Independence Bank of Georgia was established by Terry Evans, President and CEO, and Martha Brown, Executive Vice President, CEO, and CFO, in 2008. With branches located in Braselton and Gainesville, Georgia, the bank quickly gained many loyal customers in Northeast Georgia for both personal and business banking accounts and has received national attention for its excellence in banking.
We began working with Independence Bank of Georgia in early 2015. At that time, the bank was in need of a branding facelift, so we began with our Brand Immersion process. Through that process, we discovered the branding in place wasn’t immediately engaging and didn’t easily capture the attention of potential customers. It was outdated and it did not capture the unique experience the team at Independence Bank of Georgia offers their customers.
Following the Brand Immersion, we made some recommendations to build a brand that was reflective of the bank’s culture and brand experience. To start off, we recommended the bank use the name “Ibankga” in its marketing efforts as it is approachable, more attractive to customers, and has a modern sound. They already had this as their domain and only used it internally, but we were able to help Ibankga feel more confident in using the name in a more public way through their public website address and marketing materials.
Through the Brand Immersion process, we were also able to learn a little more about the bank’s customers, which allowed us to create a stronger customer profile and ensure that our branding and marketing goals would reach the right audiences. We also gained a better understanding of the tone and language of the leadership in place. With that information in hand, we worked together to create more engaging copy for the website, marketing materials, and social media content that helped emphasize to customers why Ibankga is the best bank for them.
Our next action was to create a new website for Ibankga. A website is often one’s first impression of a business and we saw a new website as the perfect opportunity to make a change for the better. To make sure it created an impact with current and prospective customers, we worked to make the new website more engaging by creating a more simplified online banking process and implementing a deeper level of branding that was a true reflection of the organization.
“Our goal with the new website design was to create a digital environment that matches the bright, welcoming atmosphere experienced in the various branch locations,” said Rock Paper Scissors Designer Kaitlin Henre.
As community involvement is an important part of Ibankga’s core values, we also helped them develop the Denim and Donate campaign. Each month, bank employees are allowed to wear denim on Fridays if they donate to that month’s cause. The bank encourages its customers to contribute to the cause of the month as well. This campaign helped connect the bank to the local community and a very visual and impactful way.
We also developed Brand Identity Standards & Guidelines for the team at Ibankga to use in their future marketing efforts, and launched the bank’s new website while the team at Ibankga took over with the implementation of the branding campaign we developed. We continued to provide creative support for stationery, brochures, ad campaigns, signage, and more.
A solid branding campaign will naturally put a business or organization in a better position for attracting new customers, as well as new business opportunities. “There are multiple reasons to rebrand your business,” Amanda Sutt, CEO and Creative Director of Rock Paper Scissors, shares. “You may have a disconnect with your audience that you need to close; you may have had an internal philosophy change so the rebrand will make this shift more public; or you want to reposition your business for growth, whether that is expansion, new products, or merging. Ibankga came to us with the first need and ended up positioning themselves for the latter.” In the summer of 2016, Ibankga announced it would be merging with another local bank, Pinnacle Bank, with the acquisition expected to be complete before the end of 2016.
Is your organization in need of a new branding campaign like Ibankga? Contact Rock Paper Scissors today to learn more about our services. We would love to speak with you about where you are currently with your brand, where you want to go, and how we can help you get there.
