GAC Brand Adverts 2019
New ads deliver stronger innovation message
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2 April 2019 – A perfect soufflé, a hand-fed bird, a wolf pack, a flawless gem and a smart squirrel are among the visual drivers of GAC’s latest series of ads promoting its integrated shipping, logistics and marine services. They continue the theme of stepping away from visual stereotypes of ships, ports and trucks to capture something closer to the soul of the company.
“GAC is a company that champions innovation and bespoke solutions,” says Group President Bengt Ekstrand, “and each of these ads tells a story of how determined we are to set global standards for service performance in our areas of operation.”
Stand out
GAC began the revamp of its brand image in January 2018. Esther Oon-Bybjerg, Group Corporate Communications Director, says the quirky visuals have proved effective in making GAC and its services stand out from the crowd.
“The ads were developed to tell our customers and our staff that you cannot expect to win business by delivering stock standard solutions,” she says. “In this latest phase we continue to use incongruous images to deliver our message. We show that GAC does not follow the pack, but leads, and that we are ready to step beyond the expected to serve our customers.
“Customers have welcomed our approach to the ads and appreciated the messages they contain.”
Blue View
Alisdair Pettigrew, Managing Director of Marine & Energy PR consultancy BLUE Communications, says the GAC ad campaign celebrates the Group’s willingness to look beyond ‘business as usual’ to resolve the many operational challenges that customers face.
“The #GACdares campaign speaks to the Group’s commitment to championing innovation in order to fulfil its brand promise of delivering customers’ strategies,” he says.
The other audience
The campaign message has also registered within GAC companies worldwide, showing managers and staff a version of themselves that has not traditionally been part of their company image.
Goran Eriksson, Managing Director of GAC Abu Dhabi, had initial reservations when the GAC brand was revamped last year.
“It took some time for me to get used to the new style. In our business, we are so used to seeing ships and trucks, etc,” he says. “But this latest batch really delivers our core message.”
GAC UK Managing Director Herman Jorgensen likes the lighter tone adopted for the ads: “It’s great that we show a sense of humour and don’t take ourselves too seriously – even while we take what we do for our customers very seriously.
“Campaigns like this underline the importance of going beyond conventional solutions to deliver what our customers need. We want to be unique, not part of a flock. Creativity and imagination are what our industry needs now and for the years to come.”
