Global Private Bank

Over the course of a multiyear relationship, Gargiulo + Partners assisted this global financial services leader in forging brand identities for a range of client segments at its private bank. In collaboration with the firm, we developed a strategy to brand and upgrade the marketing materials of its most established client segment and created niche-specific communications for other, nascent practice areas.

In the established client segment – thanks in part to the unique research it conducted each year – the private bank had long been the industry leader. However, the firm’s leadership position was vulnerable, as competitors had begun emulating these research studies.

To protect and advance the bank’s position, we recommended a first for a private banking subgroup – developing and trademarking a brand name and logo for this suite of research products. To accomplish that we needed to enhance the content and format of the bank’s marketing materials. In partnership with a design agency, Gargiulo + Partners created the name and logo. We then applied the new visual identity to a completely overhauled suite of client materials that included an annual industry survey, customized segment reports, and quarterly industry snapshots.

We not only branded but also deepened the content of the group’s two highest-profile annual pieces. To the annual survey, we added an executive summary offering provocative analysis of industry trends. And we reinvented the customized reports, turning them from static spreadsheets to message-driven visual presentations with insights and clear conclusions. The feedback from the firm’s clients was swift and overwhelmingly positive. Our client fortified its leadership in the segment at a crucial time, staying ahead of its competitors. To sustain the group’s recognized thought leadership, we conceived and wrote pieces to help create a new branded index for the industry. In its first year, the index was acclaimed as a new benchmark and cited in numerous articles in The Wall Street Journal and other publications.

After the private bank’s success in cementing its image as a forward-looking firm in an established practice area, we turned to other client segments, advising on and writing materials to support client development. We created brochures, letters, presentations, and internal communications designed to educate bankers about the array of powerful new marketing tools at their disposal.