Jabal Omar

Pay homage to the holiest city

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Services
Design System, Web Development, Website Design, Positioning, Messaging
Sector
Real Estate
Region
Middle East
Website

Challenge

Founded in 2007, Jabal Omar Development Company (JODC) is a real estate developer whose flagship project, Jabal Omar, is a $26 billion multi-use real estate mega development project within a walking distance of The Grand Mosque of Makkah. JODC engages in the investment, development, management, and sale of Jabal Omar, which supports the Saudi government’s goal to expand the Grand Mosque to accommodate 30 million pilgrims and Umrah visitors. JODC defined its role in the expansion in functional terms—developing real estate and hospitality offerings to accommodate the increased visitors to Makkah.

However, this definition of the project lacked a distinctive and inspiring vision and reason for being, which was problematic insofar as JODC is publicly traded and needs to generate excitement and commitment from investors.

Solution

We redefined the Jabal Omar brand around the idea of “homage to the holiest city” and articulated a new purpose for the brand: To capture the rich history and culture of Makkah. The idea was to provide Makkah’s visitors and residents with a unique spiritual and physical experience—not just a place to stay, but a complement to the Hajj or Umrah experience, with numerous places to shop, dine, and immerse themselves in the unique history and culture of Makkah. Building on this idea, we designed a new brand mark and design system that pay homage to Makkah, from the proportions that match the Kaaba from an aerial view to the early Kufic calligraphy style Inspired by the first copies of the Quran. We also designed communications, including stationery, symbols, livery, press kit, investor kit, posters, print and digital advertising, billboards, and website. We then developed a comprehensive communications plan targeting the general public, residential buyers, and retail tenants with detailed channel and program recommendations across awareness, engagement, conversion, experience, and advocacy phases. The overarching goal of the campaign was to showcase Makkah's amenities along with its culture and history in order to create perceptions of Makkah as a premium and sought-after destination.

Outcome

JODC has “taken off” financially, achieving a reported market cap of $16.9 billion in May 2017 after reporting annual revenue growth of 90% and net profit growth of 563% in 2016. In addition, KantarMillwardBrown’s 2017 BrandZ study determined that Jabal Omar was the third most valuable Saudi brand with an assessed brand valuation of $4.9 billion. JODC has also received several accolades over the past two years:

2017
International Property Award for Best New Hotel Construction & Design in Saudi Arabia

International Finance Annual Award for Most Innovative Saudi Real Estate Company In Saudi Arabia
The Best Islamic Finance Structure Award from Islamic Finance News

2016
Forbes Middle East Excellence Award for the Best Real Estate Companies in the Arab world

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