Building Relevant Banking Brands

Brand Relevance at a Glance:

• Relevant brands create connections with consumers through shared values and lived experiences
• Building on an organization’s core mission, vision is key to creating a brand that resonates with people
• Purpose-driven brands leverage strategy for long-term growth

In a market crowded with legacy names and lookalike logos, standing out may get you noticed, but that alone won’t make you matter. Yes, brand differentiation in banking is essential, but it’s only valuable when it connects. To make a lasting impact, financial institutions must go beyond being merely memorable and become deeply resonant with their audiences. “Brand relevance is how meaningful a brand is or how it is perceived by consumers” says Juliet D’Ambrosio, Chief Experience Officer at Adrenaline. “It’s not just what your brand says or how it looks, it’s how it matters in the lives of the people you serve.”

Human Centered and Purpose Powered

For financial institutions, their brand most often represents their ability to expand their reach and relevance. For people, a brand is about meeting their needs and feeling seen, creating connections through shared values and lived experiences. “Emotional connections sprout and blossom when brands make themselves relevant to their target audiences through the experience they have with a company,” according to Brandingmag. “The first step for every brand is to listen to their audiences and understand what matters to them.” At its core, brand relevance is about making meaning with people – cocreating a brand consumers welcome in.

“A relevant brand has an ownable name that not only builds recognition in the market, but provides a platform for creating connections with people,” says Juliet. “It’s not just what you call yourself that matters, it’s what you stand for.” Identifying the core mission, vision, and values at the heart of an organization is key to creating a brand that resonates with people. That’s why 80% of customers believe their bank or credit union should have a strong and visible brand purpose. When purpose powers brand relevance, it shows up across every touchpoint, from digital platforms to branch experience and is lived out through employee culture.

Relevant brands are:

• Reflective of their audience’s needs and values
• Co-created with customers and ever-evolving
• Imbued with internal culture and business strategy
• Built on consistent, compelling experiences across all channels
• Positioned for long-term growth, not short-term trends

Brands Built on Strategy

The evolution of brands in banking has followed a prototypical path – legacy brands with common, historical names moving to more modernized identities with brands built on the foundation of relevance. The institutions seeing the most success today are operating in a reenergized brand 5.0 era that’s focused on making meaning. These brands are human centered, highly differentiated, and co-created with customers. And at the center of their success is a clearly defined purpose that guides everything they do, from internal culture to external expression, laying the groundwork for authentic affinity and enduring relationships.

These are not brands built in silos – they are strategic, intentional, and designed for dynamic growth. Brands built on foundation or purpose are anchored in strong strategy. Before any name change or identity refresh, financial institutions are focused on defining their “whys.” These are foundational truths that become the lens for every branding decision, from logo design to brand storytelling. Purpose isn’t just a brand statement – it’s a decision-making tool that shapes how institutions show up and grow. They start with a clarity of purpose, expressed through consistent and ownable brand systems that live that promise every day.

Four Whys of Brand Purpose:

• Why do we exist?
• Why does that matter?
• Why are we different than the others?
• Why should people care?

A Brand That Matters

Brand strategy is what defines a brand’s internal building blocks. In banking where relationships are built on trust, having a disciplined strategic approach to branding is essential. Highly relevant brands transcend transactions to become part of people’s lives. The most successful banks and credit unions also continually evolve their brand strategy to reflect customer expectations and market realities. When brands are built on purpose and guided by strategy, they don’t just stand out – they stand for something.

To learn more about brand and marketing strategies to successfully reposition your brand for growth, or to speak with one of Adrenaline’s brand-to-branch experts, contact us today.

Adrenaline is an end-to-end brand experience company serving the financial industry. We move brands and businesses ahead by delivering on every aspect of their experience across digital and physical channels, from strategy through implementation. Our multi-disciplinary team works with leadership to advise on purpose, position, culture, and retail growth strategies. We create brands people love and engage audiences from employees to customers with story-led design and insights-driven marketing; and we design and build transformative brand experiences across branch networks, leading the construction and implementation of physical spaces that drive business advantage and make the brand experience real.