Landor Associates partners with FlexiGroup to launch brand strategy for new credit card ‘Skye’
Landor Australia has partnered with diversified financial services company, FlexiGroup, to create a new brand strategy and identity for its interest free credit card called ‘Skye’, that aims to help consumers get control of their finances.
Daye Moffitt, Executive Director of Strategy, Landor Australia talked to the client’s challenge – consumers were using their credit card for one-off financing of certain high-value items, but then never using it again, with no clear explanation for the choice.
Says Moffitt: “At Landor, we aim to get to the heart of our client’s business issues by talking to real people and truly understanding what makes consumers tick. So our first step was to speak to a broad cross section of people including entrepreneurs, psychologists and every day consumers. These conversations quickly exposed the negative feelings associated with credit financing – fear, guilt, shame. Our aim was to design a product to give back control and flexibility to consumers and take away the negativity associated with credit financing.”
Rebranded to ‘Skye’, FlexiGroup’s interest free credit card is designed to help consumers easily manage and control day-to-day or unexpected repayments, offering 90 days payback on any purchase – vs. the standard 60 days – and flexible, longer term repayment options dependent on individual consumer’s needs.
Says Tom Carey, creative director, Landor Australia said “The crux of our strategy was to create a design solution that mimics the benefits of Skye, thereby reducing the stress related to finance, and helping people to breathe easy.”
“We filmed ourselves breathing and mapped the motion across the brand. From the logo, to the photography and iconography, we replicated the measured movement – creating a breathing brand. The result, a brand identity that humanises a traditionally cold and corporate finance product and encourages consumers to take charge of their finances in a way that suits them.
5 Comments
THEY TALKED TO CUSTOMERS YOU GUYSS!!!!
Big breakthrough; Credit card = guilt.
I rate Landor a lot.
But I think branding agencies need to get away from trying to align creative / conceptual design ideas (eg recording people breathing and mapping it across the VIS) as being able to achieve strategic business or brand objectives (eg customers thinking they are more in charge of their finances).
it doesn’t make sense.
Not hating, just observing. As I said, Landor is one of the best
@eh? – respectfully, why do you say that?
Its no ones god given right to do or not do something. I like the fact agencies are trying to more than their core activity
Surely if its of value to the client, then that’s all that matters.
Respectfully, that’s a myopic perspective.
A creative direction relies on the strategic business objectives. Without that, you’re flying blind.
If a brand agency can’t help achieve branding objectives as you say, then what are they doing?
@thuglife and @eh?
My comment wasn’t about agencies doing more than their core activity – I dont really have an opinion on that in this case.
It was about the comment in the press release that seemed to suggest that the concept behind the design solution (eg recording breathing and applying some sort of visual interpretation of that into this identity) has any impact on the market perceiving this bank as one that will ‘encourage consumers to take charge of their finances in a way that suits them.’
I dont feel anuone will look at this and go ‘Ah, I see that this logo and design solution was created by a visual interpretation of the motion of breathing. I equate the motion of breathing with a humanised financial product. Skye must therefore be a humanised financial product and therefore give me more control, flexibility etc etc”
I’m not hating the work – it looks good to me. I would just like to hear more valid and commanding explanations behind how design solution meets strategic objectives. I dont think this is doing that.