Bankia

New:  Company, name, and visual identity

Launched:  2 March, 2011

Story in brief:
"Bankia" is the newly-named merger of seven regional Spanish savings banks, to become Spain's third-ranking banking institution, and with a 10% share, a claim to leadership in domestic business. It all came together in just four months, from contract signing last 30 June to legal incorporation 3 December.  From there, it was just three more months to the 2 March identity launch –  so Interbrand's naming and design teams, managed from its Madrid office, had to move fast.

Bankia is justifiably proud to have come upon a name so "simple, direct, dynamic" ... and  just different enough to be ownable. It is an instant powerbrand.

But the story of this new brand is not really a naming story, even less a design story -- it is an intellectual property coup.  "Bankia" was the favored name among 100 finalists presented by Interbrand.  It is so preemptive; how could it possibly be available? Preliminary search revealed it to have been registered to a Bankia Bank founded in Norway in 2001, but then acquired by Santandar in 2005. That was the year Santandar went monolithic, rebranding subsidiaries like Abbey (and Bankia) as Santandar.  Well, European Union law says that a trademark unused for five years is void –  so sometime in 2010, "Bankia" became fair game. Nailing it was  a brilliant stroke of good fortune.

Given a short and distinctive name to work with, the logo designer is well advised to make the name the hero, rather than distracting the eye and mind with a symbol. That's why Borja Borrero, Interbrand's creative director, recommended a wordmark. This one is relatively straightforward, with gently serifed letterforms, a distinctive B, plus an N-K ligature.  Its visual impact relies on color, more than form –  a bright lime green that Bankia can own in the category, often to be used on a dark 'mahogony' field.

Here's the three-minute identity launch film, introduced by Rato on 2 March. In the following week, banners or posters appeared at over 4,000 branches and 7,500 ATMs, kicking off a gradual process of migration from the seven reginoal brands. On 16 March a month-long multimedia advertising blast began, introducing "the first bank in the new age of banking."
 

                                                Launch event 2 March, at Valencia's Palace of the Arts
 

Credits:
C.E.O. - Rodrige Rato, Presidente Ejetutivo
Naming & design - Interbrand (Madrid);  creative director Borja Borrero

First Impressions:
Strategy:  A good fit of  identity planning (including the assertive launch campaign) to an aggressive business strategy, both characterized by "thinking big" and moving fast.
Naming: Brilliant, or just lucky? Doesn't matter. 
Design:    Lively and friendly and functionally effective (though for me, esthetically less so;  the B and NK compete for attention, also clash in personality; the B feels softly 'Moderne,' the NK ligature more starkly Modern).