Before the Brand Grows Stale: ok, you've got a brand. But, as market conditions and customer attitudes shift, it may be time to refresh. Here's the story of how Litchfield Bancorp in Connecticut went through a brand updating.

• Author: Albro, Walt
• Position: Litchfield Bancorp - Company overview

During the last two years, the Great Recession has caused some sharp modifications both in the marketplace and in consumer attitudes. Some banks refreshed their brand because external conditions were threatening to weaken it or make it obsolete.

Such a brand re-evaluation is designed to align it more closely with today's conditions and to better position the institution to take advantage of tomorrow's expected situations.

An example of a financial services institution that recently underwent a comprehensive brand reinvigoration is Litchfield Bancorp (assets: $209 million), a mutual savings bank in the town of Litchfield, in the northwest corner of Connecticut. The bank's experience illustrates a brand refreshment process designed to endure and serve as a useful springboard for future marketing.

Litchfield Bancorp is one of three independent banks with different names that are affiliates of Connecticut Mutual Holding Co. The banks have contiguous market areas in the state's northwest, which is an area of small, rural towns that are also popular communities for urbanites to maintain second homes. The town of Litchfield, which has a population of about 8,000, is a 1.5-hour drive from the city of New York. The bank is 160 years old and has five locations and about 40 employees.

Litchfield Bancorp began its brand rejuvenation two years ago. "We felt that it was time," says Mark E. Macomber, president and CEO. The brand had not been reviewed for a number of years and, although the bank's positioning did not need to be modified, there was room for a brand "enhancement" to give a more effective approach to customers, he explains.

Litchfield Bancorp has traditionally had a good reputation, loyal customers and a strong marketing presence, notes Wendy Gladstein, principal of In-House Marketing LLC, Litchfield, a marketing company that has worked with the bank for 18 years. The existing brand, which had been based on research done years ago, used the slogan, "Always in your corner." "We felt that things in the environment had changed, and the brand had weakened over time," says Gladstein.

Specifically, the financial problems on Wall Street had changed public perceptions about banks, especially large banks. Although Litchfield is a community bank, most consumers were not making the distinction between big and small. "We were getting tainted by the same broad brush," Gladstein says. "Our goal was to maintain the equity of the bank's reputation while forging a strategy for future growth."

Below are the six steps in the brand rejuvenation process that Litchfield Bancorp underwent.

Step One: Discovery

The bank hired a...