In the mid 1990s, The Bank of New York began aggressively implementing an acquisition strategy designed to catapult this 200-year-old regional icon into a global corporate and institutional banking services powerhouse. Ten years and more than 80 acquisitions later, the firm had dramatically expanded its capabilities in custody, trade execution and clearing, corporate trust and institutional asset management. With the transformation largely complete in 2003, it was time to introduce The Bank of New York to the world.
- Determine how to leverage most effectively a brand with over 200 years of history
- Reposition a regional bank as a premier, global player
- Create awareness, distinction and preference for the Bank as a leading, expert, innovative provider of institutional securities, treasury, and investment management services
- Organize a confusing array of divisions, businesses and product offerings into an easy-to-understand brand architecture as the basis for integrated marketing efforts
- Create a new marketing communications platform
- Design a new corporate identity program and critical touchpoints as the basis of a revitalized customer experience
- Interviewed The Bank of New York’s key audiences (executives, employees, clients and analysts) to evaluate perceptions of the brand
- Conducted quantitative research with customers and non-customers to benchmark the awareness and familiarity of The Bank of New York brand in comparison to chief competitors
- Developed The Bank of New York’s positioning, image attributes, key message themes and streamlined the company’s brand architecture
- Created a new logo to represent the bank’s evolution and developed a new visual and stationery management system, design guidelines and signage
- Redesigned the corporate Web site, bankofny.com, including defining the site’s organizing principles, content architecture, information design, look and feel, templates and guidelines to support in-house maintenance and ongoing development
- Established an online brand center to create a platform for communicating the rationale for updating the 220-year old brand and to build understanding and support for The Bank of New York brand initiative among employees