Bank of America's CMO breaks down its new rebrand, including its biggest logo change in 20 years

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Bank of America has kicked off a campaign to tout its new brand positioning and logo.
The brand refresh comes five years after the company launched a brand overhaul in 2013 in a bid to recover from its reputation taking a hit due to the financial crisis.
"Purpose" has been a common theme among advertisers recently, with Ancestry and FedEx both also touting their brand purpose in recent campaigns.

The Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears were not the only ones taking the NFL stage on Sunday night. Joining them during the commercial breaks was Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, as the face of the financial giant's new 60-second TV spot.

The ad, in which the usually low-key exec can be seen straightening his tie and making his way through New York City, kicks off a campaign to reflect the company's new brand positioning. The refresh is centered around the tagline, "What would you like the power to do?," and puts the spotlight on Bank of America's customers, rather than its products.

"Over the past few years, we have focused our marketing efforts on the strength of our products and services perhaps at the expense of our brand purpose," Bank of America's CMO, Meredith Verdone, told Business Insider. "This is to remind people who we are, and what we stand for."

"Purpose" has been a common theme among advertisers recently, with Ancestry and FedEx both also touting their brand purpose in recent campaigns. For Bank of America specifically, the refresh marks the latest effort to put the focus on its customers. The company has been trying to deliver more personalized solutions to its customers, such as with the content series "Better Money Habits," for example.

More broadly, the campaign marks the next stage of the brand overhaul the company launched back in 2013 in a bid to recover from its reputation taking a hit in the wake of the financial crisis, Verdone said. While the bank was struggling to find new ways to drive growth back then, it has been on an upward trajectory off late, with $22.8 billion in revenue in the third quarter of 2018.

Still, the essence of its brand purpose — making financial lives better through the power of every connection — hasn't changed since 2013, she said.

"We want to be looking at how we can continue to be relevant in the environment we’re in," she said. "Our purpose stays the same, but the expression has changed. It's an evolution, not a revolution."

But not everything remains consistent. The brand's flagscape logo has gotten its biggest update since being introduced 20 years ago in 1998, to reflect a more modern brand that delivers "both cutting-edge technology and high-touch solutions for clients." The latest iteration of the logo has a new typeface, and the brand name in caps.

The broader campaign, which also features actor Matt Damon and fashion designer Tory Burch promoting their charity work with the bank, was created by ad agencies Hill Holliday and Super Union. It will continue to run during the holiday season across television, including during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It will also run on print, digital, mobile and social media.

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