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LAUREL ROAD CASE STUDY
SUMMARY
Sector:
Financial (student finance) /
Education
Brand type: Charity
Primary Client: Darien Rowayton Bank
Secondary Client: Brand Union (New York)
Trademark territories: None
Trademark classes: Total 2
Countries: North America and Mexico
Languages: 3 languages
Validation types: (ISO 9001 certified) Localised linguistic, Global negative word check (Electric Eel) Trademarks (identical), Google, Linguistic validation, URL.
BACKGROUND
Darien Rowayton Bank were looking for a brand name for a new enterprise which was to represent the increase in the student loans side of their business. The benefits included better lending conditions for students with higher grades or better performances and tailored post-graduation rates.
PROJECT
Here the mix of brand pillars of academic education and accomplishment within the setting of finance was an interesting one, especially as the offer also needed to appeal to re-financing suppliers. Given that two key aspects of education are the relatively fixed time component along with the metaphorical notion of travel from low level accomplishment to a place of higher ground success, the Latinate laurels ‘a mark of sporting artistic achievement’ seemed appropriate. The image is still used commonly today in poet laureate and the phrase ‘resting on one’s laurels’.
The metaphor of a journey of academic progress and discovery was captured by the simple word
road.
Simple for all to understand yet embedded in classical excellence.
After selecting a top three names, the client singled out Laurel Road as their favourite. A name which through its relative sophistication would be easily trademarkable.
Laurel Road itself achieved success of its own leading to its sale in April 2019 to Key Bank of Cleveland, Ohio which in 2016 acquired the premier league First Niagara Bank for $4.1 billion
https://www.laurelroad.com/about/
