Mala'a Rebrand

Credit Bureau Brand

Mala’a is the name of the new Credit Bureau from the Oman’s Central Bank (OCB). The organisation has been created to help Oman further comply with international banking sectors requirements for credit transparency. The newly spun-out entity acts as Oman’s National Databank, offering Credit Bureau Services, instant credit-based decision making & credit scoring, data analytics and aiding in the innovation in the FinTech sector.

Mala’a Challenges included:

Create a literal and visual identity to support the Oman Credit & Financial Information Centre (OCFIC) in its separation from the OCB
Develop a new name for the brand that would resonate with the local audience but be pronouncable by the expatriate community in Oman and international businesses
Provide two voices for different market spaces (senior and trusted authority backed by the OCB plus a supportive information service to customers)

We achieved this by:

Client workshops, stakeholder engagement, social media analysis and customer interviews
Discovering the brand’s true purpose which we agreed was ‘to contribute to a greater cause’
Establishing a believable brand personality and archetype – ‘The Advocate’
Created a clear and directive vision statement – ‘To empower growth through information’
Defined culture-building values of ‘Integrity’, ‘Dynamism’ and ‘Diligence’
Articulated a promise they could deliver –
‘To bring order, clarity and confidence’

Finally, we summed up their proposition in the following statement: ‘We are the national reference point for accurate & timely financial information. We bring clarity and confidence to the financial system of the nation, promoting financial inclusion by giving Oman and Omanis greater access to funds. We are the stimulators of investment & progress in Oman.’

Creative strategy

The creative strategy was built on four key pillars: 1) Develop a brand name that both local and international audience types could articulate clearly, 2) Create a visual identity that was simple but didn’t dislocate either audience, 3) Create a visual aesthetic and literal voice that could create buy-in and belief from both business and consumer segments, 4) Create a brand toolset that could differentiate the messages to both audiences whilst using the same tools.

Mala’a’s brand language conveys a new public service in a way that is unique and engaging.The dual language iconic mark is modern and contemporary while being deeply resonant to both younger and more mature Omanis, thanks to its Kulfic graphic structure. The mark represents a locking mechanism & cryptographic (think QR Code) which gives the brand a modern, FinTech presence that is reflective of its context.

The typography approach is clean and sensible, authoritative yet also approachable. Coupled with the Objectiv type is GRW Arabic which reflects the clean, geometry of the logo elements.

The blue and yellow colour pallet helps build a perception of a secure financial service while the yellow projects a more human and energetic character redolent of an organisation whose focus is helping people gain access to their financial information and to make informed decisions about their future.

Working closely alongside the Objectiv type and colour palette, the icon set is clean, uncontrasted and aligned visually to the clean geometry of the logo icon and font.

The final aesthetic helps Mala’a convey its ‘public body’ status while also helping to communicate with two unique audiences: financial service businesses and their consumers. For businesses, Mala’a conveys it is serious and technologically secure, while for consumers, the public body feels efficient yet also friendly. Mala’a can now build its reputation as a people-focused, service-orientated public body & financial services brand.

Our identity program included:

A new Omani-led brand name
A new, cryptographic icon-led mark combining Kulfic calligraphy with global type mark
A clear, authoritative yet approachable set of typographic standards that voiced the brand’s personal approach and business sensibilities
An calming, modern business-like colour scheme.

Result

While it is early in the deployment to talk metrics, the brand was unanimously approved by the board of the OCB and initial support from the business community in Oman has been notably positive
Mala’a has been rolled out to key businesses in Oman as part of a multistage, in-
country deployment
Signalling the changes, the OCB are committed to transforming the national economy to one of enhanced transparency driven by positive, data-driven outcomes
Mala’a picked up a Gold Award at the IVIA Awards 2019.