Landor Associates Develops Brand Identity for Charles Schwab; Launch Reveals New Focus on Personalized Relationships

Business Wire, Oct 24, 2001

Business Editors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 24, 2001

Landor Associates, one of the world's leading branding and design consultancies, has helped Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCH) refocus its brand with a new visual identity system. The identity consists of a wordmark and visual brand vocabulary, together conveying the personal story behind the Charles Schwab name and the brand's promise of personalized client service. The identity builds on the company's unbiased and uncomplicated approach to investment services.

Landor first identified the brand's core attributes. This set the stage for creative development of a wordmark, supporting visuals and a brand voice, which together deliver the message of personalized investment advice. Several brand touchpoints, ranging from environmental graphics in retail branches to print collateral and investment specialists' business cards, will soon showcase the new identity. The brand's look and feel will be extended in 2002 to consumer Web sites, sales collateral and corporate communications.

"Landor's expertise in working on big brands and developing well organized and thought-out systems that allow the identity to be implemented consistently is what really set them apart," said Jack Calhoun, Charles Schwab's senior vice president of advertising and brand management. "They got right to the heart of our brand and expressed it perfectly, and they have partnered very effectively with us and our other agencies."

The identity adds a sense of elegance and strength to the expression of a trusted brand, affirming Charles Schwab as the company of choice with both their core investors as well as a more affluent audience with different needs. The two elements that create the wordmark represent the relationship between the person and the institution that share the name "Charles Schwab." The first name appears in gray lowercase italics, making it personal and approachable. It contrasts with the last name, which appears in black block capitals, symbolizing the strength and heritage of a premier, full-service broker.

To complement the new wordmark, Landor also developed a visual vocabulary, including imagery, color and typography, that ensures brand recognition across a variety of applications. A new photography style reinforces the brand's positioning by emphasizing the relationship between Charles Schwab and its clients. Strong, simple black-and-white photos of clients and Investment Specialists give a sense of the firm's personal character and values.

The value of Charles Schwab's decision to refocus its brand on more personalized connections with customers is underscored by Landor's 2001 Global ImagePower survey, which found that many financial service brands are currently perceived as distant and overly institutional.

"Charles Schwab has built its company and its brand by helping clients become more confident investors," said Craig Branigan, Landor's president and chief operating officer. "This new identity builds on that history and positions Charles Schwab to attract the attention of a new, more relationship-driven market."

About Landor

Landor Associates is one of the world's leading branding and design consultancies. Founded in 1941, Landor pioneered many of the research, design and brand consulting methodologies that are now standard in the global branding industry. Landor takes a holistic approach to brand creation and management using strategic insight, research, design, naming and packaging, as well as environmental and digital branding to help companies build Breakaway Brands(TM) and communicate with their audiences more effectively.

Landor has a global network of 20 offices and an unrivaled client portfolio that includes such names as FedEx, NYSE, Microsoft, BP, Delta Air Lines, The Olympic Games, Alamo, Cathay Pacific, Procter & Gamble, Frito-Lay, France Telecom, VARIG and Coors. Landor is part of Young & Rubicam Inc., which has 340 offices in 73 countries worldwide. Young & Rubicam is a member of the WPP Group plc, one of the largest advertising and marketing services groups in the world.

For more information about Landor, please call 1 888 2LANDOR or visit www.landor.com.

About Charles Schwab

The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCH), through Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC/NYSE), U.S. Trust Corporation, CyberTrader, Inc. and its other operating subsidiaries, is one of the nation's largest financial services firms, serving investors through branch offices, regional client telephone service centers and automated telephonic and online channels. The Charles Schwab, U.S. Trust and CyberTrader Web sites can be reached at www.schwab.com, www.ustrust.com and www.cybertrader.com, respectively.