Holistic brand development for Germany’s largest independent financial consulting firm.
Deutsche
Vermögensberatung – Rebranding with gmk.
In pole position since 2019: Deutsche Vermögensberatung. More than eight million customers put their trust in Germany’s largest independent financial consulting firm. But there are challenges: not only is the brand awareness relatively low and competition increasingly fierce, but the growing ‘war for talent’ has made a further, targeted optimisation of the entire brand identity appear as something whose time has come. The difficulty: the Deutsche Vermögensberatung brand has many different stakeholder groups. These include not only (potential) customers, but also the company’s 18,000 independent financial advisers, our office personnel, and people who are interested in entering the profession – and the brand must be compelling for all of them. A comprehensive brand and design relaunch was initiated. The aim: to raise and comprehensively modernise the brand’s profile and establish it as a driver of further growth.
The strategic foundation: a brand positioning that sets DVAG apart.
We joined forces with Deutsche Vermögensberatung to solidify the strategic foundation. Or, to put it another way, the brand architecture was simplified, the positioning was optimised, and an overarching communication strategy was established with messages that define principles for action. “Your coach for life” became the guiding principle for Deutsche Vermögensberatung.
Digital first: the new corporate design.
Powerful brand codes were developed on the basis of the brand values. And from these brand codes, a modern, flexible, digital corporate design concept was created with a distinctive typology and high level of recognisability. Another strength: it is easy to apply. This is important, because the employees and the more than 18,000 independent financial advisers employ this corporate design for a wide range of communication media.
Establishing the brand internally and externally.
Deutsche Vermögensberatung’s sizeable team and diverse communication channels call for a convincing and rigorous internal branding. Among the tools that can be used to achieve this are a brand sponsor programme and brand and design trainings. The brand is established within the company. And externally: key touchpoints for brand building include the more than 5,200 agencies and offices operated by independent financial advisers – the new brand image is implemented here. The relaunch is accompanied by communications, a measure that increases the brand’s range, efficiency and visibility.
Comprehensive service and support for brand utilisation.
Correct utilisation of the brand must be ensured and simplified to the greatest possible extent for all users, and tools are established for this purpose: a brand portal, a guideline library, and interactive multimedia training resources. A brand help desk serves as a central service point to assist with all questions having to do with the use of the brand. With all this in place, it was only logical that the Deutsche Vermögensberatung brand portal won the German Brand Award in Gold in 2022.
AWARD-WINNING
Deutsche Vermögensberatung has won the German Brand Award three times – for its comprehensive brand relaunch, its corporate design relaunch, and its brand portal:
- German Brand Award 2022: »Gold« in the category ‘Excellence in Brand Strategy and Creation – Internal Branding and Brand Academies’
- German Brand Award 2021: »Gold« in the category ‘Excellence in Brand Strategy and Creation – Brand Design – Corporate Brand
- German Brand Award 2021: »Winner« in the category ‘Excellent Brands – Banking and Financial Services’
