+ Gene Branding
How I Helped a Visual Branding Team Grow a Spine and a Strategy Department
#BrandCreation #F&BBranding #MediterraneanDesign #CreativeDirection #ExperienceBranding #Doha
They brought me in for the “inner part of branding.”
That’s how it started.
I was invited to Riyadh by a newly formed agency called Gene Branding — they had just spun off from Onsor Moshe’a (a well-known advertising agency) and were trying to evolve into a real branding firm. But like many teams in the region, they knew branding mostly as visual: logo, colors, packaging, Behance shots.
Not the why. Not the structure. Not the thinking behind what makes a brand work.
So we started at the only place that makes sense:
Step One: Fix Your Own Brand First
Before we could talk about clients, we had to talk about them.
We ran workshop sessions to help them define who they really are — not just as designers, but as a brand.
We worked through:
Their positioning in a crowded Saudi creative scene
Their values, tone, and internal brand behavior
Their ambition to become Saudi Arabia’s rebranding agency — bold, clear, and specialized
That clarity gave them the direction to stop decorating and start leading
Step Two: Train the Strategists
Then came my favorite part: I started mentoring two young creatives from their team — turning them into real brand strategists.
Not theorists. Not deck builders. Strategists.
I trained them to:
Run brand workshops with confidence
Ask uncomfortable, necessary questions
Translate messy founder ideas into structured brand platforms
Think beyond “what looks nice” into “what works long-term”
I didn’t just teach them in a room. I brought them with me into live strategy sessions with real clients — so they could see how it’s done in the field, not just the slides.
Step Three: Let Them Fly
After weeks of building, testing, and shaping the internal culture of Gene Branding — it was time to step back.
The strategy department was born. The team was ready. And the real test?
They delivered.
Today, Gene Branding is one of the most awarded branding agencies in Saudi Arabia.
They’ve created powerful identities, run their own workshops, and shaped the conversation around what branding reallymeans in the region.
Why This Project Mattered
Because it wasn’t just about one brand.
It was about building a team that builds brands.
It was about watching two guys go from junior creatives to strategic thinkers.
It was about leaving behind something that doesn’t need you anymore — and being proud of that.
+ Need Brutal Clarity?
If you’re looking for someone to decorate your deck with jargon, I’m not your guy.
But if you want clarity, structure, and sparks — let’s go.
© Hamza Najjar 2025