Neuberger Berman

The Challenge

With an IPO in the works, Neuberger Berman’s objective was to gain a new brand identity and brand architecture, in order to focus attention on the company ahead of the buyout. The challenge was to create a brand that reflected the well-established reputation the firm had generated while conveying a growing, optimistic and forward-thinking culture.

What we did

Revitalized the look and feel of the brand to create strong brand identity to underscore the optimistic, innovative, future focused strategy by leverage their most valuable assets, their “superstar” fund managers. Aligning the brand strategy to boost the positioning of “superstar” fund managers ensured the company had a personal face to made strong connections with their target audience, both institutional and private clients.

The creative direction was clear, we had to develop a brand design to stimulate the sense of rapport with their clients. It needed to have a personal feel to provide both sets of investors with an immediate sense of the highly customized, hands-on service that Neuberger Berman offered. Using a flexible grid system as the foundation for a clear overall brand identity, it was then extended to incorporate Neuberger Berman's 3 sub-brands: Retail, Institutional, and ISS. Each sub-brand retained it’s own individuality, using a specific color palette and original photography. We then revamped the entire corporate identity, stationary, signage and marketing and communications materials. Created a new, easy to navigate website and developed their digital platform.

Results

While Lehman Brothers eventually went on to buy the company before it went public, the success of the brand was proven by Lehman’s desire to maintain the Neuberger Berman identity as a separate brand rather than roll it into the Lehman Brothers brand umbrella. The Neuberger Berman brand has successfully outlived Lehman Brothers. Not only did our work successfully raised brand awareness, it substantially increased Neuberger Berman’s brand equity.

Visit Neuberger Berman’s website at www.nb.com