BRAND:
RBC
CLIENT:
Royal Bank of Canada
BACKGROUND:
Royal Bank of Canada, the leading banking group in Canada and North America’s seventh largest, was finding little latitude for growth in its home market. The executive team had determined the need to lay new foundations for growth in the USA and were making strategic acquisitions there in brokerage, wealth management, insurance, mortgage origination, investment banking and commercial banking. FutureBrand was engaged primarily to assist executive management in defining the best brand architecture and graphic identity for the group going forward.
ACTION:
Our team discovered early on the need to find solutions that could transcend some of the historic ties to a single country of origin and the now distant British Empire. Ultimately, the solution had to balance preferences and hesitancies in the USA with the need to maintain the valuable heritage of the brand in Canada. The work and recommendations of our combined New York and Toronto based teams included the creation of: i) The corporate brand name of RBC Financial Group; ii) A set of RBC branded core competencies/platforms for use in Canada; iii) A set of RBC led co-brands for use in the USA, and; iv) A modernized lion and globe icon, minus the crown. This significant repositioning and brand revitalization program has set the stage for a new era of growth for the group and was appropriately introduced by the new Chairman within the first few weeks of his ascent.
"One of our key strategies is expansion into the U.S. and other niche markets around the world," said Gord Nixon, president and chief executive officer, RBC Financial Group. "We want to be able to use a common brand name and logo wherever we operate in order to build awareness of our total business activities and to leverage our brand's positive attributes with customers, employees and investors globally. Our hope is that with the updated logo, 'Leo' will soon become as recognized around the world as it has been in Canada."
DELIVERABLES:
Brand Name Options, Brand Logo, Design System, Digital Design System , Marketing Communications and Launch
LEARN MORE:
www.RBC.com
ROLE:
Michael Thibodeau - creative director and lead designer working with RBC and FutureBrand.