A leading financial institution in Latin America summoned us to help them re-envision their entire brand for a digital first world.
We worked with multiple stakeholders to consolidate a unified vision of the new brand. Then we developed an elegant brand identity and helped them launch a comprehensive digital ecosystem and content collateral.
When approached by one the company's directors, the organization had already been around for several years and had a prominent track record in wealth management for HNW (high net worth)individuals. However the business was siloed into specialties and each of the 10 directors ran their department as an independent branch instead as of part of united group.
To start, we focused on getting a clear understanding of the industry, the business and the different perspectives in the company and their individual visions so we could then work with them to find common ground and help them align towards a united purpose before even discussing brand aesthetics and visual styles.
This process involved interviewing each member in depth and working with them to capture their goals, motivations, pains and service offerings.
There was no way we were going to be able to develop a successful brand strategy and develop a new visual identity that represented them if they were not first aligned in their ethos.
As part of our discovery stage, we also conducted a brand audit to evaluate how well the current identity was portraying the company's vision, what brand recognition was already in place and what opportunities we identified for improvements.
With a clear picture of the business, the industry and their current state of visual systems, we were ready to begin working on the new brand strategy. For this, we lead several group workshops with key stakeholders to define direction for the new identity, what we called in this project their "brand DNA". Very much like that of a living creature, we wanted to have strong foundations on which we could develop a cohesive and compelling corporate rebranding.
As we journeyed deeper into the weeds of Criteria and as we worked with them to define their brand strategy, we inadvertently also helped them align and focus their differentiation strategy, including consolidating their service offerings, understanding their target audiences better and rethinking their value proposition.
We collaborated to align their commercial and business strategies with their communication needs, segment their audience groups and plan a roadmap forward.
What started off as a corporate rebranding and repositioning process, transformed into a 50 page brand analysis and brand strategy deliverable, based on data, market insights and their aligned corporate vision.
Over the course of 8 weeks we developed a new brand identity that was an evolution of their pre-existing brand so as to maintain brand recognition and to portray a sense of progress and evolution into the digital age.
From concept to messaging, we worked on the visual identity as a dynamic system, considering both digital and physical touch points across the board. With carefully crafted details and elegant applications, the new brand was a badge of honor for the board of directors.
Their pre-existing website was more of a placeholder contact site, so we completely redisigned their website to clearly communicate their value proposition and offer a simple user experience that could convert potential customers into new contacts.
We developed a fully responsive website, integrated with their client access systems and a frequently updated content site their customers could use to read about trends and investment opportunities in the market.
Our collaboration helped position Criteria as a leading financial institution in the country, drove increased growth their business and set the foundations to future proof their business for many years.
