ZIGMA8
About ZIGMA8
15-plus years across multiple disciplines, not to mention the highest academic accolades in the field, add up to equal a network and know-how that allows us to guide our clients – be them SME's or multinationals – to great results in an award-winning advertising agency in Iran.
15-plus years across multiple disciplines, not to mention the highest academic accolades in the field, add up to equal a network and know-how that allows us to guide our clients – be them SME's or multinationals – to great results in an award-winning advertising agency in Iran.
Key Insights
Services & Focus
Industry Focus
Client Focus
Portfolio
KACC Brand Identity Design, Event Design and Management
Launch Event for KACC’s New Production Facilities
How our big production, left a big impression for the launch of something big
CHALLENGE
The Iranian new year is a time when the nation pretty much shuts down and celebrates, however we at Zigma8 were excited to spend that time helping celebrate the introduction of something else that was to be new. As oppose to closing-up for nearly two weeks, we happily spent our new year collaborating with Kaveh Aluminium Can Company (KACC) to help launch their new soft-drinks can-making factory. Working during this time would come with obvious challenges—such as suppliers not being available—yet we chose to focus on the more important challenge of unveiling KACC’s new production line, and doing so in such an impressive way that new business would immediately meet the new capacity. So how was it that we were able to succeed in getting our own production in place so as to do justice to KACC’s $50m international investment?
SOLUTION
To address and impress the 300 guests—many of which represented high-up positions in the nation—we put together a strategy that would build on the enormity of the new production facility. We knew that by going big, we’d be creating a big impression and thus devised a creative platform entitled, ‘Big Production’, which would go on to be applied to each and every detail. This began with guests being chauffeured in via life-size infographics, before being received in a grand amphitheatre, where they’d be sat before a large choir that was proudly dressed in KACC uniform so as to represent harmony during the symphony. As the choir’s voices filled the factory, we brought an over-sized drinks can, centre stage, and used 3D mapping to project a unique light-show experience. A subsequent grand tour would have our guests meandering through a can-made, music filled maze, decorated with large animations that would describe the production process. Following the company presentations, we concluded by having our guests make a big personal pledge for a small personal gift, by signing and saying, “I think green too”. In doing this, our guests would be helping with KAAC’s big recycling responsibility, while also satisfying their sense of wanting to take away a souvenir from the big occasion.
8 big numbers from our 1 big event:
1. 28 days from briefing to delivery — during the Norouz holidays
2. 120 hours non-stop, on-site work by Zigma8 during set-up and event day
3. 150km walked by each of Zigma8’s team during set-up and event day
4. 42km walked by each of Zigma8’s team during the event day
5. 88 strong personnel used for the event
6. 1200 seconds of video created for the event
7. 2000 palettes used as part of our decoration
8. 40,000 cans used for event decoration, and later recycled
RESULTS
We at Zigma8 once again proved that they have what it takes to successfully pull-off a big event, even with the many big challenges. Don’t take our word for it though, both Mr. Ahmad-reza Alavi, the business manager, and Mr. Dave Anderson, the business owner, agreed that they’d happily call on us again, saying that we have “a powerful team, with 24-hour support, working to the best quality in a limited time”. So, it was with great pride that we were able to prove that like our client, “yes, we can!”. In fact, with the help of this event, KACC were able to meet their B2B goals, proudly informing us that, “yes, they can!” bring back previous customers, and just as importantly, “yes, they can!” bring in new customers. By achieving these results KACC managed to increase their market share to 67% in Iran, while also claiming 100% of the export market to Iran’s neighbours.
Takdaneh Brand Identity Design, Package Design, Illustration
COMMUNICATION CHALLENGE
Takdaneh is one of Iran’s leading fruit juice manufacturer, but have struggled to maintain their position in an expanding market. With Iran’s rapidly expanding market and the company’s expanding exports – both to the Middle East and Europe – the company had also expanded its product range. As a result of these changes, Takdaneh was beginning to see a fragmentation of their brand identity, something that they felt was contributing to them losing their position in the market. Our challenge was to build on the brand’s heritage of crisp, clean visual communication and develop a world-class fresh new packaging identity to present a bold and unified presence on the shelves of Iran and beyond.
COMMUNICATION SOLUTION
We chose to return to the clear canvas look that once defined Takdaneh, creating a harmonious suite of clean and crisp consistent packaging designs, each with sharp, hyper-real illustrations. The custom-made, world-class illustrations appear differently on either side of the packages, appealing to both the emotional and logical expectations of customers.
GENERAL CATEGORY
WHITE BACKGROUND
We strategically opted to make one clear category distinction for the brand’s ‘health & fitness’ customers, choosing to reverse the background colour to black. By doing this we aimed to appeal to customers with a more serious approach to the products they consume. For us to ensure top quality final results, we insisted on close collaboration between Takdaneh, suppliers such as Tetra Pak and our own team. This successful involvement and integration across teams helped ensure that high standards remained across all stages of packaging production, meaning that Takdaneh’s customers experience nothing but perfect results.
COMMUNICATION RESULT
For us at Zigma8 Branding and Advertising Agency the result was a big win, quite literally. Takdaneh established the packaging design project as a competition among the leading agencies in Iran and we came out top. For Takdaneh’s customers the result is a clear, consistent and crisp suite of packages to comfortably choose between. We are sure that with this fresh, new, world-class identity Takdaneh can only expect to regain their market position, but hopefully exceed it – reestablishing themselves as pioneers in fruit-juice manufacturing. DESIGN CRUSH has featured ZIGMA8 as Top Food Package Design Agency in the Middle east for the Takdaneh Package redesign.
Synergy Global Forum Event Design, PR and Social Media Management
RIP ATL
How Traditional Advertising is Got an Update
COMMUNICATION CHALLENGE
We at Zigma8 branding and advertising agency were proud to be given the opportunity to partner with the internationally run Global Synergy business forum, for what was to be the largest business gathering in Iran. With close to two thousand attendees expected and an online audience of tens of thousands business enthusiasts, we were keenly aware that this opportunity to present our strengths should not go to waste. To do this, we’d be taking on not one, but two challenges: firstly, to promote and brand the event, and secondly, to promote the Zigma8 brand, at the event. So how was it that we were able to sell-out the conference—while also reaching an even greater audience than anticipated—and impress the local business community in such a way that we’d sell ourselves.
COMMUNICATION SOLUTION
To reach the local business community, we chose to run a PR campaign that would highlight the event’s international might, while also showcasing the event’s international guest speakers. By using a targeted approach and keeping fresh content available at a high frequency, we had little trouble in gaining interest. Our strategy would be to help the videos go viral by creating content that can be shared as content. This was done by showing snippets of inspirational speeches from the previous events around the world. For the promotion of Zigma8, we’d need a stronger strategy, and for this we chose to make the event unlike anything ever seen in Iran. In doing so, we’d significantly increase both the event’s audience as well as ours. To do this we decided to make the show live and available to an online audience as well as in person, and used this method to showcase our point of distinction in the local communications market. We knew that we’d need to be distinctive with our distinction so we created an unforgettable campaign—entitled ‘ATL, BTL, RIP?’*—that played with the word “LIVE”, while challenging the market’s complacency with traditional advertising and media. By doing this, we’d reach a wide audience with a memorable message that would prove our innovation.
*ATL, BTL, RIP?! Campaign
• Entrance decor: three funeral styled limousines; decorated with flowers
• Entrance Samplers: visitors engaged; gifted white funeral roses gifted
• Live interior decor: zombie sampler gifting promo-scrolls from casket
• Gift and CSR: Zigma8 book on advertising given for charitable donation
• Flashmob: Choir sing in front of the funeral decor; influencer engagement
• Viral video: live social media broadcasting; attendees filming and sharing
COMMUNICATION RESULT
Although we were pleased that the event sold out within a very short time of being announced, running social media campaigns is not a big challenge for us. Beyond the fact that our Synergy Forum posts went viral—gaining up to 78,000 views per post—we were just as pleased by the fact that our faux-funeral flash-mob achieved the desired affect of being shared by the attendees and guest speakers alike.
*Above the line - advertising on media that is for the most-part publicly free to access: billboards and TV for e.g.
**Below the line - advertising on media that is accessible through paid access: in-store and in magazines for e.g.
Silkroad Coin Brand Design, Video Marketing Campaign Production
WE CREATED A VALUABLE MARKETING STRATEGY AND BRAND IDENTITY DESIGN IN IRAN FOR A NEW CRYPTOCURRENCY
How to build a fintech brand that inspires investor and users alike
[DATE]
COMMUNICATION CHALLENGE
Cryptocurrencies have, in recent years, emerged to become a new store of wealth and increasingly a new method of exchange. Many of the new emerging varieties have come to compete among more established “coins” such as Bitcoin. More recently, LGR Crypto bank of Switzerland—a leader in b2b digital money movement and end-to-end trade finance—established their very own cryptocurrency. Their aim with this move was to better support supply-chain finance in the Central Asian “Silk Road” economies — such as Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as modern-day India and Pakistan. More importantly, their aim was to develop a cryptocurrency for general online trades for Iranian traders wanting to trade with China. The bank’s “coin” offering is known as Silk Road Coin, and they approached us at Zigma8 to help better communicate this new enterprise. Their challenge for us was to create an understanding and a reassurance that would inspire initial investors to help fund the enterprise. To do this, we’d firstly need to create an understanding of its unique differentiator — that it caters to the oil and gas industry. Then, secondly, we’d need create reassurance that the coin is trustworthy. With this in mind, our challenge was to convince our audience that premium German quality can in fact be bought without having to pay the perceived premium.
COMMUNICATION SOLUTION
The name Silk Road derives from the ancient passage of trade connecting the East and the West, passing through Iran. Its long-standing existence served as just one reason why the coin was named as such, beside the obvious location for our client’s enterprise. We chose to highlight these distinct and attractive points, but did things a little differently. To compete with other offerings, we chose to stand out, by representing heritage, contrary to common visuals found within the cryptocurrency community. We used a visual style that borrowed from symbols of historical trade, such as usage of early typography. Our top Iranian branding team used the story of the Silk Road to brand the coin visual, adding iconography to represent aspects of the historic route. To help cement reassurance we also helped the enterprise by creating their communications material, paying extra special attention to their online identity. To top it all off, and to truly stand tall beside other cryptocurrencies, we created the enterprise’s white-paper and provided video production to help promote Iran and other neighbouring nations.
COMMUNICATION RESULT
As a result of our brand identity development we were able to help Silk Road Coin achieve its all-important first step. This was to inspire confidence among investors so as to set the coin on the path of being an establish cryptocurrency. In fact, the coin offering by LGR Bank of Switzerland (known as SRC) has come a long way since we’ve helped them. They are now listed on many online exchanges — known as being a new player in the field of cryptocurrency. In conclusion, the Silk Road Coin is a unique offering, in a unique location and providing for a unique business situation, so we were proud to be able to provide a unique creative solution. With this in mind, our challenge was to convince our audience that premium German quality can in fact be bought without having to pay the perceived premium.
Sepehr Monavar Brand Design, TVC Production, Showroom Design
Sepehr Monavar (Branding)
COMMUNICATION CHALLENGE
Due to energy efficiency, LED systems are fast becoming the future of lighting, and nobody knows this better than Sepehr Monavar Group, Iran. The increased demand for such technology in Iran has led to an increase in the company’s staff, which in turn has led to an increased need to coherently correlate communications.
Our challenge was to provide the tools to allow Sepehr Monavar Group to shed light on its growing operations while also giving them the means to get their name out and really light up the place.
To help with this, the Sepehr Monavar Group first needed to establish a strategic brand architecture that would align its various sub-brands so as to allow for maximum market-share in each segment. The group represents many international brands such as Osram, BLV (both German) and Opple (Chinese-European) as well as its very own high-end local brand EDC and each of these would need specific positioning for the Iranian audience.
After establishing this our ultimate challenge would be to preserve Sepehr Monavar Group as the master-brand while supporting its sub-brands with coherent integrated communications.
Sepehr Monavar (Branding)
Challenge
Due to energy efficiency, LED systems are fast becoming the future of lighting, and nobody knows this better than Sepehr Monavar Group, Iran. The increased demand for such technology in Iran has led to an increase in the company’s staff, which in turn has led to an increased need to coherently correlate communications.
Our challenge was to provide the tools to allow Sepehr Monavar Group to shed light on it’s growing operations while also giving them the means to get their name out and really light up the place.
To help with this, the Sepehr Monavar Group first needed to establish a strategic brand architecture that would align its various sub-brands so as to allow for maximum market-share in each segment. The group represents many international brands such as Osram, BLV (both German) and Opple (Chinese-European) as well as its very own high-end local brand EDC and each of these would need specific positioning for the Iranian audience.
After establishing this our ultimate challenge would be to preserve Sepehr Monavar Group as the master-brand while supporting its sub-brands with coherent integrated communications.
COMMUNICATION SOLUTION
Having successfully established the strategic brand architecture and having developed the necessary communications tools we went on to put the spotlight on several touchpoints across the brands. We’d arranged for these to be available and integrated for an important upcoming trade exhibition. For this occasion we decided to create a light show of sorts – using the moment to prepare a multitude of short videos to both be used during the exhibition and across many places thereafter. For the exhibition we chose to use the corresponding theme of ‘innovative technologies’ by integrating one of our own innovations within the group’s stationary and gift items – a QR code that links to both branded items and tools.
COMMUNICATION RESULTS
Our work with Sepehr Monavar Group was awarded second prize for Brand Design in the Iranian National Advertising Festival 2017.
Aside from our success with the award we were proud to be able to present a glowing example of an integrated below-the-line campaign with accompanying branded tools for the trade exhibition. We achieved these results by creating exhibition stands, content and product videos and exhibition material, visual brand guideline.
Design corporate brand identity for Sepehr Monavar Group included: stationery suite, logo design, Persian language logotype design, Persian type-set, social media templates for Iran, Telegram Messenger content templates for Iran, Instagram content template for Iran and Persian language website SEO.
Selda Branding, Product Design, Label Design, Social Media Marketing
SELDA HOUSEHOLD CLEANING PRODUCTS BRAND SHINES BRIGHT WITH OUR BRAND IDENTITY CREATION
How to building a brand from scratch and immediately gain market-share
[DATE]
CHALLENGE
Clean, clear and comprehensible communications form the bases of good branding. As brands transition from communicating to customers, to also communicating to communities, messages must remain meaningful, beyond the intended audience. Selda household cleaning products approached us with a multi-layered challenge that would test any multi-disciplined branding and advertising agency in Iran. We were to help them create a brand identity that would not only shine out in a competitive market, but would clearly stand out among the international competitors.
SOLUTION
We often inform our clients that every experience of the brand, says something about the brand. For Selda to compete with the long-established international household cleaning products, we created those experiences, down to the molecular level. We conducted deep research gathering customer perceptions and insights, while simultaneously analysing the market. The results guide would lead us to create a complete packaging experience. We created the container shapes, even determining their colours and textures. We created labelling, using a fresh logo in Latin and Persian script. We created a visual language for the labelling, using best practices while adding unique graphics to help at the point of purchase, as well as the point of use. We didn’t stop there though — we created POSM, BTL activity. To round it all off, we also created the transportation packaging.
RESULTS
From zero to hero — Selda entered the market shining brightly beside its competitors.
Nafeese Alavi Brand Identity Design
How an alluring brand identity can attract new audiences in Dubai and beyond
Nafeesé Alavee, brand identity creation
CHALLENGE
Italy is renowned for being the home of style, and is also the place where renowned designer, Nafeesé Alavee mastered her trade. This Iranian designer now resides in Dubai, where jewellery fanatics the world over, come and adore her exotic craft. For her rapidly expanding business, she not only needed to expand her brand identity, but needed to better reflect her unique style for her expanding audience. Her signature style is outwardly luxurious, reflecting her Italian background, but is infectiously Middle Eastern at its heart. This style borrows from a subtle and seductive Middle Eastern charm, yet is not so easily embodied beyond the jewellery itself. For this, she approached Zigma8, presenting a challenge within a challenge. Not only was she confident that we would deliver a luxurious brand identity to better reflect the brand, but she knew we’d solve the deeper challenge. This was to embody the soul of what she does — an important point of distinction that continues to unwittingly captivate her audience’s desire.
IDEA
As with any revered designer, their brand centres around their name. This can occasionally be seen as their signature, but is often signature touch upon a logo or logotype. More commonly these days logotypes will accompany an emblem, and it is here that we placed the jewel of our work. To help solve our two main challenges, Zigma8’s branding team firstly called upon their experience with conventional representations of luxury. This would be the framework by which the heart of the challenge would transpire. Already having a sensitivity with Middle Eastern motifs, the team looked to extrapolate the soul of Nafeesé Alavee’s style, by embodying its innate allure. The team weaved ancient, abstract and Arabesque depictions of the sun between representations of the tombs of ancient Persian kings. The result was an interconnected embodiment of grandeur and charm, seductively expressing the soul of our client’s brand. This work would be presented, like the jewellery itself, encased with a slogan that represented the carefully-crafted brand personality. The brand would confidently express the terms: fascination, royalty, romanticism and a sense of the bespoke. This led to the alluring slogan of, “bespoke fascination”.
SOLUTION
Our solution not only embodied the soul of our client’s unique allure, but encapsulated the level of luxury that her audience expects. Our complete brand identity solution adorned each and every touchpoint, be it packaging and promotion, or online and on social media. It could be said that our result was much like how a princess presents herself to her public: desirable, down to the very last diamond.
Mapna Design, Photography, Print Production
MAPNA RAILWAYS CONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT COMPANY BRAND IDENTITY AND SALES BROCHURE
Why your brand should have designs that not only look and feel great, but sell
[DATE]
CHALLENGE
MAPNA Railways Construction & Development Company, is a subsidiary of one Iranian’s top 12 stock exchange listed businesses, and a happy client of Zigma8. The company approached us to help deliver tools that not only clearly and consistently explained their wide-ranging products and services, but also inspired interest and subsequently sales. Our challenge would be to not only create a brochure that both looks and feels impressive, but to design it in such a way that the vast and complex information can be be easily found and understood.
SOLUTION
Our expert branding team worked closely with the client to decipher the complexities of their operation so as to create simple visual and verbal elements. Using the familiar and related visual language of Tehran’s metro map, they devised a unique, fold-out table of contents to help guide viewers through the brochure’s sections. Each corresponding section consisted of bespoke iconography carefully created by our design studio to maximize legibility. We quite literally went the extra mile by not only adding beautiful stock imagery to those that were supplied by the customer, but by also traveling to various locations around Iran and photographing necessary scenes. We didn’t stop there though. Instead of using regular wood-based paper stock, we opted for a more environmentally friendly stone-based paper stock.
RESULTS
Even with the additional challenge of using a tricky paper-stock for printing, our amazing design studio managed to deliver 1700 copies of a stunning 86-page, soft-cover brochure, using special inks. For us however, the true result was to be found in the client feedback. Our friends at MAPNA Railways Construction & Development Company were kind enough to send us a letter of thanks, stating that their sales brochure had, “great imagery and creative ideas that clearly appealed to the mind and the heart.
= = = = = = = =
WHY YOUR BRAND SHOULD HAVE DESIGNS THAT NOT ONLY LOOK AND FEEL GREAT, BUT SELL
MAPNA Railways Construction & Development Company Brand Identity and Sales Brochure
[DATE?]
“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works”, were once the words of a man that went on to shape the way we look at the world today. These were the words of Steve Jobs, founder of one of the world’s leading brands, Apple, a man that very much made his mark by this method. By demanding a deeper look at how we interact with the complexities that surrounds us, the world was afforded a simplicity that went on to define more than just his own brand. This very same method was one that would be necessary for this top Iranian advertising agency; Zigma8, as we were entrusted to assist in delivering sales tools for a series of complex products and services.
MAPNA Railways Construction & Development Company, a subsidiary of one Iranian’s top 12 stock exchange listed businesses, approached us to deliver tools that not only clearly and consistently explained their wide-ranging products and services, but also inspired interest and subsequently sales. Although our newly acquired customer expected to receive a brochure that both looks and feels impressive, our real task would be to develop that all important, “how it works”.
Our expert branding team worked closely with the customer to decipher the complexities of their operation so as to create simple visual and verbal elements to be used in creation of a comprehensive yet coherent brochure. Using the familiar and related visual language of Tehran’s metro map, we devised a unique, fold-out table of contents to help guide viewers through the brochure’s sections. Each corresponding section consisted of bespoke iconography carefully created by our design studio to maximize legibility. After having carefully copy-edited the brochure’s content, we quite literally went the extra mile by not only adding beautiful stock imagery to those that were supplied by the customer, but by also traveling to various locations around Iran and photographing necessary scenes.
Having successfully taken care of the “how it would work”, our design studio decided to add a little extra detail to the, “how it feels”, by appealing to our customer’s environmental concerns, and using a very special choice of paper stock. Instead of using regular wood-based paper stock, we opted for a more environmentally friendly stone-based paper stock. Sourcing and using this unfamiliar paper-stock in Iran wasn’t without its challenges. Overseeing the print production, our amazing design studio managed to overcome the many challenges to finally deliver a stunning 86-page, soft-cover brochure, using special inks.
You needed take our word for it though, our friends at MAPNA Railways Construction & Development Company were kind enough to send us a letter of thanks, stating that their sales brochure had, “great imagery and creative ideas that clearly appealed to the mind and the heart.
If you’re looking for a top branding agency in Iran that can deliver the best in brand identity and sales materials, then you need look no further. Our experienced team at Zigma8 understand that impact is important when getting the message out about your brand, product or service. We work with you to deliver amazing results, even when your budget is small, because we believe that results don’t necessarily need to come at great expense. Contact us today to learn how Zigma8 can deliver you top quality brand identity and designs that add up.
Medeen Pharma Branding, Packaging Design and Production
Medeen Pharma Brand-Identity Development and Packaging-Design Case Study
How to create brand identity based on brand architecture in Iran
September 2017
CHALLENGE
Packaging design is about the art of customer conversion, but with pharmaceutical packaging, it is as much of a science than an art — with many regulatory challenges to overcome, as well as complex industry semantics. Customers of pharmaceutical products interact with its packaging in a different way to off-the-shelf products because they are over-the-counter. This means that process involves customers having to also interact with pharmacists. Our challenge, therefore, was to increase the likelihood of selection by creating a brand identity with visual and verbal brand elements that not only conform to regulations, but also beautifully synthesizes the science, as well as the art of packaging design.
SOLUTION
Medeen have over twenty products, spanning across regular pharmaceutical, synthetic, herbal and complimentary medicines. This lead us to propose a brand architecture method known as ‘Endorsed Individual Brands’. This meant that we’d unify Medeen’s multiple sub-brands by using a consistent visual brand-identity, while uniformly using Medeen Pharma's logo. By doing this, we’d be creating a singularly strong brand-presence that would not only help improve recognition, but also allow for brand equity to be borrowed from Medeen's more well-known products. We developed a core brand-language which we’d apply to the tailor-made fonts, brand patterns and specialised print finishes. Within the individual packaging design solutions, we created three distinct visual languages using pattern and color variations to help with category selection.
RESULT
For Medeen, we not only provided the requested packaging design, but provided a deeper, more longer lasting solution, based on tried and tested branding methods. We implemented a brand identity and brand architecture method that will contribute to long-term sales. Our complete brand overhaul helps provide Medeen with a clear, consistent and coherent brand identity that uses both the art and the science of our trade. With this fresh new look and feel, the brand appeals to its customer’s logical and emotional needs at what will likely be a sensitive time.
La Brioche Brand Design, Print Production, Interior Design
La brioche
COMMUNICATION CHALLENGE
When bringing a taste of France to a foreign land, one must truly cook something up to meet high expectations. For example, in the UAE (where the brand was to be launched), there is a great appreciation of all things French and this familiarity would make our challenge with the French bakery, La Brioche, all the more difficult.
Our challenge was to develop the ingredients and recipe for creating a coherent and consistent brand identity that epitomizes a French bakery as is understood by locals to the UAE.
THE BIG IDEA
"Fresh, friendly, but unmistakably French"
COMMUNICATION SOLUTION
We created a recipe book that the French would certainly be proud of and brought the ingredients for the UAE locals to mix as needed. We made it so that every variety of logo, package or branded item can be baked up, yet always offer a genuine taste of France. In plain English, we developed and created the brand elements to deliver a feeling of France at every touchpoint.
SLOGAN: "French, Fresh, Friendly"
COMMUNICATION RESULTS
A taste of France with every element in a brand identity guideline booklet created to compliment the French-tasting bread of La Brioche.
Results, achieved by adding these media and services: Brand identity guideline booklet, logo, slogan, and packaging
Jangnameh Design, Production, Social Media Campaign
How we used the power of influencers to sell out a play
CHALLENGE
In the sensitive market of Iranian theatre—where the promotion to a small yet fickle audience can make or break a production—how was it that we able to grab the attention of regular theatre goers, while also bringing in a new audience and selling-out the show? Taking on such a challenge would be a test for any of the top advertising agencies in Iran, yet compound this with the fact the production was to be the first ever running of a play by Iran’s critically acclaimed, yet contentious Bahram Beyzai, and you’d be excused for thinking we were mad for taking the project on. Mohsen Hosseini, the production’s Director, chose the challenge of putting on Beyzaei’s 1985 play, ‘Gholaman War’, or the otherwise titled, ‘The Squires’ Account of War; a Farce’, and chose us at Zigma8 Advertising Agency to help generate a buzz, and in turn, generate sales.
SOLUTION
We knew that the traditional approach would get the traditional response, and that pasting-up posters and writing up the usual blurb across the usual sites just wasn’t going to cut it. So, to inspire the existing theatre-going crowd and capture the imagination of a new audience, we chose a new approach. Our chosen strategy was to create content, that would create content, and use the power of social media to empower the existing audience, while inadvertently reaching a new audience. To do this we almost literally set the stage, using a multitude of engaging techniques with print and video. Our audience would almost literally be in the front row as they looked on at the promotional material. For this, we sent gift packs to celebrities and influencers, who were so impressed by our innovative approach to the promotion that they in turn shared it with their followers, in the form of “unboxing” videos.
RESULTS
Our creative solution achieved its desired effect, helping the message go viral and helping the show sell-out within a week of the tickets going on sale. Also, as planned, our solution brought in a new audience, evidenced by the additional “non-seat sales” that had parts of our audience sitting the performance out, on the floor. As if this wasn’t enough of an ovation to our performance, our packaging and production of the show’s promotional material won us an award in the ‘Brand Identity and Design’ category at the ‘Sarv e Noghrei’, 7th biennial, hosted by the Iranian Graphic Designers’ Society.
Heimisch Marketing Strategy, Interior Design, Print Production
COMMUNICATION CHALLENGE
When one thinks of high-quality engineering they’d be forgiven for not necessarily thinking of Danish manufacturing They might also be forgiven for subsequently thinking of products with little warmth to them, but Heimish, a Danish brand with Danish engineered products, came to us boasting a range of goods that bring exactly that
Our challenge was to embody this throughout each and every communication point of the brand and to create the branding framework by which this can continue.
COMMUNICATION SOLUTION
THE BIG IDEA
Feel at home
We carefully constructed the brand essence around the name Heimish, which conveniently translates to English as "homey. To do this we defined elements, and the environment in which they reside-choosing a softer yet still serious palette for starters with this we created a warm and welcoming introduction for our audience and greeted them at every point by asking them to make themselves at home"
SLOGAN
Phase 1- Make yourself at home
COMMUNICATION RESULT
The brand essence and their elements, all housed in the brand identity guidelines and resulting in point-of-sales material with a launch campaign warmly introducing our audience to Heimish.
Results, achieved by adding these media and services:
Television commercials, brand identity guidelines, slogan, brochures, website, product packaging, stationery, and warranty cards
Fuhlen Brand Design, Advertising Campaign, TVC Production
COMMUNICATION CHALLENGE
One might say that in Iran, Germany itself is a brand and that any brand or product related to the nation fall as a sub-brand. This umbrella brand of Germany implies a sense of unrivalled quality in manufacturing, and for that a premium is expected to be paid. But with Fühlen, you can have the best of both worlds.
With this in mind, our challenge was to convince our audience that premium German quality can in fact be bought without having to pay the perceived premium.
THE BIG IDEA
"Perfection beyond the price"
COMMUNICATION SOLUTION
Like the Germans, we engineered something of great premium and also like them, we left no detail unrefined. We shaped the brand and then shaped every element within, going as far as photographing every last product and then setting them neatly in a complete brochure built on the brand identity guidelines – also made by us.
SLOGANS
Phase 1: "Feel lifey perfection"
COMMUNICATION RESULT
The brand essence and their elements, all encapsulated in the brand identity guidelines and resulting in point-of-sales material and a whole lot more. Results, achieved by adding these media: Television commercials, brand identity guidelines, slogan, brochures, website, product packaging, and showroom design.
Evvoli Inbound Marketing, Advertising Campaign and Social Media
The home appliance market in Iran is one where customers need to be armed with a flowchart for how to go about making a purchase. As with most markets, some brands do well in some sub-categories—for some reason or another—but in Iran, sensitivities to cultural signifiers play an important part. Evvoli, a new international home appliance brand, was more than aware of this and looked to build upon it initial brand development and exploit this disposition in the Iranian market. To do this, they called upon the experience and expertise of Zigma8 Branding and Advertising Agency. Although the challenge of plugging in to the hearts and minds of Iranian consumers would not prove to be too difficult, simultaneously creating subsequent brand communication for the international audience would truly test what we ourselves are made of.
The concept of positioning with respect to brands is an essential practice that help avoid market overlaps. Evvoli, themselves had created the foundations for this practice, choosing to differentiate themselves as a neo-modern, Italian inspired manufacturer. Saying so, was not going to be enough, so we developed a multi-phased strategy that would step-by-step appeal to the consumer’s sense of pride and passion, which in turn would link to commonly understood ideas about Italian pride and passion with respect to design. To kick-start this story we went big, using premium media to effectively portray an authentic Italian feel. To achieve this, we deliberately avoided the conventional international ATL adaptation and opted to use the Italian language, which both helped grab attention and sell the story. Having established the association, we then brought the story to a new chapter, extending it to BTL and online activities, and adapting it to appropriately associate with the term, “home of style”.
Evvoli Inbound Marketing, Advertising Campaign and Social Media
The home appliance market in Iran is one where customers need to be armed with a flowchart for how to go about making a purchase. As with most markets, some brands do well in some sub-categories—for some reason or another—but in Iran, sensitivities to cultural signifiers play an important part. Evvoli, a new international home appliance brand, was more than aware of this and looked to build upon it initial brand development and exploit this disposition in the Iranian market. To do this, they called upon the experience and expertise of Zigma8 Branding and Advertising Agency. Although the challenge of plugging in to the hearts and minds of Iranian consumers would not prove to be too difficult, simultaneously creating subsequent brand communication for the international audience would truly test what we ourselves are made of.
The concept of positioning with respect to brands is an essential practice that help avoid market overlaps. Evvoli, themselves had created the foundations for this practice, choosing to differentiate themselves as a neo-modern, Italian inspired manufacturer. Saying so, was not going to be enough, so we developed a multi-phased strategy that would step-by-step appeal to the consumer’s sense of pride and passion, which in turn would link to commonly understood ideas about Italian pride and passion with respect to design. To kick-start this story we went big, using premium media to effectively portray an authentic Italian feel. To achieve this, we deliberately avoided the conventional international ATL adaptation and opted to use the Italian language, which both helped grab attention and sell the story. Having established the association, we then brought the story to a new chapter, extending it to BTL and online activities, and adapting it to appropriately associate with the term, “home of style”.
ECOSC Strategy, Brand Design, Video Production, Website Design
COMMUNICATION CHALLENGE
Trust plays an important role in the daily life of any person, yet in business it is an essential foundation by which businesses and live and die by. We at Zigma8 Branding and Advertising Agency know this only too well because our work is very much about helping build trust for our clients. We do this by collaborating with our clients to help them develop strategy that develops transparency. In the world of trading and finance, transparency is also key, certainly in this transformative age where blockchain technologies are changing the way we do business. ECOSC is yet another blockchain based business, but it is one with a difference — ECOSC’s ambition is to improve inefficiencies in the oil and gas industry and the management team at this new startup approached Zigma8 to help reach its ambition. Although we are experts in building trust through branding, our true challenge would be to also build a strategy that would build trust in the revolutionary technological process of blockchain.
COMMUNICATION SOLUTION
To help develop trust and transparency we needed to partner with ECOSC to deeply understand their twist on the technology and to also understand their go-to-market strategy. By doing this, we would be arming ourselves with the knowledge and language needed to approach the various audiences. With this in place we tailored the marketing communications to cater to differing audiences—such as stake holders, media representatives and end users—based upon their respective familiarity. We chose to create a rich brand visual identity that borrowed from the established market iconography yet symbolised the unique differences.
COMMUNICATION RESULT
It wasn’t only us at Zigma8 Branding and Advertising Agency and the founders at ECOSC that were proud to see this succeed beyond its MVP, our various audiences were pleased too. This is not only evident from the increase in the user base, but also with the increase in coin value. Since the early stages of our partnership with ECOSC, we’ve seen an increase in the coin value, from $0.10 to $1.60. This is only just the beginning though, as we have much more planned and expect even greater results.
Borjeman Branding and Full Campaign
CHALLENGE
Iran can often do retail slightly different. From Tehran’s Grand Bazaar to the modern malls of Iran, markets for products will often cluster. Multiple competitors will set-up shop side-by-side, offering only slight variations in products to their neighbours. For our client, Borjman, this was the model we were to mimic, but our true challenge wouldn’t be so straightforward. Borjman wanted to be the one-stop-shop for all things interior design, within an area that itself is the one-stop-plot. To make this claim and to fulfil this claim would not be easy, but we at Zigma8 Advertising Agency don’t enjoy easy.
SOLUTION
When Borjman approached us, they weren’t Borjman. Our first, and most important solution for the entire brand creation project would be the name for the complex. Although the complex would look to be the beating heart of interior design in Iran, the upper floors were to be rented as offices. This would mean that we would need to be aspirational while avoiding direct references to the interior design market. “Borj” is a shared word between Persian and Arabic, translating as “tower”. The word elicits prestige, what with the connotation of various building with a similar name in Dubai. “Man” (pronounced with a long ‘a’), is the grandiose word for, “ours”. When combined, these words conjure prestige, while also lending much creative play for our other copy related solutions. We developed a visual identity to build the brand image, using prestigious old Persian iconography and amplifying the look to represent a grand tower. To help promote the complex we created a campaign that melded grand Persian history with a modern European-art feel. We then created collateral such as 3D fly-throughs, video advertising, brochures and gifts, which were sent to players in the market. To top it all off and to prove that we truly are one of the top full-service advertising agencies in Iran, we took care of all production and media buying.
RESULTS
Aside from the complete A-Z brand solution, we won more than our client’s business. Iran’s prestigious Simorge Awards—honouring the best in all things print—chose us as a winner for Borjman's brand material. It was a pleasant surprise that an award which would normally go to one of the Iran’s top print houses, came our way. The true honour, however, was to be able to provide a comprehensive brand identity solution for Borjman — one that helped positioned Borjman as the one-stop-wow, towering above the one-stop-now.
Bertonix Advertising Campaign
COMMUNICATION CHALLENGE
Bertronix shoes share something in common with a large amount of the world’s clothing – that they are made in China. Apple products are also made in China, but are designed with a difference, and the difference with Bertronix is the curved sole for a more free-flowing step. With this in mind, our challenge was to convince our audience that premium German quality can in fact be bought without having to pay the perceived premium.
"A Bespoke footprint"
COMMUNICATION SOLUTION
We set the Bertronix shoe in motion – yes we put ourselves in their shoes and walk with them for a mile or two. We captured this free-flowing motion and set it among scenes of a rolling city before arriving at the slogan, “The bespoke footprint”
SLOGAN: "The bespoke footprint"
COMMUNICATION RESULT
An advertising campaign consisting of a highly active 3D animation.
BAIC Brand Adaptation and BTL Marketing Activities
CHALLENGE
The Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co., or BAIC, boasted the production of over 2.5m whole vehicles, just half a decade ago. Since then the company decided to produce 100,000 vehicles through its recent Iranian venture. Such large-scale manufacturers however, require localisation when entering new markets, and with this, need the expertise of branding and advertising agencies, such as ourselves. Our communications challenge would be quite straightforward, requiring us to provide BAIC’s brand development and design in Iran.
SOLUTION
Our branding team expertly designed the essential brand elements to suit local sensitivities. Not only did they adapt the latin logotype, but they also created a localized logotype to help communicate to our Persian speaking audience. Zigma8’s Iran-based design studio followed-up by adapting the brand’s local sales-material, taking care of translations before laying-out the artwork for brochures. Brand development and design in Iran is only half the story though, without precision in production, the hard work is lost. By providing this additional service, we were able to help our client in achieving that all important high-quality result. In addition to the print material, we helped BAIC in developing a localised website to host the adapted brand material. To help generate online leads, we made the site fully optimised, to help gain inbound traffic from search engines.
RESULT
Aside from providing BAIC with localized brand development and design solutions, we were able to help drive sales. Our brand solutions were able to assist the company in exceeding expectations for their two-year sales. The three vehicles that BAIC brought to the Iranian market achieved combined sales of over 20,000. More importantly, the company now have the materials in place to help them take it up a gear and achieve greater future sales.
Aparat Online Advertising and Digital Marketing
COMMUNICATION CHALLENGE
Audiences don’t get bigger than those of a Football World Cup and as all eyes face in one direction, Aparat – sometimes known as Iran’s YouTube – wanted to seize the opportunity to let their audience know that there’s another way of looking at the event.
Our challenge at Zigma8 full-service advertising agency was to feed on the football fever and communicate the advantage Aparat have over the conventional channels, the ability to see the little bit more – to see behind the scenes.
COMMUNICATION SOLUTION
At Zigma8 creative agency we invited our audience to be in Brazil themselves and see things first-hand; “Aparat, my eyes in Brazil”. We used the commonly understood 2014 Football World Cup illustration style to attract the attention of our audience, showing them the shape of an eye with Aparat’s play button. With this we were able to highlight Aparat’s benefits – the abundance of first-hand footage not available through conventional channels in major cities of Iran.
COMMUNICATION RESULT
An out-of-home advertising campaign highlighting Aparat’s advantage in the theme of the 2014 Brazil World Cup in Iran.
Results, achieved by adding these media: Billboard advertising and lamppost advertising in major cities of Iran.
ZIGMA8 Reviews
Submit a review for ZIGMA8
Professionals
Being professional in all aspect of marketing shines Zimga8 from others. Their knowledgeable team with hard working and problem solving attitude help companies to achieve the best possible result. As a marketing director, I have done a full launch campaign project with Zigma8. The team helped us with creative launch campaign idea, KVs, media plan, POSM design and other essentials. Based on the result, the campaign was successful and Zigma8 had a key role in that achievement.
Location
982188921189