Rebranding Burj Khalifa, Burj Dubai

The biggest surprise at the launch of Burj Dubai, was that this tallest building in the world would be names Burj Khalifa, after the President of the UAE, HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed. That was a big shock to the branding experts. Since 2004, a significant sum had been spent investing in the brand of Burj Dubai - and then on the 4th of January 2010, all that got shot to dust. Speculation of the change was well documented, and many thought this was due to the bailout handed to Dubai by Abu Dhabi, although HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid said, "This great project deserves to carry the name of a great man. Today I inaugurate Burj Khalifa." Whatever ths story how well did the name change intercept the minds of those who had already grown to use the term "Burj Dubai". It's difficult to judge, but the only data that we do have is from Google Trends which lists out indicative searches.

You can see that throughout 2009 the term Burj Khalifa wasn't used once, and as there was last minute delays and press speculation at the end of 2009, the interest in "Burj Dubai" increased.



And, on a different scale and on a timeline of 1 month you can see the Burj Khalifa rebrand taking effect, but that the novelty of the story rapidly wanes.



A year on what, do we see? The rebrand has worked, but there is remnant of the Burj Dubai brand.



That said, the impact is clear in the UAE. if you just consider searches from the UAE, the rebrand was fully effective. Literally no searches on the term Burj Dubai relative to Burj Khalifa.



However, the real test is when the global audience are drawn in through the news. When Tom Cruise came in to film for Mission Impossible 4, the media were all mixed up. You need only search for Tom Cruise Burj Dubai to see. The next test is on Monday, when according to The National, The French Spiderman, Alain Robert will climb the Burj...khalifa

With all the data available - would you rebrand Burj Khalifa Burj Dubai? - or has the name worked out? The building is here to stay but what about the brand? And how long will it take to really rebrand Burj Dubai Burj Khalifa?

Burj Khalifa
Google Trends

Arab Protest Timeline

Great little tool to see what happened when



From the Guardian

Culturally-Aware Clothing Campaigns

Clothes - what to wear, what not to wear - what's a girl to do? It can be problematic enough for a girl to decide what to wear on a Thursday night. But spare a thought for the retailers and designers for the UAE & GCC markets. How do you advertise clothes for the modern young lady while not alienating a more conservative crowd? There are extremes in clothing, and people have certain views. The girl with the skimpy number doesn't understand the fully covered woman in her black abaya - and vice versa. Who is right and who is wrong? Both are right. The critical point is that depending on the society in which you live, you need to tailor your views and your actions accordingly. There are some amazing outfits for women that cater to all markets: there are the bejewelled abayas with intricate designs; there are the glamorous party dresses that are perfect for events such as the Dubai World Cup; and there are the in-between outfits that are modern in appearance, ooze glamour but also cover up the skin.

La Moda Dubai highlighted the approach taken by H&M that has been picked up by the Huffington Post through fashionista. And while La Moda talks of the move to supermodels (aka Gisele Bundchen in this example) advertising high street clothes, the bigger story here is how right H&M have got it for the market. The approach appeases the conservatives, but highlights the type of clothes available, and how they can be worn.



Photoshop usually gets a bad press, but we think that on this occasion, it has been employed to good use.

Here's our words of advice for the girl looking at what to wear in Dubai or Abu Dhabi:

1. Keep your cleavage behind closed doors
2. Keep your shoulders for club nights
3. And keep the bikini for the beach!

La Moda Dubai