Repositioning The Legacy banks Brand as a thought leader

The Challenge

A community bank serving Western Massachusetts and Eastern New York for over 150 years, Legacy Banks competed with large banks such as Bank of America and Citizens Bank, other regional banks, and credit unions.

The institution’s waning market share ranked fourth in their core market (Western Massachusetts) and was dead last in Eastern New York. Awareness was negligible and advertising recall was non-existent. Disappointed by the poor results from off-target marketing, Legacy Banks’ leadership turned to Smith & Jones to fix their brand. The goal was to reposition Legacy to attract deposits, grow their footprint and make the bank more desirable for acquisition.

Insightful Thinking

Through market research and one-on-one interviews, we discovered that Legacy Banks had a more thoughtful, forward thinking culture. We simply began telling people about it. “Pro-active, forward-thinking advisor” was an ownable, differentiated position that Legacy’s staff could realistically live up to. We developed an updated visual direction that was contemporary and professional, yet at the same time contemplative and personal, to convey Legacy’s progressive but practical New England character.

Meticulous Execution

The entire brand position was underscored with a few words of sage advice: Bank smarter, live easier. It was supported by candid duotone images of important moments, with one person acting in a principal or advisory role. Every employee and consumer touch point shared the same brand identity and voice, from their new website to point of sale merchandising and advertising.

Exceptional Results

The brand and the company’s employees were aligned behind one unified voice. Despite the recession and a great deal of negative consumer sentiment towards the financial service industry, Legacy Banks posted significant gains. Following the brand launch, Legacy enjoyed a significant jump in activity: deposits were up 11.9% and loans were up 6.4%. Web traffic increased with organic search traffic up 198% and new monthly web visitors up 47%. The result was better-than-expected deposit and account growth, more traffic on their website and in their branches. The Legacy Banks network grew to 20 offices before being acquired by Berkshire Bank in mid-2011.