Insight
Youth entertainment is dominated by digital.
The over-saturation of online gaming can leave young people uninspired and disconnected. With adrenaline thrills confined to consoles and screens, true play calls for social interaction and physicality.
Idea
Creating a new kind of entertainment destination from the ground up.
When fun moves beyond digital, those with extra energy and creativity can enliven a dynamic sense of play.
AKQA has partnered with Dubai’s investment company Al Ghurair Group to create a new active game park experience. Glitch is redefining recreation for the weary digital natives of generation alpha.
Glitch’s offerings go beyond the ordinary, from a sci-fi arcade to a freestyle football arena and Dubai’s first indoor roller glider, setting a new standard for hybrid recreation in a region that embraces the extraordinary.
An inclusive world of active play powered by everyone’s unique spark.
Glitch has been brought to life as the city’s new game park, a place where young people can freely define themselves in a space where everyone belongs.
Visual Identity
Energetic optimism that fuels the imagination.
From the creation of the name to the making of a brand multiverse, each facet of the Glitch identity has been crafted to spur on youth to unleash their active imaginations and break away from passive gaming.
Cheeky has a face.
The Glitch Head uses ones and zeroes as a nod and wink to the semi-digital space that Glitch inhabits, an instant icon.
Unleashing extraordinary verbs.
The tone and language are a playground where readers escape the treadmill of average grammar. Glitch calls to action by turning exciting nouns into verbs. These metaphorical messaging layers become imaginative invitations to let loose, transform, and play.
Building adventures, not attractions.
Whether it’s a reference to science’s most famous glitch, an apple falling on Isaac Newton’s head, or a fictitious backstory about why Olympic bowling isn’t a thing, Glitch’s rides are humorously storied with riffs on popular culture. The attractions transform into otherworldly adventures through these thought portals.
Glitch is more than a place that gamifies physical play. It’s a malfunction in everyday boredom, a call to free oneself from dull routines, and an opportunity to reboot and to unleash the ultimate extra in you.
Impact
An active rebellion for hybrid entertainment.
With a distinctly daring brand identity and an exuberant social presence, Glitch sets itself apart from an overcrowded regional market. So far, Glitch has hit a high score, with organic reach surpassing the category by five times the average and organic engagement doubling.
“This launch has breathed life into our brand, exceeded expectations, and set a new standard for excellence in the industry. Our brand has found its voice, and I couldn’t be more thrilled with the results.”
Bert Grogor, Vice President of Leisure and Entertainment, Al Ghurair Group
