Identity Heft
CoBank describes effort
to update corporate image
n effective logo and tagline, or motto, play a
crucial role in determining the image of a
business and how its external and internal
audiences perceive it. The end result may
appear deceptively simple, but the process of
developing them is anything but.
CoBank recently went through this process. Arthur
Hodges, corporate vice president for communications with
CoBank, discusses the project below. In the November-
December issue, Land O’ Lakes will answer the same
questions about its recent adoption of a new corporate logo
and tagline.
Question: Why did your co-op decide it was time to change
the logo? How long had the previous logo been used?
Arthur Hodges: “Our old logo was put into service back
in 1989, the year CoBank was formed through a merger of 11
cooperative banks in the Farm Credit System to form one
national financial institution focused on serving cooperative
borrowers in rural America. In 2008, at the direction of our
board and senior management team, we decided to take an
in-depth look at CoBank’s brand in the marketplace. By that I
don’t mean the logo, I mean the bank’s overall image and
reputation in the hearts and minds of our customers and
other key stakeholders.
“We wanted to better understand a number of key
questions. How did our customers perceive the bank and its
value proposition? Were perceptions the same or different
across all the various industries we serve (food and
agribusiness, power, water and communications)? Did the
view we have of ourselves inside the bank match up well with
what our customers thought?
“Through that larger effort, we determined that our
overall value proposition and reputation in the market were
sound and in good shape. But we did have some
opportunities to enhance our brand presentation. One was
that we wanted to tie CoBank’s brand more closely to that of
the broader Farm Credit System. Membership in Farm
Credit is a key part of our identity and value proposition, and
the existing logo didn’t really offer a way to make that
connection.
“Also, our brand presentation was not always consistent.
Our communications materials were not consistent in terms
of their look and feel. We wanted a visual identity system in
place to govern the look and feel of our communications and
marketing materials so that when you saw any one of them,
they would be instantly recognizable as coming from
CoBank. The new CoBank logo was created and adopted to
address those two issues.”
Did you do the work in-house, or hire an agency?
“The bank’s Corporate Communications Division
managed the brand initiative, but we used an outside agency
to conduct customer interviews, develop the logo design and
provide strategic guidance during the process. The agency we
used is Sterling-Rice Group, a brand-consulting firm based in
Colorado that has a national client base of large enterprises,
along with experience in both agriculture and financial
services.
“It would be difficult to conduct a thorough brand review
without outside agency assistance. You want somebody on
board who does branding for a living — who has gone
through the process multiple times with multiple companies.
An outside firm also brings third-party neutrality to the table.
If you have issues regarding your reputation, lack of
alignment internally or other problems, you obviously want
to identify those and address them as part of the brand-audit
process. An agency is in a much better position to flag
problems and communicate them to your executive
management team and board than corporate staff is.”
What was the timeline and budget? Did you stick to it?
“From beginning to end, our process took about a year.
We spent the first six months or so on a formal brand audit,
which involved about 40 in-depth interviews with the CEOs
of selected customers and key executives inside the bank. We
also studied existing customer engagement data and looked at
what other banks inside and outside the Farm Credit System
do in terms of their branding. The second six months were
spent on logo design, development and implementation.
“The timeline and total cost of the project were in line
with our initial expectations and budget.”
Did this effort also involve a new tagline to go with the
logo?
“Yes. Our old tagline was ‘Rural America’s Cooperative
Bank.’ Like the old logo, it had been in place for 20 years.
There was nothing inherently flawed with the tagline, but it
was factual and descriptive rather than emotive. The
strongest brands always resonate at an emotional level, and in
talking with customers, we learned that there were some
powerful emotional connections CoBank has with our
customer base.
“For instance, we’re organized as a cooperative and serve a
large base of cooperative borrowers, and there is obviously a
lot of positive feeling in rural America around the
cooperative model. We also found that customers placed a lot
of value on the fact that CoBank has a government-chartered
mission to stand by the industries that we serve — that we’re
not going to pull up stakes and abandon their industries in
tough times.
“Our new tagline — Cooperative. Connected. Committed.
— is designed to capture those aspects of our value
proposition in a way that is both succinct and emotionally
compelling.”
Did you have any problems registering the logo as new
trademark?
“We are in the middle process of registering the logo with
the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. The process can take
up to a year to complete, but for us it has been proceeding
smoothly.”
What kind of review or approval process did you follow?
“The logo is the public face of the enterprise; you don’t
make changes lightly or without the involvement of your
board and senior executive team.
“We made sure we checked in with both the board and
executive management at regular intervals throughout the
project, and their input was both thoughtful and very helpful
in our decision processes. The logo was formally adopted at a
meeting of our board at the end of 2008.”
How many revisions did it go through?
“Arriving at the final design was an iterative process that
took a few months to complete.
“Our design firm developed over a dozen different logo
ideas and concepts. I was the first reviewer and pared down
the initial field to three that felt appropriate to bring forward
to our management executive team for their input.
“At that meeting, there was one logo that emerged as the
consensus favorite, but our executives requested a number of
modifications. Our firm made those changes and we then
brought it to our board for their review. Our board also
requested a few tweaks to the design that were incorporated
into what became the final version.”
Did you do consumer/customer testing?
“As discussed above, we conducted in-depth interviews
with a number of customers across all the industries we serve
to better understand their perceptions of CoBank and what
they look for from a financial services provider. Those
conversations absolutely helped guide the logo design
process. Once the brand audit was complete, however, we did
not take the new logo back out to our customers for their
reaction. We were confident that the input received on the
front end provided us with the information and perspective
we needed, and the positive reaction we’ve gotten from
customers since the launch of the new identity has borne that
out.”
What was the biggest mistake you made?
“Overall the process went very smoothly. We had hiccups
here and there as expected, but I can’t think of any major
mistakes.”
Any major lessons learned?
“1. You can’t undertake a rebranding effort without the full
support of your board and executive management team. You
also have to have a deep understanding of how your
customers view you and ensure that linkage is enhanced.
“2. You need the help of an experienced project manager
when you get into implementation. Rolling out a new logo is
a complex process, and it’s important to have a well-thoughtout
plan in place to ensure a smooth launch.
“3. You have to stay flexible. No matter how good your
implementation plan is, you won’t think of every issue ahead
of time. You need to get comfortable with the fact that issues
will arise and that you’re going to have to deal with some
problems on the fly.”
What was the smartest thing you did?
“The smartest thing we did was to keep an open mind as
an organization, both at the board and management levels,
about the value we might derive from updating our logo and
tagline. Certainly there were strong attachments to our old
logo and tagline given how long they had been in place. But
we were able to objectively listen to the feedback we got from
our customers and internal stakeholders, along with the
advice we received from our outside consultant, and then
maintain the fortitude required to actually go through with
the logo change.”
What has the reaction been like so far?
“The reaction has been very positive all the way around.
We’ve received a number of compliments about the
redesigned logo from our customers and our employees. I
think they especially like the overall level of design excellence
we’ve been able to put in place for all of our communications
materials.”
In what ways is the logo used?
“The logo is used to brand virtually all pieces of
communications from the bank to its various stakeholder
groups, including customers, business partners, employees,
regulatory personnel and residents of the communities where
we do business.
“Key applications include business cards, corporate
stationery, invoices, our corporate and other websites,
business presentations, signage and marketing materials.”
Was this effort with the logo part of a larger re-branding
effort?
“As noted above, the decision to implement a new logo
stemmed from a broader corporate initiative to examine the
strength of CoBank’s brand in the marketplace and
understand our customers’ perceptions of our overall value
proposition.
“The feedback we got from our customers was that our
brand is fundamentally sound and well aligned with our
formally adopted value proposition. As such, we were
fortunate in that we did not need to address any strategic
questions about the company’s mission, value proposition or
brand promise to our customers. Our focus in updating the
logo was much narrower; it related to brand presentation and
visual identity only.”
Any special effort to launch the new logo once developed?
“Yes. We timed the launch of the logo in conjunction with
the release of our 2008 annual report and the series of
regional meetings we hold every year with our customers
around the country.
“Our new logo and new tagline were featured on the cover
of the annual report and in all of our on-site meeting
materials. We also supported the launch with advertising in
customer-facing trade publications.
“Just as importantly, we unveiled the logo to our associates
in a special all-employee meeting two weeks in advance of the
external launch. It was a great event. Our CEO talked about
the strength of the CoBank brand and how our new logo was
designed to take our brand presentation to the next level. We
provided our employees with a number of giveaway items
with the new logo, including a high-quality acrylic tombstone
of our value proposition they could keep at their desks.
“Engaging employees is critical to the success of a brand
launch. They are ultimately all brand ambassadors for the
company and are the most effective channel to communicate
what you’re doing to your customers and other key
stakeholders.”
