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DESTINATION BRANDING
BRINGING DESTINATIONS TO LIFE & PROVIDING END TO END VISUAL ENGAGEMENT

TRANSFORMING A PIECE OF ABU DHABI HISTORY

ABU DHABI EQUESTRIAN CLUB REBRAND

CLIENT

Government Of Abu Dhabi Royal Office Of HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Location

Abu Dhabi, UAE

PROJECT TYPE

Retail Mall, Hospitality & Entertainment Destination

WHAT WE DELIVERED

Brand Strategy & Architecture
Destination Positioning & Development
Conceptual & Creative Design
Graphic Language Development
Brand & Identity Guidelines
Signage & Wayfinding Strategy

PROJECT CHALLENGE

With its strong historical and cultural legacy, the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club is a part of the city’s fabric. The Club’s roots go back to 1962 when it was founded by a group of horse loving expatriates on land donated by H.H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the UAE’s Founding Father. In early 1970’s Sheikh Zayed established The Royal Stables to preserve and breed Arabian horses and by the 1980’s a formal breeding program for purebred Arabian horses was a key feature of the Royal Stables. Remaining a private breeding stable for decades, the mid 2000’s saw the introduction of pubic services like riding lessons and livery to the city’s well heeled equine enthusiasts.
Since those heady days the club went through somewhat of a down turn until 2023 where a new vision and extensive renovations were undertaken under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President of the United Arab Emirates and the President of the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club. This renewed focus has seen significant upgrades to the venue across all aspects of the facility that includes a championship turf racetrack, a sand training track, versatile equestrian arenas, and well-maintained stables.

DESTINATION DYNAMICS

Today, ADEC now boasts brand new facilities that are complemented by modern amenities, including a Veterinary clinic, Country Club and a 9-hole golf course, along with an elevated grandstand with a seating capacity for 5,000 guests, exclusive VIP suites, and air-conditioned stables. Positioned as a premier destination for both national and international competitions, ADEC’s grounds play host to a vibrant calendar of equestrian spectacles, attracting enthusiasts from across the globe from November through April. Among the seasonal highlights are the prestigious Group 1 International Jewel Crown Cup and the esteemed Presidents Cup.
As a natural part of this refresh, Creative Dialog was engaged to collaborate with the stakeholder group to develop a comprehensive venue wide visitor experience uplift, specifically looking at a complete brand reboot and provide a site wide wayfinding program.

We were honored to have been entrusted to work on such a cultural landmark and our engagement began with what we term brand archaeology a systematic exploration of ADEC’s cultural DNA. This process involved uncovering the authentic stories, rituals, and meanings that give a destination its unique character. For ADEC, this meant understanding equestrian culture’s role in Emirati heritage, the club’s significance within Abu Dhabi’s social and royal fabric, and its position within the global equestrian community.

From our perspective, authentic brands emerge from genuine place characteristics, not imposed narratives and our archaeological approach revealed ADEC’s story telling potential to bridge traditional Emirati horsemanship with contemporary sporting excellence – a positioning that became central to our brand strategy.

UNDERSTANDING AUDIENCES

Rather than traditional demographic segmentation, we developed what we call experience-based audience architecture. This methodology recognizes that destination brands must simultaneously serve multiple, sometimes conflicting, audience needs while maintaining coherent brand expression. Our audience mapping approach identified four primary audience ecosystems:

Cultural Custodians: Local community members and Emirati families for whom the club represents heritage continuity
International Enthusiasts: Global equestrian community seeking authentic, world-class experiences
Experience Seekers: Tourists and local residents drawn to unique cultural encounters
Corporate Partners: Business community requiring sophisticated hospitality environments

CREATIVE TERRITORIES

Our exploration of visual territories began with understanding how color communicates cultural authority and sporting excellence.
The existing outdated identity mirrored the incumbent parochial style of the industry at large and relied on conventional equestrian clichés filled with classic iconography along with the typical use of red, deep greens and golds that felt generic and failed to distinguish ADEC within the regional competitive landscape.

We turned this somewhat underwhelming and highly parochial visual approach on its head and developed a muted yet sophisticated color palette strategy, that was no doubt unexpected but served to achieve multiple strategic objectives:
Cultural Gravitas: Sophisticated neutrals communicate heritage and permanence
International Appeal: Understated luxury resonates with global equestrian culture
Photographic Enhancement: Muted backgrounds allow dynamic imagery to dominate
Regional Differentiation: Breaks category conventions to establish leadership positioning
Story Telling Potential: Unexpected style allows for enhanced narrative development & unique approaches

PASSION ENDURES

The resultant brand style employs a sense of layered sophistication where the visual approach reveals information progressively based on audience engagement level.
Primary Layer: Clean, muted monochromatic treatment establishes premium positioning and cultural authority
Secondary Layer: Carefully curated color photography introduces energy and emotional connection to participants
Tertiary Layer: Dual language typography and supporting elements provide functional clarity without competing for attention
This hierarchy ensures that casual observers receive an immediate impression of quality and authenticity, while deeper engagement reveals the rich stories and experiences that define ADEC’s unique character and historical significance within Abu Dhabi.

The overall visual style places ADEC at the pinnacle of the region equine scene and allows for rich story telling through both past and future forward references while delivering an up tempo and refined design vernacular deploying rich colors and a combination of both monotone and full color imagery.

CHANGING THE GAME

In all we see the final look and feel as being modern and elegant, with the dual language identity employing an open and approachable typography set that works well across both visual styles and is centred around the use of warm earthy tones and textures to give an elevated feel.
This was key to unlocking the brand story which fed into a series of big ideas and strategic drivers that allowed us to begin crafting a series of signature experiences that could be incorporated across our brand elements and detailed brand guidelines for future use.
Having undertaken a comprehensive competitor audit, we were able to establish a clear understanding of where ADEC sat within the overall competitive landscape allowing us to take a highly unique approach to the positioning of the destination and the associated creative output to ensure that the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club brand fits the new aspirations of the redevelopment. This saw us tackle a whole range of output from social media and web through to event ticketing and merchandise across a variety of assets and collateral.
This project was delivered as a part of our destination branding services.
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