Comprehensive Brand Strategy: NorStates Bank
Company: NorStates Bank
Base: Waukegan, IL
Branches: 8
Assets: $633 million
Business Problem
You know the feeling: deep down, you know your brand is special and unique—but it’s frustrating that others can’t recognize it. You’re sure it has the potential to be remarkable, but you’re struggling to make it so. Often times the problem is that your brand simply needs to be further refined, focused and better communicated, in order to bring it to life. Such was the case for NorStates Bank, who realized there was a lot more that they could be doing to prove their story.
NorStates Bank lacked clear positioning. Their corporate identity, website and marketing collateral didn’t convey a clear message about who they were or what they stood for. The bank’s graphic identity was a confused mishmash of typefaces, and other than its signature navy blue, the brand had no color palette. Imagery consisted of generic stock photography that neither differentiated the brand, nor spoke to customers on a personal level. Critical touch points such as the website and print materials lacked cohesive and consistent layout design, font treatment, photo style and other graphic design elements, not to mention messaging. What NorStates Bank needed more than anything was brand focus and clear positioning.
The CBC Solution: Finding, Telling and Proving the Story
Step 1: Finding the Story
NorStates Bank bends over backwards to accommodate customers and make the banking experience simple and enjoyable. After an in-depth Find the Story process, CBC discovered that the bank’s unique brand focus was centered around the ideas of flexibility and simplicity, and that the bank embodies a strong sense of optimism. The bank practices creative problem solving, striving to find unique ways to help customers reach their goals.
Touch Point Audit
CBC’s “Touch Point Audit” applies a quantitative approach to an otherwise qualitative topic: assessing the brand relevance of the customer experience. The Touch Point Audit measures what percentage of the available opportunities the bank is capitlizing on to Tell and Prove its story, and makes recommendations for how to improve. The Touch Point Audit resulted in a long list of recommendations of additional ways to Tell and Prove the story—thereby enhancing the bank’s brand.
Step 2: Telling the Story
Once the bank’s story was clear, it was time to begin articulating that story using words and images, across all the bank’s communication channels. First, we began by conveying the bank’s primary brand attributes of optimism, flexibility and simplicity through the tagline, “Think Possible,” and then turned our attention to applying it to wide range of communication materials.
Website
CBC developed a new website for NorStates Bank – one which clearly conveys the bank’s positioning. The homepage and subpages are all visually consistent and employ the same fonts, colors, photography style and layout. In order to add interest and diversity, we expanded the brand’s color palette and incorporated new graphic design elements into the site. Fresh, brand-centric copy was developed for the entire site, to convey the unique brand positioning. A new photography style that spoke to the Bank’s brand was selected, and fluid curves were added to the site to better reflect “flexibility.”
Printed Marketing Collateral
In creating new marketing collateral and stationery for NorStates Bank, CBC emphasized consistency across all print pieces and web – something that was sorely lacking with the old materials. The new sales collateral for business and retail customers was die cut with soft waves to resemble design elements on the website. For congruity and to reflect the Bank’s positioning, the same typeface, color palette and photography style were used. The stationery system, annual report and branch posters also emphasized flexibility, simplicity and optimism through the use of curved lines, clean and uncluttered layout, and simple typefaces.
Brand Launch Marketing Campaign
CBC also developed an external marketing campaign to introduce the newly refined brand positioning, messaging and look and feel. From print advertising to direct mail and other media, the comprehensive campaign let the local market clearly know how NorStates Bank does business.
Step 3: Proving the Story
Proving the Story is a process that begins…but never ends. To kick off the bank’s new commitment to proving the story, CBC was closely involved in a company-wide staff meeting, held offsite in the evening. CBC helped deliver a presentation that introduced the newy focused brand positioning to staff in a way that demonstrated the brand’s authenticity, and greatly impacted staff buy-in.
As a result of the Touch Point Audit, CBC also provided an extensive list of recommendations for using staff interactions with customers, branch environments and even refined business processes to Prove the Story at every touch point, each day—forever.
Results: A Clear Message, Consistent Experience and Differentiation
NorStates Bank’s newly focused positioning based around flexibility, simplicity and optimism is now clearly conveyed by many of the brand’s touch points. Throughout web, print, and physical environments, there is consistency in appearance, messaging and experience. In a crowded market, the NorStates Bank brand is now differentiated and easily recognizable.
