Cadence Bank

Below: Before and After Images in Slide Show, Videos, Summary, Credits

Cadence Bank and BancorpSouth were strong regional players in financial services, competing against smaller community banks as well as industry powerhouses. The companies were in many respects complementary and in 2021, they joined forces.

The challenge for the new Cadence Bank brand was to make the organization stand out as something new and different in an industry where clear differentiation is difficult to achieve. It also had to unify the organization while retaining the strong equity of both legacy brands in terms of visual identity, products, customer service and culture.

Extensive research revealed common ground: a warm, personal approach distinct from many financial services companies. This led to the core positioning concept of “ease” that runs through every Cadence relationship and serves as a strategic operating principle.

The brand’s creative expression establishes a friendly, optimistic personality, punctuated by an uplifting sonic identity. It shows that Cadence is relationship-driven and people-focused, with a right-sized mentality. The new logo is recognizably tied to both legacy brands while also being fresh, dynamic and distinctive – a balance that enables customers to see and recognize the bank they know while drawing attention to what’s new.

Brand rollout was supported by an extensive and well-received communications and employee engagement initiative including a “train the trainer” program, which proved instrumental in focusing attention on Cadence Bank culture and the critical part that employees play in building the new brand.

To date, the brand has generated an overwhelmingly positive response from thousands of employees and customers, and has been a driver of awareness, conversion and tangible growth: According to the Houston Business Chronicle, of the top 10 largest banks in the Houston area Cadence was the only one to increase its deposits over the last year.

Cadence Bank (NYSE: CADE) is currently a leading regional banking franchise with approximately $50 billion in assets and over 350 branch locations across the South and Texas.