Adding a New Chapter to a Solid Legacy.
Ameris Bank has a long history in rural Georgia, but has been rapidly expanding into new markets over the past decade. One of their biggest moves was to merge with Fidelity Bank in 2019, giving them visibility in major metro areas, like Atlanta.
With this merger came the interesting challenge of combining and building on both brands’ existing equity, while positioning them as a leader in the southeast without losing the traction they have built in their legacy markets.
To develop a considered yet cohesive brand identity, we would need to dive deep into each bank’s design history, extract what was working well, and emerge with a vision that represented the best of both brands.
We discovered strong affinities for Fidelity’s recognizable lion symbol and the confident, patriotic typography and palette Ameris had developed. But harmonizing these elements would require a careful approach and many, many lion drawings.
After an anatomical form study, we began to evolve Fidelity’s lion to be more representative, incorporating perfect circles and dialing in on an expression that felt simultaneously fierce and dependable.
Our strategy positions them as a confident team of bankers that will scrap convention to get things done for people. To help express this position, we landed on a bold and feisty brand voice that will help them stand out—and stand up to big-box banks:
We created a bold and consistent system that would both command confidence and signal change. And we helped deploy the new brand across credit cards, ATM installations, an essence video, and signage to ensure the merged brand entered the world strong.
"We knew that in order to have a successful integration, we needed a new, unifying identity, but one that stayed true to both banks’ shared values. Partnering with Matchstic was vital. We are extremely pleased with the final result, and are excited for how our new brand helps position us in the Southeast.”
—Sue Cole, Ameris Bank Marketing Director