Originally chartered by New Jersey Department of Transportation employees, Credit Union of New Jersey (CU of NJ) had no idea whether they had any name or brand equity. They just knew that their member acquisition initiatives were falling flat, as were net deposits and loan growth. Through extensive research—both internal and external—we uncovered a negative interpretation to their existing brand, not so much the name itself. The generic, bureaucratic, but meek logo and color palette was exacerbated by the lack of any value proposition. And, none of this even began to showcase what a vibrant, retail-friendly financial institution the credit union really was. CU of NJ desperately needed to rediscover themselves.

That’s where Raoust+Partners came in. While we did explore possible new names early on, it became clear in our research that if we could tie the whole state to what is essentially a Ewing Township/Trenton credit union, we could position it as a much larger financial institution—especially since they serve state and municipal employees statewide. That core constituency of state and municipal employees also dictated the importance of doubling down on their name. The big difference, though, was in the presentation of the credit union. The bold, dynamic new logo and saturated color palette serves as a foundation to underscore their value proposition—The freedom to prosper.