Modern, fresh, solid – OLB with a new brand identity

PRESS-RELEASE

Oldenburg, 27 November 2024

Modern, fresh, solid – OLB with a new brand identity

• Claim ‘smart beraten’ (engl. ‘smart advice’) combines the digital bank and the advisory bank
• Increasing brand awareness and acquiring new customers as clear objectives

New logo, new slogan, new brand identity: OLB is presenting itself with a completely revamped corporate design starting today, Wednesday 27 November 2024. Following the significant milestone of the acquisition of Degussa Bank, OLB is demonstrating its forward-looking approach with its new brand identity. The newly designed logo emphasises the Bank's successful, dynamic growth.

While the three familiar letters and the primary colour green remain, the overall appearance is significantly younger, more digital and also more self-confident. With soft, rounded shapes and a stylised finger swipe in the ‘O’ of the logo, this supersign underlines the era of digital contacts and channels. “With a slight wink, we are presenting ourselves as a challenger in the German banking market. We can be self-confident because we combine digital know-how with the expertise that has characterised OLB for more than 150 years: our customers can rely on OLB for honest, scandal-free and successful banking,” says Stefan Barth, CEO of OLB.

As part of the brand relaunch, OLB has used internal workshops, market research studies and customer surveys to identify the key attributes that shape OLB's character and identity. This has confirmed that OLB continues to meet the core expectations of its customers: reliability and high-quality advice provided on an equal footing. Despite the advance of digitalisation, personal contact remains an important component of customer relations. Whether by telephone, video or in its branches, OLB's focus is on person-to-person banking.

This advisory expertise is highlighted by the new brand claim ‘smart beraten’ (‘engl. smart advice’). Depending on individual needs, the repositioned OLB offers personal advice and the advantages of a digital bank. The brand identity is intended to make visible and tangible what distinguishes OLB as a financial partner.

“We are a broadly positioned universal bank with a nationwide presence and more than 150 years of experience in our core region. With our proactive, sometimes cheeky and bold brand presence, we want to reach people who are not yet familiar with our attractive range of services. At the same time, we want to confirm to our customers that, by choosing OLB, they have chosen the right bank for their desire for trustworthy advice on an equal footing combined with attractive products and digital services available 24/7,” says Stefan Barth.

The new brand identity was developed in collaboration with the renowned agency Strichpunkt from Stuttgart. Together with the Hamburg-based creative agency thjnk, OLB has developed the positioning, slogan and an attention-grabbing launch campaign for the brand values and core products. The campaign will be visible throughout Germany in the coming weeks and months. Brand expert Uwe Hellmann is responsible for the development of the new brand, the creation of the new corporate design and the development of the advertising campaign for OLB. During his many years in management positions in the banking industry, Uwe Hellmann has been responsible for a large number of successful design projects and advertising campaigns, which have won multiple awards, including the Effie Award.

The advertising activities with the German national women's football team, of which OLB has been a partner since August 2024, will now also be visible with the new logo in order to increase awareness. OLB's clear goal is to gain numerous additional customers in Germany in the future, in addition to the approximately one million customers the Bank currently has.

About the OLB

OLB is a profitably growing universal bank for private and corporate customers in Germany and selected neighbouring European countries. Under the OLB and Bankhaus Neelmeyer brands, OLB advises its approximately 1 million customers in person and via digital channels in the Private & Business Customers and Corporate & Diversified Lending segments. OLB has total assets of more than EUR 30 billion.

You can also visit us at www.olb.de and www.neelmeyer.de as well as on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.