Khaleeji Rebrand

Creating the Bank for Ambition

Industry Setting

Khaleeji Commercial Bank is one of Bahrain’s first Islamic banks. Recently brought out by GFH, the bank hired a new CEO to transform the bank’s performance in an overly-saturated Bahraini banking market.

Market Challenges

Khaleeji changed visually and operationally over the years but the name conveyed commercial banking not the islamic financial products (retail & business) it offered. Khaleeji was an aging islamic retail bank with a poorly articulated purpose and position. Its name was unaligned and its obvious banking-blue aesthetic was ill defined while its overused ‘dhow sail’ brand mark failed to create distinction.

Strategy Applied

The existing name was boldly cut to the core: Khaleeji. Arabic for ‘the people of the Gulf’. The brand needed a new, own-able position, Khaleeji changed from ‘retail to refined’, a new bank of privilege. Not elitist or unattainable but attractive to a specific mind set we called ‘the ambitious’. People who’ve made it, were on their way to, or who had the drive to make it. Khaleeji’s essential nature was ‘to challenge the status quo’, its vision ‘to help ambitious people prosper’ is now coupled to a promise to ‘empower ethical ambition’. They can now attract a wider audience beyond the typical Islamic customer.

Results Achieved

Net profit saw a modest lift of 2.07%. We have had nothing but positive responses from the market and staff have reported that the new brand has received and overwhelmingly positivity reception from their teams. The new identity earned a great response from the CEO, Sattam Algosaibi who said ”The reveal was very well received. I have been getting so many positive responses from the market, from the customers and… from other agencies. I quote “A great rebrand” and “a very elegant rebrand”. A big thank you”.

Creative Solution

The right creative solution to support a bank for the ambitious needed to be both refined and strong. It needed to echo the success of Khaleeji’s clients even if they had yet to achieve it. The tone of voice is energetic, edgy and driven, the slogan – Ambition Unlimited – pushed the notion that Khaleeji is fundamentally about removing the financial barriers to success. The offset slogan typography supports this with a degree of edgy quirkiness.

The final logo form is clearly an diamond, echoing the diacritic marks from the legacy Arabic calligraphy marks – forms which followed the brand since day one. The three stripes represent the Ambition which drives you to take Action in pursuit of Achievement.

Supporting the graphics are a dual language typographic palette comprising Ivy Mode and Eloquia (English) with B Mitra and Helvetica Neue World (Arabic). A simple and elegant pattern compliments the 45º angle of the brand mark and lends an air of sartorial elegance to spreads. Finally, the charcoal colour palette with soft blue accents creates a subtle connection to the past while reflecting the modern, minimal sophistication of a more privileged eschelon.