ABOUT

Lloyds Bank is one of the leading British retail and commercial banks. However, following the recession the financial sector as a whole experienced a huge decline in consumer trust. Following the directive to divest its retail businesses in two (from Lloyds TSB to Lloyds Bank and TSB) we used the opportunity to create a new service-led brand for Lloyds Bank that centred on the customer and the issues they face in today’s world. The challenge lay in creating a distinctive identity for one of the oldest and most recognised brands in the UK while emphasising its heritage and expertise. A brand identity that relates to the lives of their customers and serves them in a more contemporary, connected and distinctive way with a visual identity that works across the retail, private and commercial businesses and communicates a single consistent vision. To achieve this we followed a master brand approach to ensure that every business division would sign up to one vision and one set of values. The new identity was based on group of elements that included beautiful imagery, the colour green, the black horse logo and a new tone of voice.

From research and insight we determined that photography was the best way of communicating Lloyds Bank’s new proposition; ‘For the moments that matter,’ and a key way of creating differentiation in the financial sector. We sourced an enormous range of beautiful, emotive images that reflect true moments of customers’ lives and emphasises Lloyds Bank’s position without losing warmth and accessibility.

We modernised the iconic black horse logo and returned it to the heart of the new visual identity, and made it relevant for the digital age. The colour green has always been associated with Lloyds but it had become an underused asset in recent years. By moving into a deeper, richer green colour palette, we were able to deliver a vibrant, contemporary brand underpinned by traditional values.

Our visual identity for Lloyds Bank, combined with a distinctive ‘breath of fresh air’ tone of voice, confidently delivers a powerful, positive message that resonates with customers, and brings the retail, commercial and private businesses together. It was brought to life in everything from retail campaigns to brochures to the credit and debit cards, to branch fascias and staff uniforms.

A project of this scale, involving all aspects of the business, encompassed a revamped in-branch experience with new fascias, colleague uniforms and marketing literature plus internal engagement material. A whole new look and feel for personal, business and private banking has been created across their debit/credit cards, websites and stationery – all flexible enough to manage the diverse range of specialist audiences without losing the clear logic of the brand.

Throughout the journey, we overcame the massive challenges that arise when bringing a brand of such large scale to life. These included everything from crafting and animating the iconic black horse, for use in thousands of instances, to redesigning the full suite of debit and credit cards, developing mobile interfaces, refreshing the look and feel of the website and guiding the agency network through the design and delivery of the brochures for launch.