Featured cases

2008


old logo

This is a uniquely 21st Century branding story -- the reinvention of a government-owned bureaucracy, to compete in the marketplace with some of the world's sharpest marketers.

Formerly "Casa de Economii si Consemnatiuni" (essentially "House of Savings"), CEC is the oldest surviving Romanian bank.  Government owned, under communism (1948-1989) it remained the only bank available to the ordinary Romanian consumer.  But after the fall of Ceausescu, the newly democratic Romania opened its doors to international banks, facing CEC with such competitors as ABN Amro, ING, Societe Generale and Citi. As you can imagine CEC, managed by a succession of politicians under eleven Presidents, undercapitalized and with the heritage -- and the back office -- of a bureaucratic monopoly, lost market share hugely. But in 2006 the Government, having failed to sell CEC, decided instead to rebuild on its still considerable assets -- notably 1,400 retail locations, a virtual rural monopoly, loyal employees and a household name. To quote Romania's Prime Minister, on the occasion of the new brand's launch,  "We need a bank to meet the needs in rural areas and small towns where the big commercial banks are not present, and a bank where clients who do not have very big incomes feel they are welcomed."

On the strength of its financial commitment to substantive change, the government was able to recruit a private sector leader, Radu Gratian Ghetea (the CEO of Alpha Bank and President of the Romanian Bankers Association) to revive the CEC brand. In June 2007, Ghetea confirmed the appointment of Brandient, one of Romania's outstanding identity firms, to help make this happen.

"Our first breakthrough was to convince them to slightly alter their [communicative] name to add Bank" says Aneta Bogdan, Brandient's strategist, because "many perceived them as a savings house and not a bank." Actually it's a significant change, legally changing "Casa de Economii si Consemnatiuni" to "CEC Bank SA."  (Note: CEC is an acronym -- the Romanian word "cec" is pronounced, and means, "cheque." Nice.)

Brandient's designers used a number of techniques to convey heritage, strength and reliability, yet with warmth and approachability -- a sturdy serif font (Charter), colors, a shield of authority and of course the oak leaf, a universal mark of strength and financial responsibility used also, in Romania, both by the military (in medals and insignia) and by the nation's proud rugby team.

In addition to the communicative and legal name changes, Brandient proposed both an identity tag ("Bank Founded in 1864") and promotional theme line, the simple but powerful "Our Bank."

Situation factor changes critical to this rebranding included --
Architecture: Commitment of 50 million euros to comprehensive redesign (directed by Brandient) of 80 flagship branches, the remainder to be refurbished by 2010;
Product: Extensive addition of product offerings (investments, electronic services) for both consumer and corporate markets;
Employee behavior: Brand engagement initiatives including 20 management-level sessions and deployment of 28 brand trainers over a two-year period.

The May 6, 2008 brand launch event was the biggest yet seen in Bucharest, and was a first for the Romanian government. The President, Prime Minister and Finance Minister all attended the logo unveiling simulcast on TV, followed by a party for 400 leaders and an outdoor public concert, repeated in Romania's twelve largest cities. 

Brandient confirms the drivers as 75% strategic -- most importantly, to broaden scope from Savings to Bank (30%), to bolster employee confidence and especially competitive energy (20%) and to refresh public image (25%) -- and 25% functional, 5% to simplify and clarify the name and 20% to replace the childish and limiting old logo with an appealing and comprehensive new visual system. 

Brandient (Bucharest)

Submitted by: Tony Spaeth, 23/05/2008
Status: Confirmed by Aneta Bogdan, Brandient Managing Director, 23 May 2008
Category: Banks
Country (HQ): Romania