Launching a new brand - it's a balancing act
Almost two months after BBVA relaunched and evolved its brand and logo, and initial results show the bank’s customers are delighted with the results.
The change in logo - as well as unifying the bank’s brand names across its ten countries - were part of BBVA’s digital transformation program.
The culmination of a year-long project, led by BBVA Chief Marketing Officer and Global Head of Design, Rob Brown, saw the bank unveil on June 10 a new logo specifically designed to work better in a digital world.
But the brand change also has a much deeper rationale behind it too.
The change underscores BBVA’s aim to deploy a unique value proposition and a consistent customer experience, similar to what people have come to expect from digital companies across the world. The Group aims to have global products and services as a result of BBVA´s one-time development process, which allows for worldwide collaboration, resource prioritization, faster speed to market and customization for specific market dynamics.
Feedback from customers has been overwhelming positive
In practice that means that where BBVA builds a class leading experience - as it has done with it mobile banking app in Spain - voted the best in the world in 2017 and 2018 and the best in Europe for the past three years in a row - that experience can be rolled out across the whole group.
Rob Brown said: “It’s been hard work, its had significant challenges, and it’s not been without controversy. But it’s also been the most rewarding experience for those who have worked on this project - not just because of the scale and complexity, but because of the huge significance doing this means for BBVA.
“It’s also scary too - despite the testing you do with customers, you never know exactly how they are going to react.”
BBVA Launches new brand
However the initial feedback from customers has been overwhelming positive.
A survey of customers in BBVA´s core countries showed customers felt an even stronger connection with the brand post logo change, especially around areas like how the brand now stood out from its competitors.
Another area that people picked up on was the commitment BBVA had to put their specific needs first, and to use digital tools as an enabler for putting the right products and services in their hands.
But while preparing for the campaign launch, the Global Design team decided to prepare some video responses that poked fun at the new brand, and at themselves, aimed at showing the lighter side of what they were doing.
Top of the list was the new elevated “A” in the BBVA logo. The A, as explained here in what has turned out to be the most read article on the brand change on bbva.com since June 10th, is elevated to show the direction of travel of BBVA, with the ascension symbolizing growth and opportunity - and a focus on growth and opportunity for customers, not just BBVA.
Commenting, Brown added: “We just wanted to show people that while the intent behind what we are doing is serious, we are not precious about what we are doing - we can make fun of ourselves - and we respect people not liking it.
“Yet it's also a great opportunity to show exactly, in a way, why we have done this - because these responses are designed to fit exactly into the digital ecosystem the logo does - an ecosystem powered by social media and what people think.”
You can see the videos for yourself - and of course add your comments - here: https://www.youtube.com/user/bbva