The Insight

In May 2017, the strategic merger between two of Abu Dhabi’s leading government-owned investment entities; Mubadala Investment Company and International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) was formulized. The merger was one of the largest in the history of the Middle East and at the time, formed the 14th largest state-owned investment fund globally, to establish a new brand; Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala) - a global investment company that (immediately following the merger) was active in 13 sectors across 30+ countries.

It was critical for Mubadala to start to engage with its core stakeholder base and connect with important audience groups to articulate the new Mubadala narrative and company mandate.  In-turn, and with the UAE becoming an epicenter for global business, it was also vital for internal stakeholders to learn more about Abu Dhabi and shatter misconceptions. To galvanize brand exposure, the primary stakeholder group to engage first was Mubadala’s 68,000+ employee base, as well as investee companies and partners to truly build internal advocacy and instill knowledge about the company’s new corporate positioning.
 

The Idea

Mubadala wanted to connect with its global workforce of 68,000 and tell a new story from within – a story of partnership, collaboration, innovation and inspiration.

With Mubadala now a truly international investment company, and the new brand reflecting this – a innovative and ambitious campaign was needed to focus on engagement and dialogue. The campaign needed to be unique and bold, reflecting the new business aspirations of Mubadala. As a pioneering investor with the vision, scale and expertise to make a global impact, it was important for the brand to galvanize employees and provide positive engagement.

As a global business, with a recently expanded portfolio, partnerships have always been central to help the business create global impact and deliver strong value, beyond transactions. These partnerships also foster a conducive environment to build a brighter future for the next generation; one of the strategic pillars of the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030. The Global Exchange Program was anchored around the central communication theme of ‘Inspired Partnerships’ and not only mirrored the collaboration within Mubadala Group’s global portfolio of strategic business partners and investee companies, but also built a strong foundation to help define an engaging content strategy for the campaign.

Mubadala launched an internal campaign to select employees to act as ‘Torchbearers’ and travel on the global journey delivering and communicate the new Mubadala brand in their voice to chosen investee and partner companies.

In total, 10 ‘Torchbearers’ were identified and provided with robust training, supported by Mubadala ‘Ambassadors’ who were qualified to deliver the corporate narrative. Once a date for the event was set, and ahead of arrival at the various subsidiaries, Mubadala Communications worked closely with marketing colleagues at the selected investee companies to ensure employees were aware of the Global Exchange Program and encouraged employees to follow the journey on Facebook Workplace – the chosen channel to house the rich content being formed throughout the campaign.

Over the course of two months, the Global Exchange program – an integrated, employee led and social by design campaign - visited 30 partners and subsidiaries, across 10 countries & 5 continents.

Results: 4,000+ employees signed up to Workplace, 36,000+ Mubadala Group employees engaged, 7,000 workplace interactions in 70 days, real-time content posting on Workplace for three months

Awards:

• Silver Winner in MEPRA Awards 2018 - Best Internal Communications Campaign
• Shortlist in 2019 PRCA MENA - Best PR Campaign: Game Changer