Government Brand Strategy and Identity for the Saudi Leadership Society (SLS)

Context

Born from the Misk Foundation, the Saudi Leadership Society was created to provide a home for emerging Saudi leaders to grow, build meaningful connections and create collective impact.

As the Society developed, its ambition extended beyond operating as a programme within Misk. SLS was preparing to evolve towards a more independent, member-led leadership society capable of building its own reputation and presence on the international stage.

That transition created an important branding challenge. SLS needed to establish a distinctive identity of its own while preserving the credibility, heritage and governance associated with the Misk Foundation.

Challenge

The challenge was both strategic and organisational. SLS needed a brand that could signal maturity and independence while remaining appropriately connected to Misk during a period of transition.

The identity also needed to reflect the calibre and ambition of its members, communicate the Society’s role in supporting Saudi Arabia’s future leadership and provide a flexible platform capable of evolving as governance increasingly passed to the membership.

With the 2024 Annual Assembly approaching, the work also needed to move quickly from strategy into implementation, ensuring the new brand could be introduced consistently across communications, experiences and stakeholder touchpoints.

Solution

Working closely with the SLS team and key stakeholders across its ecosystem, Aeron developed a clear brand strategy and purpose-led proposition focused on accelerating the realisation of Vision 2030 and beyond through Collective Impact.

At the heart of the brand was the organising idea Grow. Connect. Impact. This captured the Society’s role in helping members develop as leaders, build valuable relationships and combine their influence to create wider economic and social impact.

The visual identity translated these principles through the concept of Circles of Influence. The design balanced a contemporary, digital-first visual system with a subtle interpretation of Saudi cultural aesthetics, creating an identity that felt distinctive while remaining appropriate within the Misk brand architecture.

Aeron then worked with the SLS team and external partners to bring the brand to life for the inaugural 2024 Annual Assembly. We created a comprehensive Brand Toolkit covering the visual and verbal system, alongside practical activation plans spanning existing touchpoints, campaign communications and future experiences.

This gave SLS a coherent framework for applying the brand consistently while allowing the identity to evolve as the Society becomes increasingly member-led.

Result

The engagement provided SLS with a clearer strategic proposition, a distinctive visual identity and a practical brand management framework designed to support its next stage of development.

The new brand was launched across the 2024 Annual Assembly, giving members and stakeholders their first experience of the refreshed Society and providing communications teams with the tools needed to manage the identity consistently.

By connecting strategy, identity, governance and activation, the work created a platform capable of supporting SLS as it develops from a Misk-led initiative into a more independent leadership society with ambitions for lasting impact in Saudi Arabia and beyond.