(Re)gaining a competitive edge.

The Complexity

Having long been a well regarded leader in retail bank design, BrandPartners had started to slowly lose its edge to an increasingly aggressive marketplace. For banks, physical branches were under some scrutiny as online banking continued to gain ground. For BrandPartners, the lower end of the market - in-store fixtures, etc. - was becoming price-driven and commoditized. Upstream, the company faced competitors from other industries breaking into their marketplace with a strong retail pedigree.

What We Did

Conducting an initial 6-month strategic assessment we took a deep dive into the industry, marketplace, and the contextual dynamics underpinning Brand Partner's struggle. We interviewed company stakeholders and clients uncovering a number of conflicting perspectives. This was all boiled down into a realignment recommendation and updateed brand positioning encapsulated by the tagline Profit By Design.

Our recommendation was to leverage Brand Partner's experience with the business dynamics of banking, moving the company up-stream to take more or a consultancy feel. We supplemented our strategic work with numerous research studies into new markets like Generation X families, the Under/Unbanked and Millennials. This research became the tool BrandPartners used to elevate the conversation above attractive design and traditional "retail best practices" and into strategic engagements with banks on the future of their very business.