What's In a Brand?

Hey Allison Netzer — successful brands have both identity and personality, right?

Allison, along with Liz High , recently authored "Think Like A Brand, Not a Bank." In it, they focus on a brand's identity:

• The name
• The logo
• The colors

The two go further, exploring a brand's personality.?This encompasses everything customers/constituents can’t see, including:

• A company's why
• The mission?
• The overarching vision

Combined, both form "who we are" and "how we operate," not just how we look.?Successful brands have both identity and personality —?a truth that anchored our recent brand refresh at Cornerstone Advisors .

In the spirit of sharing the design journey we began this Spring, I invite you to take a look at how our look and feel evolved with the help and support of L Street Collaborative, LLC and many throughout the Cornerstone team.

WHERE STRATEGY MEETS EXECUTION

Cornerstone Advisors takes tremendous pride in providing wildly prescriptive, actionable advice that goes beyond cookie-cutter. Collectively, we are lifelong learners who dig deep, seek truth, and share our insights with humor and humility. To celebrate twenty years in business, we rolled into 2022 with this logo.

For those banks, fintechs and credit unions that we've worked with —?more than 1,300 have put their trust in the firm and our services —?we continued to fly the Gonzo Banker logo in parallel.

Now, I have been asked about this secondary brand since I joined the firm in April... "Gonzo" is a reference to Hunter Thompson (the Political Editor for Rolling Stone Magazine in the 1960’s and 70’s) and his style of journalism – focused, spirited, opinionated and passionate about a topic.?

As my partner, Terence Roche explained, the founding team (including Scott Sommer and Steve Williams ) sought an industry publication/newsletter in that same style.?"We wanted to write stuff that poked the industry when it needed poking, take strong stands and make people think even if it also made them mad... We knew that every banker wasn’t going to warm up to this approach. So, we went with the brand/sub-brand approach, which has worked pretty well."

INSPIRED BY OUR CLIENTS EFFORTS TO DIVERSIFY & DIFFERENTIATE

Given the brand equity built over the years, deciding to reimagine Cornerstone's look, feel and logo was no slam dunk. Ultimately, we decided to push ahead in order to keep pace with those "troublemakers" we so love to support. Off we went... starting with a good old-ideation session in our Scottsdale, AZ headquarters.

With the help of Amber Manna (Hallmann) , Emily Federighi & team at L Street, we started to model out some potential visuals based on a range of interests and ideas sourced from the team. Early mockups included:

Each surfaced something new and interesting. While a few provoked stronger reactions (*I'm looking at your, Ryan Rackley ), we continued to explore options —?including consideration of a new logo.

We were making progress... narrowing in on design elements before playing with colors.

While blue conveys stability and reliability (and evokes feelings of calmness and even serenity), we decided to move to a color that symbolizes growth and vibrancy —?one you will see adorning all our materials in the weeks, months and years to come.

Rather than a big splashy release to show the industry our new look, we preferred to keep the focus entirely on those organizations looking to grow.

Companies pushing the boundaries of delivering exceptional service by creating wildly compelling businesses that support their communities & constituents.

Because it has always been about the success of those we are fortunate to support and work with — troublemakers thriving, differentiating and capturing real market share.

Their success precedes ours.?

And as they continue to grow, evolve and diversify, so will we.