“I’ll be honest, there were
initial apprehensions.
But this soon gave way
to excitement.”
– Cas Scott, Companion CU
Marketing Manager

To support a new brand theme, “We’re Listening,” the members of Companion Credit Union, based in Australia, were invited to vote and pick the new logo for their organization.

Voting was open the entire month of October, and the winner was unveiled at the credit union’s Annual General Meeting on November 12th.

“The credit union is really owned by the members and therefore we decided we should invite them to actively participate in helping us decide.” said Ray O’Brien, CEO/Companion.

Over 1,000 votes were cast by the credit union’s 12,000 members.

The old logo had a style reminiscent of the London Underground.

The winning logo maintains links back to its predecessor using color and a curvy shape.
Four icons of people join hands to create a “C” monogram cupping the name.

On its website, the credit union says the new logo represents “our members, staff, community and our partners all working together — hand-in-hand — connected as one, for the mutual benefit of us all.”

Key Question: How comfortable would you be handing a strategic brand decision like this over to the general public?

In an interview with The Financial Brand, Cas Scott, the credit union’s Marketing Manager, said “I’ll be honest, there were initial apprehensions,” Scott said. “But this soon gave way to excitement as the concept grew on our management team.”

“Many of our current members founded Companion Credit Union, so it only seemed fitting that they would be a part of our new journey and direction,” Scott added.

The credit union gave the membership three choices, with a couple of flavors on two of them.

Option A - Opts for a dramatic square instead of a circle.

Option B - Only minor alterations to the old logo, mostly eliminating the pixels.

Option C - Different arrangements and combinations of the people icons were explored.

A new slogan is the centerpiece of the credit union’s new brand positioning, featured in TV spots stressing a message of dialogue and interpersonal communication between the credit union and its membership.

“We’re Listening” will replace the previous tagline “Your Personal Financial Companion.”

According to research conducted by the credit union, Scott said the new slogan “better reflects the relationships we have with our current members, and adds-in the warmth and emotive feelings they have with us.”

The credit union’s corporate website will be re-launched in two weeks with the new logo and slogan.

Companion’s TV spots prove you don’t have to be a billion-dollar credit union
to get commercials on TV. They produced a series of three spots that use only still images
but they keep them moving at a healthy clip.

A fledgling microsite used to launch the campaign aspires to be something along the lines of a community portal/local social media hub.

There’s also a 12-minute history video you can watch.

“Since the mid-1800s,
the term ‘savings bank’
indicated a
financial institution of
somewhat limited scope.”
– Julie Livingston
CEO, Marblehead

Marblehead Savings Bank has updated its new logo while also deciding to drop the word “Savings” from its name.

According to the local Marblehead paper, the bank changed names to “better reflect its wide range of products and services.” Apparently, people interpreted the word “savings” too literally.

Neither the name change nor the logo redesign are all that radical, but sometimes it only takes slight evolutions to stay current and remain relevant.

The bank’s previous logo used a font called Palatino,
one of the oldest — and most-common — typefaces around.

In the old logo, the symbol of a bird seems disproportionately large and imbalanced relative to the type. The new logo keeps the bird, but shrinks and tilts it. The beak of the bird dips down to replace the visual pause that is missing now that spaces between words have been removed:

The basic, solid blue of the old logo gives way to
a softer, more sophisticated color palette.

The new logo uses a mix of two typefaces. Trajan, a classic typeface that looks like something straight off the Roman Colosseum, is used for the word “Marblehead.” “Bank” is set in Futura, a clean, retro-contemporary typeface that never loses its popularity among designers.

The new logo also preserves its formal and conservative all-caps typesetting. Lately, many financial institutions have opted to typeset their names in all lowercase letters to convey a casual, contemporary, approachable and easy-going personality (like BNZ).

The Marblehead website got an upgrade too. There’s a lot less clutter in the new design (shown right), but the placement of the compliance bugs in the extreme lower-right creates an awkward amount of whitespace.

Bottom Line: The upgrade to the bank’s overall image is subtle, but better.

To support the name change, Marblehead Bank has a “Scratch the ‘SAVINGS’” instant-win game. Prizes include a $2,500 cash grand prize, three $1,000 cash prizes, and gift cards and discounts to participating Marblehead retailers.

That’s the headline of one of hundreds of design contests currently underway at 99designs.com.

The rest of the ad for this contest reads:

“There will be a number of banking products/services grouped into the ‘My Life My Money’ offering. Checking accounts, online bill pay, ATM, Credit Cards, etc. This is for a small credit union looking for a way to help younger people get into banking.”

The 99designs idea is simple. It’s kind of like “reality TV” meets “logo design.” If you need a logo (any design, actually), you go there and post a brief description of what you’re after along with how much you’re willing to pay. According to the site, there are “13,357 talented designers” ready to fight over 483 contests paying anywhere from $100 up to $700 .

This “My Life My Money” contest drew 104 entries in about a week (view them here). The top three finalists (see below) – as picked by the contest holder – were presented to the credit union’s marketing team last Thursday.

Reality Check: Out of 104 entries, about 100 of them are really weak. Even the final three aren’t all that great.

The person sponsoring the design contest for this Gen-Y banking logo has held six such contests. One of them was for Ultimate Financial Services, which received 116 entries. The winning design (shown right) received $150.

With six different contests in various industries, it seems likely that the contest holder works for a design firm that is, apparently, outsourcing their work.

Reality Check: Designers submitting entries into contests at sites like 99designs are recycling their ideas over and over in multiple contests for multiple clients. Don’t be surprised if medical imagery or sports iconography creeps its way into the logo for your checking product. Also don’t be surprised if/when you see those logos used by someone else someday.

Bottom Line:

• You know the adage, “You get what you pay for.” But hey, it’s only $200.
• This isn’t “strategic design.” If you come up empty handed, you have to start from scratch.

Serious designers will tell you that this is the worst approach one could ever take to develop a new logo, but if you’re a marketer with almost zero dollars in your budget, then why wouldn’t you give it a whirl?

For Discussion: What do you think? Is this a good way to get ideas for a logo project, or not?

“In the financial industry,
if you don’t grow, you go.”
– Tim Haegelin, CEO

San Antonio City Employees FCU had a name change in the works since 2006, but, in the words of Tim Haegelin, President/CEO, it became “an inevitability” following a community charter.

“It’s a matter of survival. We believe we’ve had such a very, very strong tradition and a strong legacy. We don’t want to merge, and we don’t want to go,” said Haegelin.

On its website, the credit union said the new name reflects “multiple generations of credit union members moving toward a sound financial future.”

About the new logo, Haegelin said, “Capital letters are very formal.” The credit union also had this to say about its new logo:

“The green and orange waves symbolize movement from one generation to the next, as traditions are passed on. Unique to other institutions in San Antonio, the green and orange make us stand out and say we’re not like the other banks in town. We’re here for you. The bright, fresh colors are native to the San Antonio landscape, showing our pride in being a part of this community.”

It took about a week for crews to change signs on the credit union’s six branches and 26 ATMs.

According to an article in The CU Times, the credit union’s new slogan will be “What’s next.”

The credit union becomes at least the fifth Generation credit union in the United States. The other four include:

• Generations Credit Union (also typeset with a lowercase ‘g’)
  
• Generations Credit Union
• Generations Community Credit Union
• Generations Family FCU

In the Credit Union Times, Mary Olson, vice president of marketing of the $2.5 billion credit union said, “With this mark, Delta Community acknowledges the origins of flight but also looks ahead to the possibility and progress that flight represents.”Other rationale for the logo includes:

• The green represents the communities the credit union serves, and its future growth opportunities.
• An overlapping, translucent triangle-inspired shape represents wings.
• Launched Jan. 2, the logo will be phased in over the next few months.

In 2005, Delta Community changed its name from ‘Delta Employees CU.’

The new Delta Community logo strategy to reflect wings is reminiscent of Banner Bank’s choice to go with something “sail-like.”

Some people have said these types of logos look like shark fins, but it is their “pointy-ness” that gives them their distinctive edge. Furthermore, images of full sails and soaring wings have positive associations.