ADCB Group · ADCB & Al Hilal Bank
Ambition Lives Here
A winning social media pitch for ADCB Group: two banks, two distinct positionings, and a run of ideas that turned banking into something people would actually follow.
The brief
ADCB Group put its social media up for pitch: two banks, one account. ADCB, one of the UAE’s biggest, and Al Hilal Bank, its Islamic banking sibling. The submission had to prove a real understanding of the category, then give each bank a reason to be followed, not just tolerated.
The read on the category
99% of the UAE is on social, yet most banks were still talking like a press office: promotions, product posts, formal corporate copy. The audit covered local banks, the digital challengers and global benchmarks, and the gap was clear. Plenty of reach, very little relationship.
ADCB: Ambition Lives Here
The UAE is a country where towering aspirations aren’t just encouraged, they’re expected. ADCB’s role: be the bank behind that ambition. One positioning in English and Arabic, carried through tone, content pillars and a dedicated job for every channel.
- Tomorrow Is Yours. An Emirati Gen Z campaign: an ode to the generations who built the country and a promise to the one shaping what’s next. “They sailed the seas. You’ll sail the stars.” Plus a web series following young Emirati founders.
- The Abu Dhabi Carbon Bank. Mangroves are nature’s carbon banks, so for a season, ADCB becomes one. Every new account plants a mangrove, each customer gets their tree’s GPS coordinates, and the launch stunt renames the bank’s social channels overnight.
- ADCB Cycles & Bank On Your Ambition. Branded Careem bike stations that make ambition about wellbeing too, and campus pop-ups that treat ambition as currency.
Al Hilal: Values Drive Vision
Al Hilal was known for the Million Dirham Call: buzz, but nothing lasting. The strategy moved it from a bank known for giveaways to one known for guiding people through a more meaningful financial life, rooted in the ethics of Islamic finance.
- A brand refresh for social. The logo’s shapes and gradients became a colour-coded system for every content category.
- Follow to Empower. Thirty days before International Women’s Day, one female-founded UAE business spotlighted daily.
- Cultural Clicks. Emerging Emirati photographers capture overlooked heritage sites as digital postcards, with prints showcased at the Louvre and proceeds supporting cultural preservation.
- Illuminated Visions. A projection-mapping experience bringing Al Hilal’s values to life in light.
“They sailed the seas. You’ll sail the stars.”Tomorrow Is Yours, for ADCB
