Posted on: Oct 17, 2024
St. Cloud, MN (October 17, 2024) – Today, Stearns Bank unveiled its new national brand identity and architecture to highlight how the over 100-year-old bank is at the intersection of innovative banking solutions, today’s cultural zeitgeist and putting customers nationwide at the center of how they do business. The new “Business Unusual” brand brings to life the diversity of Stearns Bank’s nationwide customer base and showcases how Stearns Bank’s customizable; customer-first focused financing products are helping people, businesses, and communities reach their financial goals.
"This new brand identity marks a historic moment for Stearns Bank both inside the company and out, with a design strategy hyper-focused on how our local customers are making a national impact. This new brand architecture values diversity, innovation, and growth, which will power the company's next evolution and show how Stearns Bank has been and will continue to do Business Unusual,” said Marlice Johnson, Chief Branding Officer at Stearns Bank. "While our core business has transformed dramatically over the past few years, it became clear to the Stearns Bank leadership team that the public perceptions of the company needed to reflect current and future customers. Stearns Bank is excited to enter this new era of our business and continue to make impactful contributions to local communities.”
The new brand identity, heavily focuses on creative photography and imagery, pays homage to Stearns Bank’s rich history of being one of Minnesota’s leading financial services’ provider and employer of choice, while celebrating its nationwide customer base, their unique financial journeys, and their impactful economic stories. From the thousands of small businesses, entrepreneurs, and families that have chosen Stearns Bank’s as their trusted banking partner, the company will strategically focus on these customers’ and their personal stories—putting them at the front and center of the new branding assets, designs, and visuals.
The new brand identity will be unveiled during The Twin Cities Film Festival (TCFF) that runs from October 17th to the 26th at the Shops at West End located at 1621 West End Blvd, St Louis Park, MN 55416. As a Presenting Sponsor of the TCFF, Stearns Bank will showcase the new brand architecture inside the Stearns Bank Art Gallery Exhibit. The exhibit, open to festival attendees and the public, will bring to life the new brand architecture’s focus of putting Stearns Bank’s customer stories, successes, and profiles at the center of their businesses’ solutions, products, and services.
The Stearns Bank Art Gallery will spotlight five Minnesota-based photographers whose work artistically captures the essence of the state, the diversity of its residents, and beauty within the many communities that people call home.
The artists featured inside the Stearns Bank Art Gallery include:
- Sawyer Brice: Sawyer is a photographer and filmmaker based in Minnesota. As a portrait, fashion, and documentary photographer, he aims to have his work reflect truth and reality while also inviting viewers to draw their own interpretations.
- Yasmin Yassin: Yasmin is a photographer and director based in Minneapolis. Her artistic practice explores sub-cultures and the ways in which communities gather through shared interests to form networks of connection.
- Sheldon Powell: Sheldon J. Powell, also known as The Honey Bear Collection, is up-and-coming creative director with a focus on photography. His work empowers subjects through being bold and enriching color palettes that bring out the best in every scene.
- Bump Opera: Bump Opera, the artistic alias of Minneapolis-based photographer Mike Madison, is a visionary storyteller behind the lens, blending the raw emotion of photojournalism with the boldness of concert, fashion, and street photography. His work transcends genres, capturing moments that pulse with energy and emotion, whether it’s the chaotic beauty of live music or the quiet intensity of a portrait.
- Sabrina Jasmin: After graduating with a BFA in Photography at the Savannah College of Art and Design, she decided to head west to explore the mountains and lakes. With a unique eye, a passion for portraiture, and a taste for color, she thrives on creating immaculate photographs that evoke emotion as well as curiosity.
The work of these talented artists not only underscores their unique talents, artistry, and skillsets but brings to the forefront a larger discussion around how independent artists, creators, and visionaries tend to be left out of the traditional financial banking ecosystem. For instance, according to Southern Methodist University’s DataArts Center, more robust working capital is vital for a thriving arts sector. Financial institutions must provide artists with flexible financing solutions to help them succeed long-term.
Through its new brand architecture, Stearns Bank aims to not only show how they are meaningfully closing the banking and financial services access gaps but redefining the “traditional bank” and customer relationship models. With over 100-years of helping customers and business of all sizes across the country thrive financially, Stearns Bank will catapult these stories to show how they’ve operated in markets, sectors, and geographic locations that have historically been ignored by today’s banking industry.
Stearns Bank plans to host additional community-based activations and events in key markets in 2025. These activations will bring together community leaders, influencers, and the public to highlight how Stearns Bank is reimagining a more inclusive, accessible, and approachable financial services sector. A sector where everyone—regardless of their occupation, the type of small business they may operate, and geographic location where they work or live—can reach their financial goals.
With today marking the official launch of the new brand identity, Stearns Bank will continue to rollout new assets—including a new corporate website, marketing visuals (consumer billboards, print and online advertisements, etc.) consumer-facing assets (Debit Cards, Credit Cards, etc.), and trade show event-focused materials—well into 2025 and 2026.
To learn more about Stearns Banks or the new “Business Unusual” brand identity and architecture, please visit: StearnsBank.com.
Key elements of Stearns Bank’s new brand evolution include:
New Company Logo: The new Stearns Bank logo is a cleaner, concise, and fresh design that stands on its own. As a prominent representation of the company, people and products, the new logo when used in an animation style will see the work “Bank” open outwards and include text that shows what the asset or visual is focused on (see animation below).
New Business Unit Logos: To showcase the diversity and breadth of its innovative, market-leading financing and banking services, Stearns Bank will begin to use business-specific logos to focus on key solutions that are available to customers nationwide.
New Brand Colors: The new brand color palette offers a multitude of fresh colors that speak to the history and richness of Minnesota—the home state of Stearns Bank for over 100 years. The warm, earth-tone, and more natural colors pay homage to Stearns Bank’s long-standing history, while intentionally moving away from colors traditionally used to represent the average financial services institutions. This color palette showcases how Stearns Bank customers are more than just a number on a spreadsheet, but rather the stories that represent its historic business.
New Advertisement Assets: The new brand advertisements will focus on people, their personal stories, and their relationships with Stearns Bank.
New Brand Purpose Statement: Business Unusual
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About Stearns Bank N.A.
Minnesota-based Stearns Bank National Association is a $3.2 billion, independently-owned financial institution with locations in Minnesota, Florida and Arizona, and over 35,000 small business customers nationwide, in every state across the U.S. Recognized as having a bullet-proof balance sheet with 25% capital and earning top rankings as one of the nation’s highest-performing banks by American Banker, and most recently ranked fourth in the U.S. among banks having more than $1 billion in assets by Independent Banker’s 2023 Best of the Best ranking of banks with the highest 3-year average Return on Assets, Stearns Bank specializes in nationwide commercial construction lending, USDA and SBA lending, and small business and equipment financing. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender. For more information, visit StearnsBank.com.