The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) in Riyadh was established in 1965 and tasked with the mission to conduct and promote horseracing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Its main goal is to build a world-class horse racing industry that has a positive impact on the country’s sporting, cultural and economic sectors, while promoting Saudi Arabia internationally. The club hosts two racing seasons every year namely the Riyadh Racing Season which takes place between October and March each year and incorporates The Saudi Cup; and the Ta’if Season which has both domestic and international significance, being the only racing venue that can continue operations during the summer months in the GCC region due to geographic location.
Activities
- Rebranding
- Environmental Branding
- Branding Guideline
- Advertising
- Photography and Videography
- Video Production
- Social Media Management
- Social Listening
Year
2022
Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia
Client’s Challenges
In 2022, the JCSA sought to revamp its brand identity and understand how this could work within the context of the overarching Equestrian Authority brand. The previous JCSA logo was highly regarded by the organization’s management and has been in place since the original racing body, The Equestrian Club of Riyadh, was founded four decades ago. However, the modern-day JCSA required a new brand identity that will take the organization into the international racing and events sphere, as well as resonate domestically with all the key stakeholders which includes the kingdom’s leadership, JCSA’s management, domestic racing industry and potential fans and event goers. The new logo needed to reflect the traditional and royal nature of the JCSA and its patronage, but also be appropriate for the global promotion of what is a newly international-facing racing jurisdiction that is seeking advancement through the IFHA Blue Book classifications.
Our Strategic Approach
As with any of our branding projects, we start off with a thorough audit and research the brand’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as its competitors’ and benchmarks’, followed by a brand workshop where we help the key stakeholders discover the brand’s true essence through a series of interactive activities. Analyzing all the information gathered in the workshop, we developed a strong brand strategy which then served as the basis for the creative development process.
Keeping in mind the client’s high regard for the brand identity that has served the organization for many decades, we carefully curated different new brand identity options that incorporated the key elements that the client felt strongly to keep. After a few review sessions and some adjustments here and there, Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia new brand identity was officially signed off.
Following this, the brand rollout was developed along with the environmental branding for the King Abdulaziz Racetrack in preparation for the Riyadh Racing Season. Through careful study and analysis of the venue’s floor plan, we put together a comprehensive environmental branding plan which consisted of arches, flags, banners, and police barriers to name a few, all proudly displaying the revamped JCSA brand identity. Finally, the brand guidelines, brand toolkit and media test were delivered to the client, officially bringing the project to a close.
Results
The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA’s) new brand identity was positively received by the organization’s key stakeholders as well as team members, and has since been used in all marketing materials throughout the Riyadh Racing Season, both online and offline. The new identity shows a brand facelift which addresses the organization’s goal of becoming a key player in the global horse racing scene, while still staying true to its traditional and royal Saudi Arabian roots.
To see more of the branding projects we’ve delivered, click here.
Services Delivered
Project Management, Audit & Research, Brand Workshop, Brand Strategy, Brand Identity, Brand Rollout, Environmental Branding, Brand Guidelines, Brand Toolkit, Media Test
