In 2022, Norwood Bank and Foxboro Federal Savings merged and decided to adopt a new brand identity. Both have been strong, neighboring community banks for well over a century. The new brand needed to reflect this local history and focus, while also pointing the way forward to a vital new era.
It’s not easy to thread that needle, so the bank engaged Stackpole to help create its new identity. The key step was holding a series of Brand Workshops with associates of both banks. Stackpole led them through various exercises to elicit their ideas and define the essence of the new organization. This process yielded critical insights and helped associates feel they had a stake in the new branding.
To ensure that internal and external impressions were in sync, Stackpole also conducted customer interviews and a market analysis. These confirmed that associates and customers were very much on the same page. Participants generally saw both banks as valued independent financial partners, critical community resources, and generous contributors to local causes. The new name clearly needed to honor this shared heritage
One phrase jumped out of the Brand Workshops: bank associates and customers often referred to themselves as “everyday people” – hardworking, unpretentious, practical. Armed with these learnings, the Stackpole creative team went to work.
In early 2023, the bank introduced its new name: OneLocal. It reinforces the bank’s intention to remain a proudly local resource for the Norwood-Foxboro area. Yet it also leaves room to expand to other locations, and creatively address local customers wherever they may be. This identity is accompanied by a new descriptor, “Everyday Banking.” It reflects the bank’s pragmatic, problem-solving self-image, and its commitment to meet the specific financial needs of each customer, every day.
This process, which took about eight months, resulted in a fresh new identity rooted in insights from a range of stakeholders – and the skills of a marketing partner that knows how to translate them into a compelling brand solution.
