Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) has revealed a refreshed brand promise, telling Aotearoa New Zealand if you can imagine a better future, Let’s Find a Way.
BNZ CEO, Dan Huggins, says, “BNZ has always been here to help New Zealanders find a way. It’s at the heart of everything we do. It’s our expertise and connections. It’s our willingness to help and our ambition for a better future for our customers and for New Zealand.”
Mr Huggins says BNZ’s refreshed brand reflects BNZ’s place in New Zealand’s history and its focus on supporting customers and never standing still: “BNZ has always been a leader, delivering innovative ways to bank and do business. From offering gold smelting near the fields during the Otago gold rush in the 1860s, to leading the computerisation of deposits in the 1970s, to helping lead the introduction of ATMs and EFTPOS in the 1980s.
“That tradition of innovation continues today. Our Good2Grow loans and merchant service innovations have helped business grow through Covid. Every day our award-winning app is driving digital banking forward. We’re helping build a better future for Aotearoa and its communities through embedding sustainability in how we do business.”
In the coming months BNZ will also launch a foundation to support initiatives that help New Zealand communities thrive.
Mr Huggins says, “Whether we’re supporting New Zealanders to buy or renovate a home, to start or grow a business, to save for retirement, or embark on their financial journey, BNZ’s refreshed identity reflects our commitment to serve customers brilliantly and help New Zealand prosper.”
BNZ General Manager of Marketing and Design, Amy Phillips, says, “Finding a way embodies the work our people do every day and that BNZ has been doing for 160 years – helping customers navigate complexity, reach their goals and live their dreams.”
Ms Phillips says this is the first time in more than ten years that BNZ has refreshed its brand promise and identity. The key to the new brand – the Southern Cross or Mahutonga – is something that’s been in the logo for nearly 70 years.
“We have been working closely with leading Māori astronomer Dr. Rangiānehu Mātāmua to help us unleash the potential of the Southern Cross, or Mahutonga.
“Mahutonga is iconic. It was a key navigational waypoint for Polynesian migration more than a thousand years ago and is quintessentially New Zealand. Similarly, for more than 160 years we have been a trusted financial institution, an anchor New Zealanders can rely on to help navigate toward their goals,” she says.
The refreshed brand is now live in market, and BNZ is taking a non-traditional approach to the launch.
"We're starting with a small, simple launch of our brand promise to New Zealand, reflecting that 'Let's Find a Way' is more than a tagline. It drives the experience we deliver to our customers every day. We've focused our efforts on talking to our people about the amazing things they do that bring this to life every day, and there's more exciting work to share soon, including the launch of the BNZ Foundation," says Ms Phillips.
BNZ developed its new brand positioning in conjunction with Colenso BBDO.
Colenso BBDO Chief Innovation Officer and ECD, Maria Devereux, says, “‘Let’s find a way’ is a mindset that’s long sat at the core of the bank and the people who work there. It’s a proud moment for all of us at Colenso to help Bank of New Zealand claim this positioning. We’re excited to see the energy and innovation that comes from it.”
Colenso worked with FINCH and Assembly to produce the TV campaign.
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Be good with money
Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) has been a big part of New Zealand life for over 150 years since its foundation in 1861. The bank employs over 5,000 people and has more than 170 retail stores and 32 Partners business centres across the country.
Passionate about enabling a higher achieving New Zealand, BNZ works with personal, business, agri, and private wealth clients, helping them grow and make their goals a reality.
A subsidiary of the National Australia Bank Group of companies, BNZ is governed locally by a Board of Directors and strives to help New Zealanders be good with money.