INTERVIEW: How Suffolk Building Society became “A Good Place to Be”

Suffolk Building Society is putting people at the centre of its latest brand push, says its Head of Marketing.

The mutual launched a new campaign in October as it seeks to build on a major rebrand in 2021, which saw the society renamed from Ipswich Building Society to make it more recognisable.

“We understood that, generally speaking, people would recognise Suffolk from further afield,” explains Luke Littleboy. “Hopefully if Ipswich Town are in the Premier League for 10 years that could change.”

The rebrand also aimed to give the brand a more crisp and contemporary feel that would appeal to people regardless of demographic.

There had previously been a lot of illustration that couldn’t be replicated quickly, so Suffolk Building Society moved to using photography which it could own, based around photographing its own members. They also carefully considered the typography, aiming to keep the brand both warm and playful while striking the perfect balance of seriousness.

Luke describes the new campaign as the “next logical step beyond the rebrand.”

“We wanted to create a message that could work for both savings and mortgage members,” says Luke, adding that this was a “tall order”.

This message was the “A Good Place to Be” tagline, which is being pushed out across out-of-home, traditional print press and digital marketing channels. It includes a video which emphasises the Society’s Suffolk heritage and its founding in 1849.

At the centre is a focus on the ability to speak to staff and visit branches as well as the society’s status as a mutual, meaning it is owned by its customers. The tagline also offers the building society a platform to talk about its values and the charities it supports.

“What ‘A Good Place to Be’ does is talk about the benefits of saving with us. It can talk about our ethics and what we believe in as a brand, it can talk about our charity partners and it can also talk about that sense of place.”

The two metrics that the society is focusing on for the campaign are member acquisition and brand awareness.

“We know that’s not overnight – it’s very much a brand building campaign that can have longevity to it.”

The central point underpinning this is that it is “people who make the difference”.

“We try to bring out that personal touch in our messaging.”

For example, the brand tone of voice aims to be warm and friendly, while imagery is based around photographing real members.

The building society’s proposition is very “locally rich” in Suffolk, with 10 face-to-face locations. The mutual believes in a “bricks and clicks” model, incorporating a blend of online and face-to-face customer service. This allows it to meet the needs of members, both older ones who have been with the society for a long time, but also younger members. Luke notes that the idea of a dichotomy between what different age groups want is overstated.

“When we speak to younger people, we know that they like the idea that there’s a branch there and that they can speak to somebody on the phone should they need to.”

While the bricks and clicks model is at the core of what Suffolk is doing, Luke accepts that building societies with centuries of legacy operations will struggle to compete with the “very slick and hyper-personalised experiences that are purely digital” from fintech challengers.

This is why it “comes down to people wherever possible”.

“We pride ourselves on the fact you can speak to someone. You can pick up the phone if you’re stuck on anything or you have a question about what product to go for.”

Looking ahead into 2025, the mutual will continue the campaign, continuing to use a blend of traditional and digital channels as well. A key focus is accessibility.

“We’re looking at any way we can look to enhance the ways people can get in touch with us online.

“I don’t think we’ve finished that journey yet in terms of improving existing touch points and creating new ones in a digital space.”