The latest Smart Talks meet-up, staged by BT and SmartBill in Bucharest, took on a topic that’s always magnetic: brands and how to build them. At Nod Markerspace, in very good company, the discussion centred on what it means to be, in one way or another, part of the story of strong brands or those just starting out: Sergiu Mircea – Director of Marketing & Communication Coordination, BT; Ioana Proca – Brand Consultant & Partner, Storience; Adrian Cocan – Manager, Laptaria cu caimac; and Mircea Capatana – Co‑founder, SmartBill.

How can a bank have a brand that’s smart and cool? How did Banca Transilvania become the most valuable Romanian banking brand (Brand Finance 2019)? What were the challenges behind BT’s rebrands? The top 10 takeaways shared at the event by our colleague, Sergiu Mircea:

• In its 25-year history, BT has been through two rebrands, starting from the original brand.
• The bank’s first logo had a classic concept and, a few years later, in 2001, the bank marked a historic milestone when a major investor, the EBRD, joined the shareholder base, ushering in a period of strong expansion. That led to the first rebrand, in 2003, which delivered a much more modern physical presence through BT branches and agencies, and coincided with a new management team — a new chapter in the bank’s story.
• A couple of years ago, we went through another rebrand at BT. We approached the brand consultant with some minor issues we felt on the identity side, mainly around visibility, but the consultant came back with proposals for radical changes. If previously our brand identity used a lot of yellow and we had a stylized shield, the new logo is more colorful. It’s more than a logo; it reflects the bank’s essence, our Romanian DNA. That’s a good thing, because people feel a certain affinity for local brands — at least in our industry, banking.
• I believe the new logo shifted certain perceptions of the Banca Transilvania brand, first and foremost around its modernity across the board. But it’s not enough to have a new brand identity; you have to back it up with business, marketing and tactics that take you where you want to be as a company. If you want to associate with the younger generation, for example, you partner with Untold. Previously the BT brand skewed towards a more mature audience, but now we have new opportunities for communication and associations.
• The biggest challenge in a rebrand is engaging all stakeholders, because in one way or another everyone is part of it and has contributed to its growth. Shareholders, clients and employees may feel very attached to the old brand and may not feel the same affinity for the new one. They want — and we want them — to be part of the brand story even when it’s a rebrand, and some of them need to be part of the process. That’s how we approached it.
• Design is subjective, and anyone can have an opinion when a new brand identity is unveiled.
• Our brand has three pillars: the bank’s name; the color palette and the icon; and the logo. We assess whether these add to or detract from the brand’s value.
• Every brand has a set of brand guidelines, with all the rules on how to use it. From our perspective, the guidelines should evolve periodically. All those rules are armor, but they can also prevent you from being flexible when exceptions are needed. If you have a sufficiently senior marketing team, it’s good for them to be empowered to make calls on exceptions, which can then be incorporated into the brand guidelines together with the brand consultant.
• In BT’s case, the most expensive part of the recent rebrand was replacing signage at more than 500 locations. For smaller brands, the biggest cost is the brand consultant, but I suggest not cutting corners here, because it’s essential for brand consistency.
• Brand communication vs tactical communication: success depends on the seniority of the team that coordinates things — a team the management trusts — and it also depends on the strength of the brand. Tactical communication is more impactful, of course, but you need both. The stronger the brand, the more tactical you can afford to be.

Smart Talks, #morethanbanking:

• A series of meet-ups for entrepreneurs, launched by BT and Smart Bill in March this year. These are open conversations with business owners and experts in fields closely linked to entrepreneurship.
• Smart Talks also has a community component, through donations by participants to specific projects and social causes.

Interested in the next Smart Talks meet-up? Keep an eye on the BT Facebook page or Smart Bill, where we announce these events and where you can also watch them live.

Here’s what Smart Talks have looked like so far:

• Smart Talks #3: How to build a brand and why it matters
• Smart Talks #2: Entrepreneurship, for real
• Smart Talks #1: Launch. Stories with and about entrepreneurship