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Comprehensive Asset Manager Branding
Project for Marketplace Lending Investment Firm
CHALLENGE
Recognizing an opportunity at the intersection of technology, quantitative analytics, and finance, Echelon Asset Management developed a disciplined, intelligent marketplace lending investment strategy and private alternative fund series. Already boasting an impressive track record investing in marketplace lending investment in consumer and small business debt, the firm looked to MBC Strategic to help differentiate and position itself above its competition. This assignment included a suite of alternative investment brand identity materials, a company website, and fund information sales and support materials.
STRATEGY
The branding process began with significant market and competitive research. MBC interviewed stakeholders at the alternative investment firm to identify what made the marketplace lending investment strategy at Echelon Asset Management unique. This process revealed how Echelon’s advantage fell into three key areas: quality of talent, strong quantitative analysis, and access to some of the best marketplace lending platforms and products. Using these core differentiators as support, MBC developed a brand story that using engineering as its metaphor for Echelon’s precise, calculated approach.
RESULTS
In contrast to competitors’ dense and complex materials, the Echelon alternative asset management website and fund information materials emphasized clean and sleek design, delivered in a highly readable format. The color palette combined a sense of luxury with the metallic tones typical of an engineering environment, and the typography was chosen for its beauty and precision. Echelon’s imagery cemented the concept of a refined, meticulously crafted and beautifully engineered product, and the new logo reflected the firm’s name with steps rising upward. Launching in mid-2015, the project effectively positioned Echelon as an industry leader and provided them with the materials and the narrative to better connect with both retail and institutional clients. MBC Strategic garnered the Platinum Award with Marcom Awards, its highest honor, for its re-brand of Echelon.
