issues and demands that matter to its customers most.

Action

Taking its place alongside Grand Mills, in 2014 the Grand Mills Feed business has been re-invented and revitalised as Agrivita.

The vision and brand proposition is to move ‘beyond feed’ to provide a committed and commercial service, offer wide ranging innovation, delivered through a team of experts and an evolving high performing and extensive product range.

Results

Our team helped Agthia develop a new name, a clear proposition, a rationalized product portfolio with clear price positioning, and a compelling visual identity system including a new corporate identity, enhanced product and packaging, brand environments and tools and applications to bring the brands to life across marketing and sales channels.

The brand launched in February 2014 with a launch to 500 industry professionals and customers to very positive reviews.

We have continued to support Agrivita, and in April 2017 advised and provided creative and strategic direction for the brand launch of a joint venture with Anderson Hay, Agrivita Marabe.

About Aeron

We are Aeron, a London brand design consultancy that specialises in business transformation, brand strategy and design. Our purpose is set on helping ambitious businesses thrive in today’s market place.

Based on fundamental insights, our London brand design consultancy is expert in helping organisations define their brand purpose; a clear, relevant, ownable and defendable territory – which delivers genuine value to customers.

With a reputation for linking brand strategy and innovative design with clear financial outcomes, our London branding agency combines intelligent data, imaginative insight with inspiring creativity and transformative digital technology to deliver enduring growth.

At your service: Ushering a new era in elite private and corporate concierge, chauffeur, travel and lifestyle management services.

Context

Today, our journeys through life are more complex and intricate than ever. Even for the world’s most accomplished citizens, smooth and successful progress in business, life, nation or family is a constantly evolving challenge.

Ambition

Munich based Cevalon clearly understands every aspect of this challenge, with its newly expanded service offering, which provides elite private and corporate concierge, chauffeur, travel and lifestyle management services to the world’s most influential people, their businesses and families.

In order to prepare Cevalon for their next chapter of successful growth, our task was to create a clear brand positioning strategy, develop a relevant service offering, create an international marketing strategy – and finally bring this thinking to life creatively.

Action

Cevalon’s corporate and personal clients value their emphasis on intuitively anticipating, understanding and delivering exactly what every moment demands. Often before their clients know it themselves. We centred our thinking on Cevalon’s extraordinary know-how and exemplary service which puts their clients at ease and at home wherever they are in the world. This sense of purpose became central to our work which encompassed brand definition, brand values, a new comprehensive brand architecture system and service offering.

Result

Our strategic work culminated in a refreshed visual and verbal identity system, a new digital ecosystem with an entirely new fully functional responsive user-friendly website built with WordPress CMS, mobile and tablet digital platforms, SEO consultancy, plus the design and production of a premium brochure to be utilised for international marketing. The feedback has been tremendously positive to-date and is contributing to increased demand for Cevalon’s services.

About Aeron

We are Aeron, a London brand design consultancy that specialises in business transformation, brand strategy and design. Our purpose is set on helping ambitious businesses thrive in today’s market place.

Based on fundamental insights, our London brand design consultancy is expert in helping organisations define their brand purpose; a clear, relevant, ownable and defendable territory – which delivers genuine value to customers.

With a reputation for linking brand strategy and innovative design with clear financial outcomes, our London branding agency combines intelligent data, imaginative insight with inspiring creativity and transformative digital technology to deliver enduring growth.

BEN ROBINSON

First they came for the carrier bags. Then they came for the straws. Now they are coming for the bottles – The way we consume and drink is being shaken up in a big way.

It shouldn’t have taken David Attenborough to finally make people take notice. His usually dulcet tones were averted to a message of urgency, relaid over heart-breaking images of turtles choking on straws and seagulls strangled by beer-can yokes to remind viewers that the plastic bag tax has not solved the plastic problem.

Suddenly at bars across the country, drinkers shunned plastic straws and they began to disappear from bars and points of service. Now consumers are looking to the drinks manufacturers themselves and asking what they are doing to help. After all, one plastic straw makes little difference in the face of tens of thousands of drinks bottles produced every hour of every day – by just one of the multitude of brands on the market.

Packaging provides a vital canvas for brands to present themselves directly to their users, and increasingly the materials used are as important as the labels. If drinks brands aren’t careful, consumers will be turned off their products completely. Earlier this week, everyone in our office at WeWork Southbank, London (and indeed across the WeWork network) received a ‘friend for life’ in the form of a metal drinking bottle, as part of the company’s own #Zeroplastic efforts.

While the demand for bottled drinks is still growing, brands need to be at the forefront of implementing change and demonstrating how they can be part of the solution. Even in countries such as the UAE where, being situated in the desert, “each resident drinks an average of 250 litres a year, the country is believed to have one of the highest rates of bottled water consumption in the world“, people are looking to switch from bottled water.

Clearly, working to clean up our environment is vital for everyone and so this is at once a huge challenge but also major opportunity for bottled drinks brands who choose to lead the way. Back in 2014, our team worked closely with Agthia to develop a bottle for the UAE’s leading water brand, Al Ain, that used 30% less plastic. At the time that was a huge gain, but in just four years, it has become clear that more action is required.

However brands respond, it will require a great deal of innovation. Whether we will get as far as the fully edible packaging developed by SkippingRocksLab for their Ooho! product remains to be seen. Until then, and with demand for drinks – and therefore the plastic currently in production – still growing, perhaps The Circular Economy model supported by Evian will make the difference. As long as the plastic actually makes it to the recycling, that is!

With increasing pressure showing that urgent action is required, the next few years will demand major changes in approaches and behaviours from both brands and consumers. The future may be scary, but if stakeholders are ready for it – it may also be exciting and, ultimately, rewarding.

Context

A leading national firm of estate agents with 46 offices across the UK, Jackson-Stops has been growing its reach, advising and supporting on property trading since 1910.

Ambition

Originally added alongside the founder’s name to build a family spirit within the company, it had become clear that the “& Staff” was not being understood by customers. Customer survey feedback showed that many clients were already just using ‘Jackson-Stops’ and it was time to make the change formally.

With this came the potential to refresh the brand as a whole and faced with a rapidly growing digital real estate market and the fresh challenges that brings it was important to have a clean, contemporary brand that could stand out in the digital market place, as well as on the high street.

Action

We conducted a thorough audit of digital and brick-and-mortar estate agents, analysing the market and design trends of competing agencies. This let us understand how online trends and property portals are affecting the traditional agency model. We analysed the brand across hundreds of customer touchpoints – from sales boards and stationery to office fronts and advertising.

Result

The iconic Jackson-Stops symbol of a wolf holding an axe in his mouth is not just tied to a company, but originates from the Jackson-Stops family crest. Therefore, it was imperative to treat the mark with utmost respect and care. We carefully crated a mark that not only retains but celebrates this heritage, shaping a new symbol that is as comfortable on a family seal as it is as a digital icon.

Alongside a sophisticated colour palette, softening the previous identity’s black to a rich navy blue, we worked closely with Jackson-Stops to develop the identity across the wide range of applications across the customer journey. After conducting detailed print and paint colour testing, we developed a thorough set of corporate and implementation guidelines across stationery, advertising and environments.

The new identity was launched in September 2017 and we continue to support and advise Jackson-Stops, including in the development of a bold new website.

The news from straight from the Wolf’s mouth

About Aeron

We are Aeron, a London brand design consultancy that specialises in business transformation, brand strategy and design. Our purpose is set on helping ambitious businesses thrive in today’s market place.

Based on fundamental insights, our London brand design consultancy is expert in helping organisations define their brand purpose; a clear, relevant, ownable and defendable territory – which delivers genuine value to customers.

With a reputation for linking brand strategy and innovative design with clear financial outcomes, our London branding agency combines intelligent data, imaginative insight with inspiring creativity and transformative digital technology to deliver enduring growth.