The upside of financial services: How storytelling can form connective brands
When people think about the term “financial services,” they might first think about banks. They might envision a big concrete building with overbearing columns (see Gringott’s Bank in Harry Potter) or their local drive-thru where they received DumDum suckers through the magical portal tube as a kid.
Financial services typically point to wealth management, investment banks, and accounting firms. There are also real estate and insurance companies. These are more traditional finance outlets. And then there’s the fast-growing fintech industry. What do they all have in common? They all help people put money to good use. But traditionally, financial services exist to help people with money make more money without having to do a ton of work.
But what else is out there putting money to good use? In a different (and perhaps more equitable) way? Over the past year, we’ve worked with a handful of clients in the financial services sector that are making money make change. One is a Community Development Financial Institute (CDFI), one is a crowdfunded equity platform, and one is a venture capital foundation. All of them also happen to be B Corps. Each needed different types of branding work to help them better communicate their mission or initiative. But for all three, we focused on one branding element to do the job: storytelling.
Southern Bancorp (CDFI, B Corp)
There are banks and there’s Southern Bancorp. Just like a traditional financial institution, you can open a checking account or apply for a house or business loan or drive through and get a DumDum. But as a Community Development Financial Institute (CDFI) — a different kind of financial service — Southern helps underserved families and communities get better and fairer access to wealth. Instead of automatically turning away the unqualified, they empower people through credit counseling and public policy advocacy.
We are partnering with Southern Bancorp on an ongoing brand project. To get started, we went to “see the work.” We wanted a complete immersion into the Delta culture — to do a deep dive into the characters, the setting, the landmarks, the oral history. While we didn’t see all 56 branches and interview all 600employees, we did tag along for several hundred miles to witness what banking means to this region. We heard story after story of Southern helping underserved individuals and communities build stronger financial foundations. They are redefining wealth for communities that have been left out of the traditional definition.
Stay tuned for our work with Southern Bancorp.
First Dollar Initiative (VC foundation, B Corp)
People connect with people through stories. Access Ventures is a private operating foundation focused on building a more inclusive and creative economy. They’ve gotten really good at exposing the real stories of the systemic and institutional barriers to traditional financing for Black and brown entrepreneurs. Through a regional venture capital fund and investment strategy, they developed the First Dollar Initiative as one way to increase access to capital for underserved entrepreneurs. They give $5,000, no strings attached, to new entrepreneurs of color who don’t have the capital to get their dreams off the ground.
But in order to inspire buy-in and a wider participation in the initiative, Access Ventures needed to share the success stories from those who received funding for their small businesses. We took on the job of interviewing and gathering stories and stats to create a playbook to share and empower other cities and organizations to do the same. From a college student’s realized dream of starting a fashion line to a customer service representative’s passion to put quality greens in urban communities to a couple’s drive to educate young people about their finances, the stories are the proof that the First Dollar Initiative can work.
Read the case study and download the playbook.
Wefunder (Crowd funded equity platform, B Corp)
When it comes to finding and raising capital for a new business, there’s usually not a one-size-fits-all approach. Especially for small businesses. The reality is that only 1% of new businesses ever raise venture capital, and only 16% secure traditional bank financing. But when there is a blended capital strategy, we have a better chance at building a thriving ecosystem and to meet entrepreneurs where they are.
Access Ventures collaborated with the leading crowdfunded equity platform, Wefunder, to deploy the nation’s first Community Round matching fund to unlock creative ways to support founders, catalyze new investment within the regions, and grow a larger community of micro-angel investors excited to support local entrepreneurs. We partnered with their teams to design another playbook to empower others. And again, we focused on storytelling. We helped bring these entrepreneurs’ stories to life in a visually engaging and humanizing way to inspire others. Readers were able to put faces to the founders and feel the impact on everyday businesses, communities, and livelihood.
Read the case study and download the playbook.
Conclusion
So, there’s clearly another side to financial services. A side that serves a wider population of people, not just the rich. We love working with both sides. And when we build brands through the lens of storytelling, these organizations and initiatives can connect with real people and make money make real change.
Are you part of a financial institution that has a story to tell? Let’s talk.
