Hala

Empowering people, communities & cities with the ability to improve their own mobility.

Empowering Mobility.

Navigating large urban environments can involve multiple forms of transport. It can be difficult to plan, may involve more than one point of payment and may not always be reliable. This is one reason why people still have their own transport, most often a car.

Imagine opening an app, input where you want to go and it would give you public transport options based on your preference – the fastest, the cheapest, modes of transport, the most scenic etc. You can book and pay for your journey in one go. This is Hala’s long term ambition.

Thanks to Careem’s technology and the RTA’s sophisticated public transport infrastructure, seamless journey planning is now probable. Hala, a joint venture between the RTA and Careem will enable cities in the region to have better flow and interconnectivity.

Hala is the first of its kind in the region, it’s not just a new brand, it is a new category and that means unique challenges.

  • A joint venture : Two very different brands and cultures involved in the formation of Hala – The RTA & Careem. Both wanted to put their own stamp on the JV.
  • Defining a category: We needed to clearly define the value proposition, narrative and identity so that city citizens could easily grasp the brand’s role in their lives.
  • A pilot : Dubai would be the pilot market and Hala would begin with limited services, starting with taxi. This meant we needed to position the brand based on what it would deliver in the future, but also ensure its relevance as Hala  expanded its role in people’s lives and the region.
  • Naming a business and a service. Making sure it didn’t limit the future ambitions of the business (service expansion & regional expansion).
  • Descriptive brand identity that would help to explain or at least hint at the role of the brand in people’s lives.

Awards

Transform Awards 2021

  • Gold > Best Visual Identity from the Transport & Logistics Sector
  • Silver > Best strategic or creative development of a new brand
  • Silver > Best use of a visual property

What we did