Bank Branding: Ideas, Inspiration & Best Practices

In a crowded and competitive market, strong bank branding is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s a necessity. As the banking industry continues to evolve, institutions must find new ways to stand out, stay relevant, and connect with their customers. While many banks have embraced digital transformation and marketing innovation, building a powerful brand remains one of the most effective ways to drive growth and loyalty.

Unlike broader financial services firms, banks face a unique set of challenges and opportunities when it comes to branding—from legacy perceptions and regulatory constraints to shifting customer expectations and rising digital-first competitors. That’s why investing in a clear, consistent, and compelling brand identity is essential.

At Vested, we partner with our bank branding clients to build the best brand possible. In this article, we’ll explore the key components of successful bank branding, including focusing on your audience, visual identity, tone of voice, and customer experience. We’ll also share insights into how a financial branding agency can help bring your brand to life, and keep it relevant for years to come.

• Bank Branding 101
• Bank Branding Tips & Best Practices
• How to Create a Bank Brand Kit
• 3 of the Best Bank Branding Examples

Bank Branding 101

What Is Bank Branding?

Bank branding is the process of creating a memorable and trustworthy identity – including personality, values, and traits. This builds customer confidence and loyalty with the bank. In the digital era, businesses can’t compete without a strong brand identity.

Why Is Branding So Important for Banks?

You already have a marketing budget for ads, so why does there need to be a focus on brand? Well, the average consumer sees around 10,000 ads per day. That means that just running ads doesn’t come close to cutting it. Even with expert targeting and large budgets, the ads you run must stand out and be memorable. This is where your brand comes into play.

Taking an honest look at your brand and improving it is a powerful way to set your bank apart from other organizations. A bank’s brand can be the single most influential differentiator and an essential way to create new member relationships. The balance is developing a brand that is distinct and unique, but it should still feel like a trustworthy financial institution.

Bank Branding Tips & Best Practices

While bank branding is important, it doesn’t need to be overly complicated or overwhelming. By implementing these tips and best practices, you can feel confident, knowing that you are on your way to building a strong bank brand.

Focus on Your Target Audience   

Everything about your marketing strategy, including your bank brand, should revolve around your target audience. Make sure you understand what their goals are, what they are looking for in a bank, and what they like and dislike about your competitors (and you!). Once you have a clear picture of your target audience, your brand can adapt to make sure you are addressing them across all platforms. 

Make Everything Easy

Your customers want convenience, however, they still need to be able to trust that your bank is reputable and confident in your services. Communicating to your target audience that working with your bank is easy will immediately start to win them over.

Aim to Connect

People look to work with companies that they can relate to and trust. This includes banks. Your goal should be to make a connection with your target audience so that they feel comfortable trusting you with their hard-earned money – which is often the most important factor in customer decision-making. 

Examples of Effective Bank Branding

The following case studies highlight how strategic branding can help banks define their identity, connect with target audiences, and stand out in a competitive market.

Battle Bank

The Brand: Battle Bank is a bold new entrant in the banking sector, inspired by the rugged spirit of Battle Mountain. Its brand identity emphasizes simplicity, clarity, and a pioneering ethos, aiming to cut through the noise of traditional banking with a fresh, straightforward approach. The bank seeks to resonate with customers looking for transparent and innovative financial solutions.

The Approach: Vested collaborated closely with Battle Bank’s founders to build the brand from the ground up. This comprehensive process included developing a suite of logos, establishing brand guidelines, creating original imagery and iconography, and designing email templates and social media assets. A launch website was also constructed to provide information about upcoming products and services, introduce the founding team, and serve as a platform for prospective customers to join the bank’s waitlist. Additionally, Vested produced custom content, such as email templates for the bank’s waitlist and “Founders Circle,” and implemented a fully integrated PR and social media strategy to build Battle Bank’s profile.

Why It Works: Vested’s holistic branding strategy effectively translated Battle Bank’s vision into a cohesive and compelling brand identity. By focusing on simplicity and authenticity, the branding cuts through industry noise and resonates with target audiences. The integrated approach, combining visual design, content creation, digital presence, and strategic communications, ensures consistent messaging and engagement across all platforms, fostering trust and interest among potential customers.

Read the Case Study: Battle Bank

Masthaven

The Brand: Masthaven is a UK-based specialist challenger bank that distinguishes itself through personalized financial services, notably human underwriting and strong client relationships. Despite its innovative approach, two years after its launch, Masthaven sought to refresh its brand to better connect with its dual external audiences, as well as internal stakeholders. The bank’s internal research highlighted a robust employer brand that needed to be more effectively communicated externally, emphasizing the strength and personalization offered by the Masthaven team.

The Approach: Vested collaborated with Masthaven to undertake a comprehensive brand refresh. This involved in-depth analysis of mortgage brokers’ needs and the development of a new visual identity that balanced traditional finance with a youthful energy. Key elements included selecting new fonts, creating a warm color palette, and developing unique double-exposure photography to highlight customer aspirations. Vested also applied the new brand guidelines across digital and print collateral, including business stationery and product guides, and designed a new website optimized for both desktop and mobile devices.

Why It Works: Vested’s holistic branding strategy effectively translated Masthaven’s internal strengths into a cohesive and compelling external brand identity. By focusing on personalization and human connection, the rebrand resonated with both retail savers and mortgage brokers. The integrated approach ensured consistent messaging and engagement across all platforms, fostering trust and interest among potential customers.

Read the Case Study: Masthaven

How to Create a Bank Brand Kit

There are many areas of a bank brand that must be addressed, which is why bank brand kits were created. Many find a bank brand kit helpful in organizing and creating cohesion for the business. This resource essentially contains the “rules” of your brand and makes sure that brand consistency is applied across all channels. 

Brand Strategy 

Creating a successful branding strategy for banks is a nuanced process. As previously mentioned, it involves establishing a trustworthy and memorable image while setting yourself apart from competitors. There should be a focus on conveying reliability, security, and expertise. This includes crafting a compelling brand message that speaks to the needs and aspirations of your target audience. Consistency in visual identity, messaging, and customer interactions is vital to building trust. 

Using digital marketing and social media can expand your reach and engagement. It’s important to remember that ongoing monitoring and adaptation are key. Bank brands must stay up to date on changing market dynamics and customer expectations to adapt their strategies accordingly. A well-executed branding strategy can solidify the reputation and success of banks in a competitive industry.

Brand Identity

Creating an identity for your bank brand is a major part of creating a brand strategy. Your bank brand identity will include your origin story, who you are, and what your business stands for. It should embody your company’s visions, goals, and core values. It will showcase your brand’s personality and should be compelling and displayed in a way that your target audience will remember and relate to. This is the voice of your brand, who it would be if it was a person. Building a relatable brand identity helps customers identify with you more readily.

Brand Kit Materials

Every brand kit includes certain features that make your brand identity your own. Think: each part of the kit plays a part in defining your brand identity. 

Logo

• A logo is the visual representation of your company. It’s what people will see and use to immediately identify you. Choosing a logo is just as important as choosing your name. You can include images in a logo design, just initials, or your company’s entire name.
• A brand’s logo grabs attention, should be memorable, and also sets you apart from your competitors. It will communicate your brand’s quality and values.
• The brand kit should not just contain your logo and approved variations, but also specific rules guiding usage and alteration.

Colors

• Establishing trademark colors will also be an important part of your brand and how customers will recognize your company. It will help you achieve a consistent look and feel, creating familiarity and trust. There is often one main color and usually a secondary (and sometimes tertiary) color used for accents. 
• Explore the meaning of colors and what colors make sense for your brand. Find an object or atmosphere that inspires you. These colors should be visually pleasing and also work together. Colors can have different meanings, convey different messages, and create different moods, so it is important to consider how they connect to your brand.

Typography

• The brand identity includes the company’s font and spacing of letters and words. This is another element that must maintain consistency across all channels. First and foremost, the font should be clear and easy to read. Choosing the right font can give the impression of sophistication and a more professional appearance. You can have one primary font and a few secondary fonts, making sure that they complement each other. 

Iconography

• Iconography is the use of visual images, symbols or figures to represent your bank, or the complex ideas, subjects or themes behind it. Your brand iconography will be the image that is immediately associated with your bank. 

Imagery

• Brand imagery defines the aesthetic appearance of your brand’s core messaging. It is a visual story-telling component of your brand identity. Imagery doesn’t just include photographs. Your brand can use illustrations, icons and symbols, charts and graphs, video, color, and (very popular on social media today) infographics.  
• Choosing the right images for your brand is another way to incorporate cohesion within your brand. The old saying is true: “A picture is worth a thousand words.” The images you choose to represent your company will have an immediate impression, faster than any words your target audience will read. These choices matter.

Now It’s Your Turn

You’ve got the basics covered and understand the importance of a bank brand and what it can do for your business. It’s all about creating that trustworthy and memorable identity that your customers can connect to. Your goal will always be to reach your target audience where they are – their goals, needs, and interests.

A bank brand kit includes many different areas and can help you become strong and consistent across all platforms. If you are ready to revisit your brand and want it done at a high-end level, Vested’s branding and marketing team is here to make it happen for you.