Chief Experience Officer tapped for her extensive rebranding expertise with financial services brands
Thursday, February 20, 2025 – Why rebrand? It’s a question as enduring as it is essential. That’s because a strong brand is foundational to success – it’s what distinguishes an organization in the marketplace. For their part, financial institutions understand that their business growth is inextricably linked to the strength of their brands. In fact, Adrenaline survey data spotlighted in a new EMARKETER article on rebranding in financial services shows that more than 8 out of 10 institutions report at least a moderate increase in overall business growth following a rebrand.
Whether it’s driven by M&A, organic growth, charter change, meeting market demand or shifting strategy, when done well, rebrands provide banks and credit unions with a meaningful way to deepen their relationships with customers or members. In the “Financial Institutions’ Guide to Rebranding,” Juliet emphasizes that a rebrand should maintain the core DNA from the original brand. “That means everything that helped an FI attract and retain customers would remain,” she says to EMARKETER. “And those customers should still see that DNA in the rebrand.”
A strong communications strategy enhances trust and reduces attrition. Juliet describes how initial resistance can be transformed. “While 5% to 8% of customers say they’ll generally oppose efforts to rebrand, if the change and communication around it are managed well, then it will typically lead to only 1% attrition – or even less,” she says. But success hinges on employee advocacy. “FIs must communicate rebrands early on with employees. That’s because a brand starts with an organization’s values – and employees are ambassadors for those values.”
Holistic market communication includes addressing why the rebrand is happening and how customers or members will benefit from better products or services. “Equally important, FIs must communicate to customers what won’t change,” according to Juliet, including popular products, current cards and logins, and staffing at the local branch. “It’s not just about telling customers that change is coming, FIs must seek initial buy-in by testing the changes,” she says. Ongoing investment includes “rebrand-related marketing at least 18 months post-launch.”
Read all of Juliet’s insights in EMARKETERS’ “Financial Institutions’ Guide to Rebranding.” Formerly Insider Intelligence, EMARKETER is a market research publisher exploring topics and trends in key industry sectors, like banking and financial services. To learn more about successful brand and marketing strategies for financial institutions, or to speak with one of Adrenaline’s brand experience experts, contact us today.
