WELCOME TO DARNA
Local knowledge empowering brands

We are a group of brand and communications experts who have spent our lives understanding, working in and celebrating the UAE’s unique culture.

Darna, in Arabic, means ‘home’ or ‘homeland’. For us, our name has massive significance.

We call the UAE our home. We understand it, respect it, and know it inside out. And we’re proud to leverage our cultural intelligence and market insight to help you better understand your target audiences and generate maximum return from your brand’s communications.

Our aims are to:

Enlighten our clients by providing the local insight and knowledge needed to successfully reach their target audiences in our country.

Engage the community by helping convey brand messages in ways that people in the UAE can appreciate and understand.

Empower UAE talent by providing opportunities and management services that give them a platform for their creativity.

Overview

Darna is a brand & communications consultancy that empowers brands and agencies by making their communication relevant and more effective through cultural intelligence and local market knowledge.

We help our clients focus their messaging to generate impact, goodwill, engagement and traction among their target audiences. We enable them to maximise returns on branding exercises and marketing campaigns. We hone messages to best reach distinct communities in the UAE, including UAE nationals.

Local knowledge

Our repository of local knowledge and cultural expertise allows us to add value to marketing initiatives, be they traditional, event-based, digital or social media-led.

How we can help you

To find out how we can assist you, please explore our brand & communications consulting services below:

We help optimise communications for the UAE market by adding impact, focus and traction through local market knowledge and an awareness of cultural nuances.

Darna is a brand & communications consultant for brands as well as their agencies.

Here’s some of what we offer:

Branding

Darna assists in all areas of branding for the UAE market, including consultation on naming, imagery, identity development, messaging and slogans.

Advertising

We help ensure social media campaigns are topical, relevant and targeted to your core demographics. We validate digital strategy for our clients, helping them identify the right channels to target their audience for initiatives that gain high traction and enjoy heavy traffic. We also help them accurately monitor and measure campaign uptake and performance.

Social media

We help ensure social media campaigns are topical, relevant and targeted to your core demographics. We validate digital strategy for our clients, helping them identify the right channels to target their audience for initiatives that gain high traction and enjoy heavy traffic. We also help them accurately monitor and measure campaign uptake and performance.

Events

We assist brands and event organisers to ensure their events are memorable and impactful. From ensuring the right messaging down to protocol considerations, Darna adds cultural insight and market knowledge to your occasion. We provide local talent and MCs, and also offer protocol advice when influential government figures, members of the royal family or celebrities are invited.

Arabic content

We add quality and credibility to your Arabic communication with original content that genuinely inspires. We help you create compelling Arabic content, be it in classical ‘Fusha’ or a dialect your audience best relates to. We are specialists in creating content in the Emirati dialect. From voice-overs, Nabati poetry recitations, narrations and genuine Emirati keynote speakers for events, Darna is your port of call for all things Emirati.

Brand research

Darna conducts focus groups on behalf of its clients in order to collect feedback on a brand’s products, services, and their relevant brand communications. The output from these focus groups allows clients to identify the right messaging, visuals, and channels for dissemination.