Union Bank

INVOLVEMENT

  • Web Design
  • Web Development
  • Branding & Identity

INDUSTRY

  • Banking Services
LOCATION
  • Michigan

OVERVIEW

Union Bank, known for primarily serving rural clients and farms, was looking to expand its clientele and break into the Grand Rapids market. They engaged TIS in 2018 as their brand marketing partner to ensure a successful and strategic brand launch into a much different demographic. To become a viable player in this larger market, TIS led with a strategic approach to determine how best to enter this new market while not ostracizing its loyal clientele. We then crafted messaging and a rebrand to meet the needs of both audiences with the Make Build Grow theme, including the creation of new product-line brands to distinguish themselves from competing financial institutions.

Rebranding a legacy bank including new, branded product lines to successfully break into a new market.

MAIN BENEFIT

Union Bank, a legacy bank with headquarters in Lake Odessa, MI known for primarily serving rural clients and farms, was looking to expand their clientele beyond the farming community and break into the Grand Rapids market. Union Bank engaged TIS in 2018 as their brand marketing partner to ensure a successful and strategic brand launch into a much different demographic. To become a viable player in this larger market, TIS led with a strategic approach to determine how best to enter this new market while not ostracizing their loyal rural clientele. We then crafted messaging and a rebrand to meet the needs of both audiences with the Make Build Grow theme, including the creation of new product-line brands to distinguish themselves from competing financial institutions in the market.

BENEFIT SUMMARY

  • Rebrand including updated messaging, imagery, fonts, color palettes, brand narrative and more
  • Designed all-new branded product lines to create stronger brand loyalty within current customers and brand recognition within their new target market
  • Updated visual assets across all digital and print platforms to showcase their local customers and appeal to the metropolitan Grand Rapids market
  • Helped Union Bank achieve a record-breaking year in 2019—the first time since pre-2008

THE CHALLENGE

Union Bank has been a strong rural brand in the Lake Odessa community and surrounding areas for nearly a century, but they recognized the importance of extending their reach to a broader audience to remain a strong contender amongst other area banks and credit unions. While the desire to expand was strong, we had to ensure the brand would retain customer loyalty with their rural clientele while also appealing to the more metropolitan Grand Rapids market.

THE SOLUTION

  • Updated visual brand and language across traditional and digital campaigns, including new fonts, color palette, imagery and more
  • An updated brand narrative, implemented throughout all print and digital assets
  • Annual report creation with updated brand language and design elements
  • Updated branded product lines for mortgages, home equity loans, farm loans and small-business loans

THE RESULT

The rebrand was strongly received by both Union Bank’s legacy clients and its new Grand Rapids market. The Bank had a record-breaking year in 2019 following the rebrand launch and has continued to break annual records.

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