Etisalat received ‘The Most Valuable Telecoms Brand’ in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region by Brand Finance at Mobile World Congress as a recognition for the company’s increase in brand value to $8.3bn-higher than any other telecom brand in the MENA region and the only telecom brand portfolio to break the $10bn brand value mark in the region.

Etisalat is now among the world’s top 20 telecom brands and boasts of an impressive AAA brand rating. With a portfolio of brands such as Etisalat UAE, Etisalat Misr, Mobily, Ufone, Maroc Telecom, PTCL and Etisalat Afghanistan.

Eng. Saleh Abdullah Al Abdooli, CEO, Etisalat Group received the awards from David Haigh, CEO, Brand Finance, leading London-based branded business valuation firm at the ongoing Mobile World Congress, world’s largest telecom gathering being held in, Barcelona, Spain from 25-28 February, 2019.

David Haigh, CEO Brand Finance on the launch of this year’s Telecom 300 league table report said: “Brand Finance welcomes Etisalat to the Top 20 Most Valuable Telecom Brands in the world this year. Etisalat is leading from the front as a strategic enabler of the digital transformation success story. This year’s feat is a nod to efforts in the 5G space, its brand building initiatives and a clear revenue momentum from wider international operations”

“We are proud to be recognised as the most valuable telecom brand and with a brand portfolio to cross $10 billion in value in the MENA region, this is attributed to the efforts in digital transformation by investing in futuristic solutions and next generation technologies to deliver the best-in-class services making a significant impact on the overall customer experience. Etisalat’s success as a brand is credited to its global brand building initiatives and reinforced by the synergy of our family across Etisalat group footprint, creating brand loyalty and enhanced engagement with our customers,” said Eng. Saleh Abdullah Al Abdooli, CEO, Etisalat Group.

Several factors have attributed to the success and growth of Etisalat’s brand value mainly driven by an innovative customer service driven strategy, adapting well to a digital savvy marketplace, leading the 5G revolution and the successful launch of global brand building initiatives. Etisalat has also led digital innovation in the country with its overall strategy focused on ‘Driving the Digital Future to empower societies’ by working on several digital initiatives in digital infrastructure, entertainment and smart cities.

Etisalat has reached out and engaged with its consumers across markets with global branding initiatives by sponsoring global football teams and clubs aligning with the brand’s priorities of being at the forefront of major sporting events. Etisalat also launched the new positioning campaign ‘Together Matters’ to highlight togetherness among its subscribers in today’s world of connectivity.

As part of its digitization efforts for consumers, Etisalat provided an efficient personalised retail experience by amplifying the roll out of smart stores in UAE and transforming a brick and mortar retail environment to a digital experience for customers.

Brand Finance, is the world’s leading independent branded business valuation and strategy consultancy, and is the organization behind the Global 500 Brands and Telecom 300 league table of the world’s biggest brands ranked by their brand value, assesses the dollar value of the reputation, image and intellectual property of the brand.