How can a rebrand reconnect you with your best customers?

Everbank was one of the first digital banks, and had a strong reputation for taking care of demanding investors. But as an IPO approached, they needed a rebrand that would stick, where several past attempts hadn’t. The Ziba team worked to understand client expectations, but also paid special attention to employee values and behaviors as well. Several key insights came out of this effort, but most important was this: Everbank customers didn’t want a better relationship with their bank; they wanted a more direct relationship with their money.

Rebranding Everbank took more than a new visual style and a new website. We also worked with employees throughout the organization, facilitating workshops to clarify current behaviors and training brand ambassadors. And we collaborated to come up with a strong vision of what on-brand service and an ideal client journey looked like at Everbank, across all touchpoints and business units.

The rebrand gave Everbank a true North Star—a brand vision that could be stress-tested and scaled up throughout the organization. Nearly a decade later it’s still going strong, embraced by employees and customers alike. Maybe that explains their impressive growth numbers: between 2012 and 2017, Everbank shares increased by more than 58% and assets more than doubled from $13B to $27.8B, resulting in an acquisition by TIAA.