Building a brand to stand out in the pensions marketplace

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RPMI

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Based in Darlington, RPMI provided pension administration and trustee governance services to its main customer, the Railways Pension Scheme (RPS). Its sister company, Railpen Investments, managed £billions of the Scheme assets from London. When RPMI decided to branch out into the third-party pension administration space it was a blue and grey brand in a predominantly blue and grey marketplace. 

 

Having a good reputation for administering the RPS, albeit exclusively for rail employers, RPMI needed an identity to differentiate it for expansion yet maintain gravitas and be credible against competitors. As Railpen Investments had significant presence in the investments market, it made strategic sense to maximise that brand equity by bringing the two organisations together under an umbrella brand. 

 

The resulting identity represented the intertwined relationship between the three service areas, and the bright colours positioned the brand as an innovative market leader.

 

To galvanise the brand with employees, artworks were installed across all offices promoting the new vision, values and distinctive colour palette. To bridge the cultural and geographical divide between the two organisations they incorporated photographs of key local landmarks and office sites, so colleagues 250 miles apart might feel more connected to each other and the collective vision and values.

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Marketing materials not only emphasised the new vibrant palette, but reflected customer feedback that the quality of the people was what made RPMI unique. The Photography of real employees in relatable settings showed the brand to be human and authentic. 

 

Awareness of the brand and its offering grew and RPMI successfully gained new customers, for example, the House of Commons and Zurich. The introduction of a colourful brand to the market also soon resulted in copycat behaviour in the industry.