Transforming a silicon-valley startup into a multi-million dollar national brand

Rebalance Brand Identity & Launch

Rebalance is an online-only investment firm that offers everyday Americans the convenience of online investing with the performance and personal touch usually available only to the most elite institutions and high-wealth individuals.

Asking someone to hand over their life savings to any firm is difficult. Asking them to do so online is an entirely different challenge. A challenge BCG was presented with when asked to build the Rebalance brand from the ground up.

Our discovery process revealed that the majority of Americans do not fully understand retirement investing and would prefer someone else handle the details. But since the Madoff Scandal and 2008 collapse of Wall Street, people were suspicious of the financial industry in general, and of investment firms in particular. In Rebalance’s target demographic — Americans between 50 and 65 — there was an additional aversion to engaging in significant financial transactions over the web.

BCG researched the retirement investment industry and the methodology of Rebalance. Using this research, along with the consumer insights fromour initial discovery, we developed a set of guidelines for the tone and voice of all written content — one that was warm, consultative, and trustworthy. After writing new content BCG developed a comprehensive visual environment for the new brand, including a custom-designed collection of illustrations that served to both make difficult financial concepts more accessible as well as to reinforce the brand’s core values of honesty and clarity.

The result was overwhelmingly positive. Funds under Rebalance management tripled within three months of the website going live, conversion rates are over 20%, and full page articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Associated Press.