Dubai Watch Week
United for a Moment in Time
Challenge
Founded in 2015 by Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, Dubai Watch Week is a biennial event that provides an educational platform for the purpose of sharing knowledge, building connections and celebrating watchmaking. A pioneer in the industry, Dubai Watch Week aims to bridge communities and establish itself as a key event in the Dubai calendar.
From meeting employers, gathering market information, sourcing new training opportunities, attending workshops and seminars, navigating this field of information can be a rather daunting and overwhelming experience, especially for the graduate fresh out of university. Tasked with cutting through this noise, we set out to identify what opinions our audience trusted most. It came as no surprise that people want to hear those they can identify with, rather than a dispassionate corporate voice. Much like how we’d rather read reviews than sales spiels.
Solution
Our approach therefore, was to place people at the heart of the experience. We cut all corporate messaging and instead replaced them with testimonials from the actual DP World and Jafza employees, accurately portrayed with name and designation. As one traversed a shouting clutterland of exhibition stands, it was impossible to miss the large striking faces of the DP World employees. In short we let the people do the talking.
A subtle nod to the operating industry, our central idea ‘Shipping Chic’ is where industrial success progress meets human progress. From shipping containers and pallets to the bold, vibrant graphic language of nautical flags, all manifest a style through our pavilion design; as we tell the stories of the brand, its people and its initiatives.
Key objectives we set out to achieve:
1. Create a pavilion that unifies DP World & Jafza, and clearly tells the story of each brand and the career opportunities alongside the fact that our people are our strongest asset and how we encourage their success stories.
2. This is our opportunity to source the best Emirati candidates from across the country. To position DP World and Jafza are the employer of choice and to ensure the target audience understands that we invest heavily in the careers of Emiratis of all ages.
Results
As we set out to evoke and inspire on one level, we also had to inform in equal measure. From showcasing numerous programs and initiatives and to the impact the companies have had on the UAE and world at large. In an effort to make this information easily accessible we created a number of unique activations across the pavilion to deliver content in a fun and engaging way.
Realising how impact can be hard to visualise, especially if they are measured in cubic feet and metre square, we set out to showcase real world impact with objects one can associate with. The height of Burj Khalifa for example. The use of augmented reality(AR) not only made this a fun exploration for visitors but also helped DP World reinforce its identity as a technologically sound company of the future.
Capitalising on the traffic one receives at a fair such as this, we felt it would be a shame if we couldn’t hear from our visitors directly, on the stand. Knowing the appetite for questionnaires and feedback forms, we created a simple analogue interactive that in a few simple steps offers us a wealth of information that would otherwise be impossible to collect.
Capitalising on the traffic one receives at a fair such as this, we felt it would be a shame if we couldn’t hear from our visitors directly, on the stand. Knowing the appetite for questionnaires and feedback forms, we created a simple analogue interactive that in a few simple steps offers us a wealth of information that would otherwise be impossible to collect.
We took this a step further by creating a self help hub at the heart of the pavilion. A Myers Briggs personality test accompanied by an interactive decision tree ensured visitors could not only explore opportunities and apply for positions but also understand where they might fit with the organisation.
