Every two weeks I run an onboarding session for new joiners to Careem. It’s on a Tuesday afternoon, so by the time I get to them they’ve spent the best part of 2 days in back-to-back sessions on IT systems and procurement processes – I guess the People team thought half an hour with the brand guy to look at some inspirational campaigns and pretty pictures could give some light relief.
The energy when the first slide of the presentation reads ’80 per cent of brands could disappear overnight and no one would care’ might not have been what they were going for. At least in the IT session they got a Macbook Pro.
The reason I start this way is to remind people that whatever fancy brand architecture or photography style we may have in our beautiful guidelines, it’s all absolutely redundant without the often intangible, always unfakeable, brand secret sauce. The magic.
The stuff that puts you in the 20 per cent that people care about. And funnily enough, it’s usually stuff that doesn’t come from people with ‘brand’ in their title. I have always believed that a good portion of Careem’s magic potion has come from a heritage of doing good. Not getting you to work on time. Although, that’s good too.
But stepping way beyond the scope of a ride hailing app / super app/ everything app, or whatever we call ourselves next. Actually doing good. The blood drives, the relief funds, the support for refugees, the free rides away from fires. The extraordinary commitment to doing the right thing for our communities across the last 12 years.
PLATFORM FOR PURPOSE
When we made our documentary last year, I was lucky enough to hear from some of the people that made these things happen. Two things stood out. One – from the very start Careem has been a company that was built on a strong purpose. Two – almost all of these initiatives were the result of an individual deciding to do something, and then finding they would be supported to do so.
There was no real constitution to it. Just good people empowered to do good things. Just like Careem itself, this got better structured over time, with more organisation to allow the ethos to scale.
Between 2018 – 2023 Careem distributed over $4.7 million, channelled through more than 35 non-profit and private sector partners. But, just like so much of the business, Careem’s appetite and ambition to be better than ever is about to turbo charge our ability to do the right thing.
RIGHT CLICK
On the first day of Ramadan, Careem will launch Right Click – a new venture leveraging the technology of the everything app to do good at scale. It will invite customers to discover more ways in which they can connect with our community, bringing them closer to meaningful causes, and offering up simple ways to change lives.
Crucially, the platform will raise the bar on transparency, not just with a greater upfront detail on how contributions will correlate to on ground impact, but also reporting on how donations have made a difference over time.
The new Right Click brand has been developed by our in-house agency, The Creative Studio. The name is designed to symbolise the literal call to take a physical action – a first step of discovery to unlock an idea.
The visual language is built on a concept of ‘pixels for purpose’, winking at our heritage in the tech space, but bringing a modern interpretation of pixels as building blocks for action. The pixel language crosses both the logo, with pixels literally dotting the i’s, and the overall visual system, with pixels forming the icons of the brand pillars, as well as a grid system where they highlight opportunity for action.
RIGHT TIME
As a local brand, the first day of Ramadan holds unparalleled importance for Careem. The company was founded on this day 12 years ago, and has formed a rich heritage of positive action throughout the Holy Month every year.
Right Click will unite an evolved donations feature with the usual opportunities to do good across our services, embracing the philosophy of the everything app, to offer a holistic opportunity for change.
