Oman gets new brand mark

I neither thrilled nor cynical about Oman’s new national brand mark which was unveiled yesterday. For the first cut (initial effort), it looks ok for me. Logos or brand marks are always frowned upon until we get used to it. Let me put it this way –– beauty of a logo lies in the eyes of the beholder. MNCs like Pepsi, Coca Cola, Intel, etc have been regularly changing their logos to suit global trends and business needs. Every time, hue and cry is made of the new logos initially. After sometime, they are accepted and life goes on. Similarly, Oman’s brand mark is a maiden effort to brand the country globally, and in a few years down the line they can be redone or changed completely. Nothing is final.

According to Oman Brand Management Unit:

Looking at the brand mark from right to left, the first colour, dawn purple, represents the dhow; Musandam aquamarine green is inspired by Oman’s rich marine environment and the turtle in particular; sky blue is taken from the silhouettes of the mountains; and the Salalah green is the essence of frankincense.

I am surprised there is no mention of “magical mountains” in the brand mark, which, according to me, is the ‘USP’ from tourism perspective. Also, like India’s “Incredible India” or Malaysia’s “Truly Asia”, an appropriate tagline below the brand mark would make the creative livelier instead of plain “Sultanate of Oman”.

Blue Chi and Sangeetha have blogged about the new brand mark, here and here.