Description of the problem
Saramad Bazar Portfolio Management Company is one of the players in Iran’s capital market, which provides portfolio management and investment services to various audiences. This company previously entered the market with a focus on business markets (B2B) and served large customers and companies. The essence of the B2B market, despite its complexities, had given this brand the opportunity to show its capabilities well in negotiations and establish a deep relationship with customers. But with the expansion of the activities of that group as well as the business strategies based on the development of the audience, it was decided that Sarmad will enter the market of final investors and provide services to real investors as well.
It is obvious that a major part of branding in companies active in the capital market is created for corporate leaders through a deep relationship between company representatives and customers. This causes that sometimes the customer-brand relationship is limited to the relationship between the representatives and when the colleagues move, the customers also move. But in the field of B2C, this pattern is different. Audiences in this field first choose the brand of the service group and then use the services of that group. Therefore, the main challenge of this project was to draw a branding path to expand it to the B2C field. For this purpose, the project was defined in two phases: brand strategy formulation and brand image identity design.
Challenges and solutions
The key question in the strategy formulation phase was who are the final audience and what are the deep desires that guide their behavior in the field of investment. For this purpose, in-depth studies were conducted and extensive research was conducted in the form of in-depth interview sessions with a variety of investors (as the brand’s target audience). The conducted studies revealed two major groups of investors with two deep desires (Core Desire) that this brand should communicate with. Also, various aspects of the behavior of these audiences and the criteria affecting their mentality and decisions were measured. The factors identified in the two groups were different.
Now, the next question for Vand’s strategy team was, what strategic direction and what brand message can respond to the deep desires of these two groups and create a deep relationship between the brand and the audience. Therefore, in line with this internal need, the strategic message of the brand and the character and story of the brand were set. Such a brand should have a reliable personality. A character that is rooted in knowledge and skills and can be reliable and reassuring for the audience. Therefore, the Competent brand personality was considered by emphasizing the two personality traits of “reliable” and “intelligent”. After formulating the brand strategies, the master branding was carried out by the design team, following the manifestation of the strategy in visual elements and brand designs.
Results and effects
One of the important results of this project was the successful translation of the brand strategy into the design strategy, after which the main brand elements including the logo, logotype, organizational color, as well as organizational items and details in all the important contact points of the brand design.
“Being generous and worthy”, as the two defining qualities of the top brand, was all that the story of this brand had to convey to the audience. Khordmand, with the approach that this brand is a knowledgeable and experienced brand to satisfy the deep desires of the audience, and knows the way to meet the sometimes diverse and sometimes conflicting needs. A brand that knows the way to achieve goals in this turbulent market and will help the audience in the best possible way. A brand that aims to make the capital of the informed and knowledgeable audience as productive as possible. Feedback from the audience and leading market managers show that this strategy has achieved the branding goals for this brand.
Saramad Bazar partners:
Behrouz Zare: Chairman of the Board of Directors
Amir Hamza Malmir: CEO and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors
Dr. Sara Aliyari: Public Relations Manager
Project team members:
Torij Saberivand: Design Strategist
Ashkan Elhiari: Brand Strategist
Mehran Ajarlo: project manager
Nazanin Ahani – project manager
Project execution time: 1400
