Manchester-based creative agency, Sergeant Walnuts, has rebranded Manchester Building Society following a competitive pitch.
The building society, which was formed over 100 years ago, merged with Newcastle Building Society in July 2023, and it’s now poised to open its doors to a new flagship branch in the heart of Manchester City Centre. Work has already begun on the iconic site, on the corner of King Street and Cross Street, previously occupied by Diesel – where you’ll be able to catch a glimpse of the new branding.
The brief was to create a brand identity that was an authentic representation of Manchester, and that looked unlike other banks and building societies. Manchester Building Society aims to help both the people of Greater Manchester, and the city itself, grow and thrive – connecting communities to a better financial future.
“We immediately felt ‘inclusivity and representation’ were important themes for us to explore,” explained Sergeant Walnuts MD, Richard Attwater. “Manchester Building Society is here to represent and serve the entirety of Greater Manchester, which is a wonderfully diverse and colourful place.
“Many Manchester brands, or campaigns, lean into tired and obvious cliches” added Gary Toal, creative director at Sergeant Walnuts. “From bees, to the hacienda, to Cottonopolis, to United/City references – all things that have been done to death. This wasn’t about projecting an obvious and expected version of Manchester out into the world, it was about reflecting Manchester back to itself.”
The central design idea which influenced the new brand identity stemmed from the map of Greater Manchester. “Greater Manchester is made up of 10 distinct boroughs,” continues Toal. “We created a simplified and colourful representation of the Greater Manchester map, and overlaid that onto our ‘M’ to create our core iconic logo. Our 10 boroughs contain an eclectic mixture of people, culture and heritage. Ethnicity, age, wealth, sexuality, religion and political persuasions – a tapestry of diversity. All joined together to make something amazing. A beautiful patchwork of our great city.”
“If you google ‘Manchester’ you might get served articles about The Northern Quarter, Ancoats, Spinningfields and the vibrant food and drink scene in the city centre” said Attwater. “And they’re all great, and things we’re proud of, but those places aren’t the reality for many of the people who live here – people who live in Wigan, or Stockport, or Tameside, or Bury. These are terrific towns, with their own unique history and heritage. And we wanted all of them to feel represented and included.”
The result is a colourful, vibrant and dynamic brand identity system, which sets Manchester Building Society apart from its peers. The brand wants to be different, as Andrew Nicholson, head of brand at Manchester Building Society, explained: “Manchester Building Society exists for the people of Greater Manchester. We want to rediscover and reinvigorate the idea of mutualism – the bedrock on which building societies are built – meaning that we can all grow and thrive together. Whereas many banks and building societies are closing their doors for good, we’re flinging ours open. We want people to come in, and talk to us, and help us shape our building society in a way that benefits both them, and their communities”.
The plan is for the first flagship branch to open its doors later this year, with future expansion plans aiming to have a footprint in as many of the 10 Greater Manchester Boroughs as possible.
