Brand Platform
Development
When working with an innovative international cinema chain, I led a comprehensive brand audit, developed a cohesive brand strategy, and crafted a strong brand platform and positioning. This successfully introduced the brand to a global audience, enhancing its market presence and appeal.
Category
AUDIT
STRATEGY
BRAND PLATFORM
POSITIONING
Customer
Completion Date
NOVEMBER 2023
Location
ABU DHABI, UAE
MINSK, BELARUS
About the project
As part of the Fabula Branding team, I was tasked to audit, redefine and develop a detailed brand platform, brand legend and positioning for an international cinema chain, or, more specifically, a one-of-a-kind, innovative cinema space that challenges the meaning of modern entertainment.
Certain aspects of the projects are covered by the NDA.
About the client
mooon cinema space has experienced success in Belarus and the CIS region but was ready for something more. Their global ambition led them to the major hub of modern entertainment – Yas Bay, Abu Dhabi, and allowed them to get nested among such giants as Ferrari World, Warner Brothers Park, Etihad Arena and the newly-built SeaWorld Abu Dhabi.
In order to successfully get established in the region and beyond, the company’s leadership made the decision to clarify and evolve their brand offer. That is when they approached Fabula Branding.
The uniqueness of this project required for us to create two distinctive versions of certain brand characteristics, as the client’s goal was to sell the brand as a franchise offer. This made our work more challenging but also exciting and allowed for more creative leeway.
Project timeline
The first step to clarifying mooon’s brand and creating its brand platform, was to dive deep into the market, industry, and company research. Comprehensive analysis and audit is one of the most important steps of a good brand development. Having said that, oftentimes one has to work within certain constrains.
Challenges:
The complication with this project was tight deadlines as the client was participating in an exhibition, and we only had eight weeks for the whole project to be delivered, including the visual identity and other deliverables, like an exhibition brochure and a website.
Ideally, we would do proper field research, both with internal and external stakeholder. Here, given our time constraints and the fact that the client had worked with Fabula Branding on another project earlier, we chose the second-best option and conducted extensive secondary research as well as multiple qualitative interviews with the leadership team.
Analysis and Audit
The second step was to analyze the data, draw insights and build the brand platform on the solid foundation of the research and audit stage. Here we analyzed and provided information on the global and regional markets as well as the industry, defined the target audience, gave our recommendations and conducted a SWOT analysis of the company and the brand.
Brand Platform
Next, based on the external analysis of the market and the internal audit of the company, we created the detailed brand platform. In summary, this included:
(re)defined brand character, brand essence, its mission, vision, goals, philosophy, values, brand promise, its emotional and functional benefits.
The uniqueness of this project required for us to create two versions of certain brand characteristics, as the client’s goal was to sell the brand as a franchise offer. This made our work more challenging but also exciting and allowed for more creative leeway.
The most exciting part of the project for me was getting to know the leadership team, how they see the company and where and how they would like to go forward; it was learning from the employees and their experience within the company, as well as exploring customers’ feedback. And then, with all the information in place, it was about envisioning an entity, a brand that is both reflective of its past and present, but also larger than that; a brand with a capacity to captivate, inspire, entertain and be trustworthy, dependable and relatable all at once. And I believe, we accomplished this mission.
For me, the most exciting part of the project was getting to know the leadership team, how they see the company and where and how they would like to go forward; it was learning from the employees and their experience within the company, as well as exploring customers’ feedback.
Positioning and Visual Identity
The next stage of the project was to create brand positioning and brand’s visual identity to reflect the brand’s core characteristics developed in the previous stage of the project. Here, we created two unique versions of the brand positioning for the client to choose from. Each of them included:
After an initial choice of the preferred positioning and a few rounds of edits and alterations, the brand positioning was finalized, leading to the creation of the more specific brand tagline and communications slogan.
Brand Legend
At this stage, another crucial brand element was in the works – the brand legend. Given the undeniable importance of myth and storytelling to human psychology and behavior, the significance of a well-crafted brand legend cannot be denied. Thus, a compelling story of the mooon brand was crafted to strengthen the positioning of the company in the hearts and minds of both the consumer and the business partner.
Given the undeniable importance of myth and storytelling to human psychology and behavior, the significance of a well-crafted brand legend cannot be denied.
The final stage of the project was realized by the extended design team of Fabula Branding, who worked on the exhibition brochure and the company website with the focus on their franchising offer.
Results:
The project was successfully completed on time, exceeding the client’s expectations. As a value-added service, we delivered a Russian-language version of the materials, enabling the client to effectively reach a broader audience and expand their market presence.
