In the 1990s, National Savings, the government backed savings provider, was struggling. Consumer research showed that many felt it was old-fashioned and no longer relevant to mainstream savers and investors - it was perceived as a savings scheme for grannies and children. Design company, Lloyd Northover was appointed to reposition the brand. It developed National Savings’ new brand name, identity and positioning and helped formulate a new approach to the marketplace that was consumer needs-led rather than product-focused. In 2000, National Savings re-launched as NS&I.
By 2003, NS&I began considering how the new branding could work on the web and attract new online customers. Following a competitive pitch, Lloyd Northover was briefed to develop a web strategy and design a new site, while specialist digital agency Wheel, now part of LBi, to build the infrastructure.
‘It marked a turning point in our thinking. Until then we’d managed the website as a technology solution not a design communications solution,’ says Sue Simpson, Head of Brand for NS&I.
‘But the web had become so much a normal part of our everyday communications mix that we felt comfortable using a branding agency instead of a dedicated digital specialist.’
There were clear benefits of working with an agency that had a history with NS&I, she adds: ‘They were much quicker to grasp the brief and understand our products and customers. They understood how we wanted to grow the business - which products to lead on, and which customer segments to highlight.’
