ANZ to roll out new logo with $15 million spend
23 Oct 2009
ANZ Banking Group Ltd has embarked on a $15 million rebranding exercise, revolving around its new logo. According to the lender, the new brand and logo, which includes the image of a human figure, was designed to connect with its customer base. The strap-line of the brand is, ''We live in your world''.
The new logo will be rolled out in all 32 countries that ANZ now operates in. The three shapes in the new signage reflect ANZ's three core markets - Australia, New Zealand and Asia Pacific - while the central human shape represents customers and staff, the bank said.
ANZ will begin selling the new brand on Sunday through a wide-ranging television, billboard and newspaper advertising campaign in Australia, New Zealand and Asia.
Commenting on the rebrand, ANZ chief executive Mike Smith said: ''Our new symbol, the advertising campaign that we'll launch on Sunday and the re-branding of our offices and branches reflects ANZ today and our commitment to continue to change the way we do things by understanding what is going on in our customers' world and making banking more convenient and less complex.''
The new brand identity and positioning follows 18 months of detailed research involving more than 1,300 customers and 250 staff in Australia, New Zealand and Asia Pacific.
However, not all customers are impressed by the new logo. Almost half of news.com.au readers gave ANZ's new "blue blob" logo the thumbs down in an on-line poll and in comments.
Experts, however, defend the change as being logical. "Consumers have had their faith in financial institutions shaken, they are no longer seen as safe," a Melbourne Business School expert said. "So I can understand why ANZ is trying to do something to humanise the bank."
"It's not just the logo, its their new tag line, 'We live in your world'. This implies a promise to customers ... (but) there is a real risk with this sort of rebranding that they make a promise they can't live up to," the marketing expert said.
