Bank Muscat

Bank Muscat is one of the GCC’s (Gulf Cooperation Council) oldest and most iconic financial brands.With a network of 100 branches, it is also one of the largest.

Issues faced:
• Brand had experienced recent, significant growth, now it needed an identity to reflect who they were today and the new challenges faced
• Need to convey change of focus – from growth to greater customer satisfaction
• Relevance was being reduced due to existing, ‘old fashioned’ brand design using well-aged visual forms and Islamic pattern-making
• How to modernize brand but not dislocate customers or lose its essential nature.

To achieve a clear and engaging migration, the brand team:
• Presented benchmark brand evolution case studies – inside and outside of the sector
• Set a framework to navigate through potential identity outcomes
• Helped key stakeholders visualize an evolution into a modern financial brand
• Drafted a new slogan supporting ambition to enhance customer satisfaction
• Researched icon cognition with TA (100% recall on black & white icon), built stakeholder confidence to become ‘symbol-only’, set framework for future identity
• Set up a simple dual-language type system using SST Arabic, enabling singular font applications across both languages
• Retained signature red
• Reduced branding element usage within layouts, providing greater space for marketing to attract attention
• Simplified graphic language, from signage system to digital UI.

The Bank Muscat rebrand eventuated a sympathetic brand evolution:
• Core equity is retained, brand belief is enhanced amongst key stakeholders
• Contemporary financial services is conveyed through brand design
• Visual devices echo the brand mark, legacy iconic form is represented throughout the graphic language and typographic form
• Brand rolled out across 100+ branches and met with incredibly positive reaction.