Blog
Trademarking your brand in the UAE and beyond
Trademarking is a crucial yet regularly overlooked step when building a brand and a business. Victor Siriani from AVID IP shares some insights with us on trademarking in the UAE and beyond.
All about TikTok
If you want to reach millennials and the Gen Z audience, there’s no better platform than TikTok to do so. The Middle East is no exception to TikTok’s growth, with Saudi Arabia ranking as the eighth-largest country in terms of number of users in 2019, as per Route Note.
Avoid These 4 Mistakes When Selecting a Font
A critical part of brand identity is font selection for both the brand’s logo and its future marketing material. While some fonts look great in sample text, they often prove less functional when used in the day to day work on marketing a brand.
92% of UAE consumers believe brands should advertise during the pandemic
Are UAE residents receptive to advertising during the coronavirus crisis? Find out in this exclusive I&Co. report.
I&Co. on EuroNews
On May 15, I&Co. was featured on EuroNews in a segment about the impact of COVID-19 on SMEs.
Four Steps to Create Powerful Customer Personas
In my last blog post about making the best use of seasonal or forced downtime, I highlighted the creation of customer personas. As marketing is about creating the most suitable products to meet the needs of the people we serve, we can’t do that well until we define...
Five Downtime Marketing Projects
These past few weeks have been tough. Almost every business owner I know has witnessed a massive drop in business, with some needing to completely shut down in the short term due to government regulations. There’s the pressure of trying to figure out how to keep the...
Supporting SMEs during Difficult Times
In times of uncertainty, small businesses are often the first to suffer. As the coronavirus wreaks havoc worldwide, SMEs may not only struggle but actually buckle under the economic pressure. Just as it is on us as a community to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it is...
The 2020 Women’s & Men’s Heritage Walks Come to a Close
The sixth Women’s Heritage Walk (WHW) came to close on February 4, 2020 as sixty participants from 24 nationalities hiked a 120 km journey from Abu Dhabi to Al Ain. The ‘Sand Sisters’ embarked on this challenging trek to recreate a historical, seasonal Emirati...
Avoiding Business Burnout
In today’s fast-paced world it’s no wonder that 67% of employees interviewed for a recent Gallup poll said they were experiencing burnout. While burnout can affect all companies, it can be devastating for small and mid-size companies with limited resources. We’ve...
Looking Back at 2019
When Jackie suggested a “2019 in review” December blog post, I didn’t realize how interesting of an exercise it would be for me to look back on our year and acknowledge our progress. As I do, it’s hard to believe that this time last year I was saying so long (but not...
Igniting Azher | The Launch of a Dream
On November 2, 2019 the Itani & Company team proudly supported its client Mouza Al Hameli as she launched her new Arabic language self development academy Azher Academy. We met Mouza back in March, where she shared all the jumbled ideas in her head about her...
I&Co.’s 2019 Holiday Gift Guide
As the holiday season is upon us, and with the new year approaching quickly, there are many opportunities to give gifts to our loved ones. In an effort to support local businesses, we have curated the ultimate gift guide of unique items for everyone on your list. Take...
Find Your Brand’s Voice
By Jacqueline Perrottet-Tels The German car company, Audi, describes a brand as something which is “not a static structure but a living interface.” At Itani & Company, we share these sentiments and find that the best brands are the ones that have a personality and...
Building Brand Advocates
By Jacqueline Perrottet Tels It is commonly thought that happy customers are the best advocates, but what about happy, educated employees? Employees who understand and believe in your company's values, vision, and goals are the foundation needed to build a strong...
Lessons from Ellevate Dubai’s Annual Forum
By Jacqueline Perrottet-Tels It is no surprise that this year’s topic of resilience at Ellevate Dubai’s 2019 Annual Forum was received with great enthusiasm. With so many uncertainties in the world combined with rapid changes in the technology sector and unstable...
Getting Cause Marketing Right
By Jacqueline Perrottet Tels Cause marketing is an important aspect of brands’ overall marketing strategies. Younger generations, specifically Gen Z, are linked to supporting brands tied to a purpose. This is not new information, but a recent report from DoSomething...
The 2019 Custom Show Emirates
By Jacqueline Perrottet Tels Custom Show Emirates (CSE) is one of the leading automotive exhibitions in the region and showcases the latest in auto customization products and services. Last month, exhibitors gathered from around the world in Abu Dhabi, and over 110...
Why I’m Mourning the Careem Acquisition
By Maya Itani This week we witnessed the largest ever tech acquisition the Middle East has ever seen, as ride hailing pioneer Uber finalized a deal to purchase its Middle Eastern rival Careem for $3.1bn. While this is an astronomical achievement for the homegrown...
Have Marketers Learned to #BalanceForBetter?
By Jacqueline Perrottet Tels If you’ve noticed your newsfeeds highlighting women more than usual, there’s a reason for that. March is Women’s History Month, and March 8th is International Women’s Day. Many brands incorporate this theme, but how that is done differs...
How Packaging Can Win Consumers
Convenience is the ultimate asset in today's time crunched world. Consumers are always seeking ways to make their lives easier or do things more efficiently, and companies that support that effort with their products or services win against their competition and are...
Branding with Passion
Livi Florea became an Account Coordinator at Itani & Company over a year ago when she decided to make the leap from the world of advertising and design to branding and marketing. This is her story. Passion is one of the most life-changing drivers. It is a force...
EVENT ALERT! New session of Spark Series
Itani & Company was set up with a few objectives in mind, and one of the most important ones was improving marketing education among SMEs in the region. Last September we launched our Spark Series events with the aim of living our ethos, and it was FANTASTIC!...
What’s your brand story?
I’m fascinated by the psychology of brands. The fact that people can grow to love a product or service so devoutly is amazing, and over my 10+ years of being a brand builder the one consistent thread that binds all those loved businesses is their ability to draw...
The 4th Women’s Heritage Walk Comes to a Close
Itani & Company is proud to have been involved in the Women's Heritage Walk for the second year in a row. The annual desert trek celebrates the culture and heritage of the UAE and the women who helped shape this great nation and is a recreation of an Emirati...
Do you like Egyptian food?
A few weeks ago I was driving down Sheikh Zayed Road in the afternoon and passed by a large Egyptian restaurant in one of the new highway adjacent retail buildings that have become popular with F&B joints. When I looked at this restaurant I couldn't believe the...
Is it too late to create a brand strategy?
Being an entrepreneur is exciting. When an idea is planted in your mind it can take hold and grow to the point where there is no room left for any other thoughts. At that point, many people just leap into starting a new business without necessarily putting all the...
The Power of the Pivot
Launching a business or new product is such a personal thing. Months and sometimes years of quiet planning, endless working, and continuous praying go into bringing something new to market. Along the way, most founders begin to intertwine their own personal sense of...
Why Your Brand is Not Yours to Control
A few weeks ago, we launched our first ever Spark Series event (#ICoSS) titled How to Build a Brand That Builds Your Business. When I took the stage I looked out at the audience and declared, "if there is one thing I want you to remember from today, it is that your...
Being Unique is a Myth
For years I held the belief that for a business to truly have a strong brand they must have a "unique selling proposition" (USP). It was what I was taught again and again at university, and it was a theory that I carried with me throughout the last decade of my...