News

Emirates NBD, one of the Middle East’s largest banks by asset size, unveiled today its first fully rebranded branch, reflecting the successful conclusion of the merger process between Emirates Bank and National Bank of Dubai.

The unveiling of the rebranded Group Head Office of Emirates NBD in Deira, Dubai, which has also been entirely wrapped with the bank’s new corporate identity, will be rapidly followed by the UAE-wide brand integration of all 110 bank branches and 650 ATMs, the largest such network in the country.

The complete external and internal rebranding of the Emirates NBD domestic network is expected to be concluded in just 60 days, underscoring the bank’s commitment to efficiently finalising this significant stage of the merger process. In parallel, the bank is also rebranding its international network, including branches in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Kingdom.

His Excellency Ahmed Humaid Al Tayer, Chairman, Emirates NBD, said:

“With the merger completed, Emirates NBD, which serves more than 1 million customers across the UAE, is firmly established as a national and international banking champion. Under its newly unified brand, the bank will continue to support the economic growth and diversification of the United Arab Emirates and wider region.”

Click here for more information on Endpoint’s involvement.

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Endpoint to implement Abbey rebrand

LONDON – Brand Implementation agency Endpoint has announced its recent win to manage the rebrand of 721 Abbey branches across the UK.

The move follows global giant Santander’s recent announcement to rebrand its portfolio of UK banking divisions under the single brand by 2010. Endpoint’s role will involve the management of site surveys, brand schemes, procurement, statutory applications, supply chain management and installation supervision for the rebranding of all external signage and ATM’s.

As the UK’s leading brand implementation agency, with extensive experience of fast paced large-scale rollouts, Endpoint was an obvious choice for Santander. Paul Veness, Director at Endpoint says: “We have a 6 month deadline in which to provide Santander with a smooth transition to the company’s parent brand. Brand implementation is often overlooked resulting in unexpected and often unnecessary costs. Our job is to simplify the implementation process in order to achieve significant time and cost savings for Santander”.

Brand implementation is a relatively new discipline, emerging in the 1990’s when brand owners recognised the need for consistency across branded assets. With an enviable list of high profile clients including Apple, John Lewis, GM and Whitbread, Endpoint’s brand implementation service has proven to be effective for large-scale branding activities.

Endpoint is a member of the Visual Identity Management Group, which operates a network of specialised organisations in Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and the Middle East.

The renowned Italian Princi bakery chain has received rave reviews of their new site in Soho, London. The bakery has gained a reputation for its interior, ambiance and atmosphere - as well as incredible food. Endpoint undertook the product development and management of installation of all signage and environmental graphics for the new site based upon branding by North Design. Endpoint has previously worked with other Alan Yau brands including: Cha Cha Moon, Sakenohana, Busaba Eathai and Hakkasan Istanbul.

Baroue, MS Retail’s pioneering new children’s retail concept, has been awarded Innovative Format of the Year at the World Retail Awards.

Working with the designer Gensler, Endpoint was tasked with product design and brand implementation for the 69,000 sq ft Kuwait City store.

Baroue combines theatre with entertainment space through the creation of a giant Sea Serpent central feature where children can play and their parents relax in an adjacent café. The store provides clothing, maternity wear and entertainment for children and although only in its first year is already proving scaleable for expansion throughout the Middle East. “A marvellous and engaging destination for kids and adults alike,” commented one of the expert judges.

Lukasz Balczewski, Endpoint project manager said “the main challenge faced by our team was translating 2D designs into 3D products. With so many brand elements throughout the store, it was crucial that the 3D product family matched the other hallmarks”.

As Baroue continues to grow, Endpoint’s recently opened Dubai office is now on hand to ensure that product design and consistency is maintained and each store champions this exciting new brand.

http://www.endpoint.co.uk/work/casestudies/baroue.html

It has been an extremely busy and exciting year for Endpoint, working with a diverse range of clients, architects and designers to transform visual identity from two dimensional designs into real life encounters on buildings, environments and interiors.

As brand implementation specialists, we have helped deliver and manage numerous projects throughout 2006, from the refurbishment of Fortnum & Mason’s to the rollout of a number of Apple stores. New clients include the NHS, Selfridges & Sony with new creative partners including Cartlidge Levene and Morey Smith to name a few.

Behind the scenes we have updated our IT systems to meet the increasing demand of our online brand management tools and international project base. We are working towards Investors in People accreditation and have established a staff training and development programme covering all aspects of visual identity implementation and management, from compliance audits, through production techniques and health and safety legislation.

We look forward to 2007 which promises to be an equally successful, energetic year.