‘Shorter, punchier, tighter’: Why America’s oldest bank is simplifying its brand
Following months of research, 240-year-old bank BNY has rebranded, the latest move in its transformation to be seen as more “modern” and “innovative”.
Later today One World Trade Center in New York will be lit up like a beacon in the new teal colours of BNY. It will start a chain reaction to alert the financial world to the rebranding of the 240-year-old bank.
Over the next 24 hours, that message will follow the sun and be conveyed by bell-ringing ceremonies at the stock exchanges of Hong Kong, London, Frankfurt and Paris, finishing with the final bell in BNY’s home city of New York tomorrow (26 June). This campaign of branded campanology is the culmination of a meticulously researched rebrand strategy overseen by Natalie Sunderland, BNY’s chief marketing and communications officer.
The result is that a cornerstone of the American and global banking systems, created by founding father Alexander Hamilton in 1784, has a new logo and a simplified name, shortened from BNY Mellon.
“From a creative and marketing perspective our aim with the updated logo was to increase the familiarity of the company and show up in a more unified way,” Sunderland tells Marketing Week. “We also wanted to show up as a more modern company.”
