Bankwest Refreshes Logo With AKQA
Digital bank Bankwest has worked with AKQA to revitalise its logo, ahead of the launch of a national brand campaign led by Bear Meets Eagle on Fire.
In October, LBB revealed BMEOF had won the Commonwealth Bank subsidiary. The Western Australian-based brand was previously serviced by a bespoke agency run out of WPP and essenceMediacom called Union, set up in 2018. For the duration of the partnership, Union has iterated on the 'Bank Less' platform it introduced six years ago, which has featured a distinct array of animated characters.
Bear Meets Eagle on Fire has been tasked with creating and launching a new brand platform and vision for the brand.
Bankwest's updated logo (top) and old logo (bottom)
Ahead of that launch, Bankwest has kicked off the brand and customer experience overhaul with the launch of a new logo, app, and website. It said the launches are part of an ambition to be Australia's favourite digital bank and grow its eastern states customer base. More than half its customers are based in Australia's eastern states.
EY Future Friendly is leading the CX re-design, including a refreshed app with an updated home screen and a 'money' tab to view transactions, new search functionality, and a 'property' tab for home loan information. WPP's AKQA worked on the logo redesign.
"We've conducted hundreds of hours of testing with customers and non-customers across Australia and we know there's a significant segment of the market looking for a simpler, less complicated relationship with their bank," said Bankwest's chief digital officer Eleanor Bensley.
"These Australians are telling us they want just the right amount of bank in their lives, one that's working hard behind the scenes to help them manage their money, while they focus on what’s important in their lives.
“Our Bankwest team has started with a blank sheet to re-design and build from scratch a refreshing and distinctive banking app, website and set of end-to-end experiences with our customers that we hope they’ll love."
EY Future Friendly leader, Nick Gower, added, “Our EY Future Friendly project team has spent 12 months in ongoing collaboration with Bankwest customers and non-customers, including quantitative studies, one-on-one sessions and field research, to understand their banking needs and help provide experiences they will value.
“It’s been fantastic to work with Bankwest as it has redesigned and rebuilt its app, website and signature experiences from the ground up, hand in hand with customers, so that everything is designed from the customer perspective.”
Bankwest noted it will launch the new brand platform and marketing campaign later this year to "reposition Bankwest in the national banking sector with a fresh, distinct identity and proposition to customers across Australia."
Bankwest's general manager of customer, marketing and communications Jodene Murphy, said, “Our aim is to create a digital banking experience that truly stands out in the Australian financial services landscape, and which is designed to meet the needs of a growing number of customers and brokers nationwide.
“We have exciting plans to deliver refreshing and distinctive digital banking experiences in our app and website and we’re really looking forward to unveiling our new national brand campaign in 2025.”
Jodene said last year of BMEOF's appointment, "We're really looking forward to telling our story in a way that's as distinctive and engaging as the digital banking innovations we're creating for our current and future customers across Australia."
At the time, Bankwest told LBB it would continue to work with other agency partners alongside Bear Meets Eagle on Fire.
