Coronation Merchant Bank can trace its heritage back to 1993, as a discount house – stimulating investments in the Nigerian economy, and helping to boost the money market. It secured a full merchant banking licence in 2015, and quickly added other licences to complete its product line up in order to provide world-class investment banking solutions, combined with local knowledge.
Coronation has established a strong financial performance and developed an effective network with local blue chip companies, based on trust and unparalleled service delivery. It already demonstrates industry leadership in responsible business practices.
Nucleus was commissioned to create a brand that encapsulates the bank’s strengths, supports its clear values, and provides a platform to consolidate its emerging reputation within the African banking sector.
Read the full case history here.
Our solution
Working closely with the bank’s senior management team, Nucleus consultants defined a positioning that blended global standards of talent, service excellence, innovative ideas and governance – enhanced by exceptional local knowledge. This was encapsulated in a brand promise: ‘local expertise: world-class solutions’.
The brand promise was brought to life with a supporting narrative and a brand identity that features a symbolic lion. This is a widely recognised symbol of Africa, yet it also typifies courage, leadership and intelligence. These traits will support the bank in becoming a respected, well-known and trusted brand.
The brand uses elegant typography, a restrained colour palette and a logical, structured approach to design and layout. The system has been designed to differentiate branded collateral from competitors and to communicate both innovation and excellence.
The brand architecture incorporates the subsidiary companies. Nucleus has completed a comprehensive range of guidelines, including: stationery and print; signs; promotional items; pitch books; employee communications; advertising and marketing collateral. Together, these define the character of the brand, which is being implemented to a high standard across all channels.
Nucleus also designed and built the group’s website. This communicates the ambition and competitive advantages of the group, and establishes a new benchmark within the Nigerian banking sector, and beyond.
Initial reaction
Onayimi Aiwerioghene, Head of Enterprise Management at Coronation Merchant Bank, said: ‘Our new brand is already signaling the arrival of a new force in the African financial services sector, and initial responses have been very positive. We are very optimistic about our business, reflected by our emergence as a leader in our local markets, whilst also offering a world-class set of products and services. In our opinion, the brand will be an important asset as we make rapid progress towards our vision'.
About Coronation Merchant Bank
An emerging regional capital markets powerhouse with a 49% capital adequacy ratio, Coronation Merchant Bank Group aspires to become Africa’s premier investment bank, and is already demonstrating industry leadership in responsible business practices.
The Group offers investment and corporate banking, private banking / wealth management and global markets / treasury services to its select clients. It also offers securities trading / brokerage, asset management and trustees services via its subsidiaries: Coronation Securities Limited, Coronation Asset Management Limited and Coronation Nominees and Trustee Limited, respectively. Coronation Merchant Bank has two branch offices in Abuja and Port Harcourt, and a head office in Lagos.