Lantern

Putting care at the heart of the brand

Over the course of several workshops, client interviews and customer surveys, it became apparent that Denise and her team didn’t just pay lip service to a new way of doing business – they went out of their way to do right by their often vulnerable customers. In the first few months of working together, the company scooped up its first customer service award – confirming that this was a business with strong values and a clear sense of purpose.

Whilst Lantern served both B2C and B2B audiences, positioning them for the B2B crowd of lenders (banks, retail outlets, public sector bodies) was the bigger challenge. In a market where profit is king, how do you position yourself around values and purpose? The answer - become the category challenger.

Off the back of research, we proposed a bold positioning for the B2B brand: The Vulnerability Champion. We would be the ones to challenge:

• Assumptions in the industry (around customer vulnerability)
• Attitudes of lenders (towards vulnerable customers)
• Behaviours of collectors (towards vulnerable customers)

A new name and rallying cry

A wide-ranging name generation process eventually led to a clear choice: Lantern. It was a brave move for a company in a 'safe and stagnant' industry, with nearly all competitors opting for names devoid of interest, emotion or aspiration.

Ultimately, the draw of Lantern to the company’s leaders was that it served as a reminder of the high standards they set themselves, as well as reflecting the organisation's new-found purpose: To be a torchbearer for vulnerable customers.

Alongside the name and purpose, there was also a bigger brand thought which would run through all communications. In the end it was the simplest of thoughts that resonated most deeply with what Lantern was about:

DEBT WITH A HUMAN TOUCH

A new look & feel

With a bold new name and powerful brand thought, the challenge was to create a visual identity that matched this ambition – whilst still retaining enough of the safety and security needed for a financial institution dealing with often-vulnerable customers.

The idea of Lantern shining a gentle light into the surrounding darkness became the basis of the new logo marque and colour scheme. Our approach to imagery placed real people in real-life situations at the heart of the brand – conveying the message that Lantern takes customers’ real-life circumstances in mind when it comes to repayments.

With the client thoroughly in love with the new messaging and identity, we went about transferring it onto a range of branded items that would serve as useful tools for the growing staff team – as well as executing it through new sales decks, a series of launch adverts, revamped induction presentation and a new website.