SINGAPORE — WPP creative company Superunion has partnered with Standard Chartered Bank and FairPrice Group to launch Trust Bank, the new digital bank for Singapore. The new brand is designed as a love letter to everyone who calls Singapore home, celebrating the everyday lives and spirit of the people who come together to build a brighter future for Singapore.
Trust Bank, known as Trust, is a digital bank designed to offer easy-to-use and transparent banking experiences with a launch of products that include a credit card, a savings account and family insurance. Backed by a unique partnership between Standard Chartered Bank and FairPrice Group, it brings together a leading international bank and a leading national food retailer, with more than 200 years of combined experience serving the everyday communities of Singapore. Trust is integrated into the FairPrice Group rewards ecosystem and will offer savings on essentials to customers at a time when consumers are facing increasing cost pressures. Trust will also leverage NTUC and its unions, as well as other social enterprises beyond FairPrice Group, to better address the needs of its members and their families.
With an ambition to support Singapore’s vision for the digital economy of the future, Superunion was tasked with creating a new inclusive brand, visual identity and brand experience for the new bank, and reflect its role in the fabric of the nation and the lives of its people.
Inspired by the idea “a digital bank for the everyday us,” the identity captures the spirit of the people of Singapore. It is designed to reflect the approachable and accessible nature of the bank. The word mark in lower case is an expression of trust as the foundation of today’s banking, and indicates the bank’s aim to be more in tune with customers through a clear, down-to-earth banking experience. An added signature icon of the letterform “T” in two blocks is inspired by Singapore’s building architecture – designed using its iconic pastel colors. Created in two core colors, the blue captures the bank’s stability and security, while the purple is a symbol of optimism and a nod to the national flower, Vanda Miss Joaquim. The brand is inspired by and created for Singapore, representing its people and cultures to stand out from competitors as a bank that truly serves Singaporeans.
In communications, the iconic “T” acts as a platform for content, with flexibility to inject imagery, colors and illustrations inside the visual mark to provide relevance to the context. Superunion worked with typographer Raymond Burger and illustrators Soh Eeshaun and TYC Studios to develop a unique illustration style for the bank’s communications. These capture the small but mighty moments of customers’ lives and are designed to bring smiles and delight to its audience.
Trust’s launch on September 01, 2022 was officiated by guest-of-honor Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mr. Lawrence Wong at an event held at VivoCity. Trust brings several market-first innovations to Singapore, including banking only through the app with integrated rewards and spend trackers, as well as the first-to-market numberless credit card, which also combines a credit and debit card, removing the need for users to own multiple cards.
Supporting the launch of Trust is an omnichannel brand campaign by IRIS Worldwide and Havas Media with the tagline “The digital bank for the everyday us” and will be delivered across TV, print, digital, out-of-home and creative in-store activations at FairPrice Group retail stores.
Superunion Creative Director Scott Lambert said: “It’s been a privilege to partner with the Trust Bank team to create a new revolutionary digital bank in Singapore. Banking, as an essential aspect of everyday life, needs to be simple, accessible and easy for the end customer to use. The Trust Bank aims to deliver that experience by demystifying banking and empowering local people. We brought this to life within the brand through collaboration with employees and leaders across the entire business.”
“Superunion wanted to show that Trust Bank is a brand that truly understands what it means to call Singapore home. We are proud of a brand platform that inherently delivers against the needs of Singaporeans through deep insight around what it means to live, work and spend here,” Scott furthered.
Kelvin Tan, CMO of Trust Bank, added: “Working with Superunion to build the Trust Bank brand was both a strategically and creatively-inspired experience. They took the time to immerse in our consumer insights and corporate ambition – and coupled with their creative expertise, a brand that speaks to the diverse needs of consumers in Singapore was born! Having trust deeply rooted throughout the collaborative journey, from strategy development through to visual identity, means we all had a hand in creating this new brand for all of us in Singapore.”
