Company insight
SPF Private Clients provide mortgage advice, wealth management and insurance broking services to high net worth clients. Formed in 2011 after a management buyout and rebrand of Savills Private Finance, the financial arm of Savills plc, in 2018 Cabot Square Capital acquired a majority stake in the business. Howden, the London-based international insurance broker, announced in 2022 the signing of the acquisition of SPF Private Clients.
For their expert brokers, no situation is too complicated – and their market knowledge means they find solutions where others can’t. They have exceptional lender relationships across the UK and globally, enabling them to negotiate the best mortgage rates for each clients situation.
Goals
SPF Private Clients mortgage advice, wealth management and insurance broking services firm commissioned Goldmine Media to work with them on a brand relaunch—the first major effort in over five years. The last initiative used the existing tagline, “We make it happen.,” which remained but this was essentially a new campaign.
The rebranding needed to be bigger and broader, designed to communicate the transformation of the company and to refocus on mortgage advice, wealth management and insurance broking services for high net worth clients as its core business. After a decade, SPF Private Clients was ready to show that transformation to the outside world and use the brand relaunch to further drive change.
Challenge
As part of an internal strategic transformation, the brief to Goldmine Media was to retain the SPF Private Clients existing brand heritage but to evolve this to reflect a brand personality that was more human, modern, and different.
We used a myriad of different components as part of the rebranding process to market to the SPF Private Clients’ primary target – wealthy individuals – and position itself against other competitors in the sector. The new rebrand identity marks the next stage in the reshaping of the business and future-focused growth strategy to engage with all existing client and prospective clients channels.
Process
After months of research an internal campaign followed to create and align the entire business around the new brand direction driven by client understanding. Creating a new “brand house style” enables all the business divisions to market in one way.
The process has provided SPF Private Clients with a very clear direction of how to market its services going forward.
- The logo creates an identity that feels contemporary, but maintains the brand heritage - it is the most valuable brand asset and is a graphical representation of the company.
- Each sub-brand presents an opportunity to represent the master SPF Private Clients brand to a specific audience and sector.
- The logo is easy to read and understand, simple and timeless and easily reproduced in various formats and sizes with the intention of withstanding the test of time to remain relevant for years to come.
- The main typeface introduced is Butler, a serif typeface that can be paired with Minion Pro, Proxima Nova and Cervanttis to showcase the brand.
- Lifestyle pictures interact with the copy for compelling word-image stories.
- Each picture used helps to shape an emotional connection with the SPF Private Clients audience, based on people in real-life situations.
- The predominantly white brand design is clear and simple.
- The rebrand presents SPF Private Clients as thoughtful, contemporary and empathetic people who provide excellent mortgage advice, wealth management and insurance broking services to high net worth clients.
Evolution
Goldmine Media are continually developing and evolving the SPF Private Clients brand guidelines as well as internal and external marketing media.
We’ve worked closely with SPF Private Clients’ on evolving the brand design to capture the forward-looking attitude of the business. We continue to develop the concept for messages: get attention first, then tell more in simple words. This has been the formal basis for the new tone of voice.
