Selling your products or services becomes a heck of a lot easier when your brand identity clearly defines who you are and what you care about and speaks directly to the people that you want to connect with.
Sierra Pacific Credit Union (SPCU), a west coast credit union with deep roots in the community, recognized the need to modernize its brand identity to reflect its heritage while still connecting to customers. Our mission was to transform SPCU’s brand image, aligning it with the expectations of today’s inventors, visionaries and young professionals – their target audience. This rebranding included a strategic name change, a new logo, an extensive brand identity overhaul, and a website blueprint to guide them on performance optimizations and SEO.
Reno, NV
SPCU’s brand identity and materials did not adequately reflect their culture and esteemed past.
The credit union had a strong foundation as Nevada’s first credit union, but lacked a compelling brand story and cohesive branding material to support it. Spotlighting their community focus and differentiating them from competitors became essential to this rebrand.
We recognized the importance of having the brand identity permeate every facet of SPCU. The renaming from Sierra Pacific Federal Credit Union to Sierra Pacific Credit Union, accompanied by a streamlined logo focusing on the distinctive “Sierra Pacific,” established a clear and strong brand presence – plus, it saved employees time by dropping one word.
In addition the the name change, we took a look at the market’s color scheme. While others in the market were “zigging” we decided to “zag”. Instead of using traditional credit union colors, we ventured off the beaten path and chose something more adventurous. The shift away from the industry-standard blue to a sophisticated palette with black, rust, and blue accents created a unique visual identity.
After investing in a full-rebrand one of the most important things a company can do is to plan their launch. SPCU has a lot of key stakeholders that need to be involved in supporting the new brand narrative. So, this launch required an internal launch to get the buy-in of employees before releasing it into the world to customers. We crafted a meticulously phased timeline for the brand launch that started internally and permeated out through their branches, website, and other marketing.
By taking inventory of their current branding collateral and online presence, we were able to chart a course for SPCU to launch their new assets. The export of new branding assets provided SPCU with a wealth of high-quality collateral, proving to be beneficial for their marketing efforts. In addition, the blueprint process also gave them actionable steps to improve SEO shortcomings, guiding them to a better understanding of improvements needed on their website.
Through a collaborative and insightful process, we revitalized SPCU’s brand, marrying tradition with adventure. The strategic rebranding has not only enhanced the visual and communicative assets of SPCU but has also positioned them as a forward-thinking financial institution ready to meet the needs of current and future generations.
Selling your products or services becomes a heck of a lot easier when your brand identity clearly defines who you are and what you care about and speaks directly to the people that you want to connect with.
