Marketing manager interview: the reality of global investment bank rebranding

ICON Corporate Finance Head of Marketing Alice Bradshaw-Smith reviews their year-long rebrand journey and explains why the transformation has already made a difference to their team.

There’s nothing quite like hearing directly from a client about a transformation they’ve lived through. When Alice Bradshaw-Smith, Head of Marketing at ICON Corporate Finance, agreed to share her perspective on the year-long rebrand journey we’ve been working on with them, I knew we’d get insights you simply can’t capture from the outside looking in.

Alice has been at the heart of ICON’s evolution from the very beginning, working alongside founder Alan Bristow to navigate this comprehensive global investment bank rebranding project.

Compelling reading for any professional marketing manager, these are a great series of observations about what it feels like when a firm’s external identity rises up to match its internal skills and ambitions.

What was the catalyst for deciding ICON needed a rebrand?

Our previous branding got us to a brilliant place, but we were ready to take things up a notch and realign our external appearance with our levelling up as a business. With the team growing across our different offices (London, San Francisco, Nairobi, Bengaluru, Bristol), we needed to nail a brand identity that would enable and empower the ICON team to present and articulate our service offering clearly and consistently. We wanted our external identity to reinforce our strengths and credentials, presenting the very best version of ourselves to assist in winning the best possible mandates.

How important was it to work with an agency that really understood the financial services industry?

It was crucial to the process. Knowing that Richard and his team understood the nuances of the financial services world meant we fully trusted them to accurately portray ICON’s position as an M&A and fundraising advisor. Decisions around appropriate tombstone treatment, effective deal categorisation and clear presentation of ICON’s services were made a lot easier by the agency’s contextual knowledge of the industry.

What was your experience of our collaborative approach, perhaps involving yourself and Alan with the logo, or the direct work the deal teams in the sales deck process?

Richard and his team were excellent collaborators – they knew when to push our thinking and when to be patient as we came to terms with change. Their engagement with members of the ICON team who were important to bring on board through the deck designs was pivotal in informing the best result. They invested time to hear differing opinions from across the business to achieve the desired outcome – and gain internal buy-in along the way.

What aspect of the rebrand do you expect to have the biggest impact on your business?

The new website is an exceptional representation of who ICON is today and where we are going. Members of the team have commented just how proud they are to be a part of ICON as we appear on the site. It’s a true demonstration of all the hard work the team has put in over the 25 years ICON has been in business. I expect the boost this will give to the business to be enormous in both credibility and confidence; helping us stand out to prospective clients, attract top-tier mandates, and continue to grow our reputation globally.

In conclusion…

These insights reveal something crucial about successful global investment bank rebranding: it’s not about fixing what’s broken, but about amplifying what’s already working brilliantly. When Alice talks about team members feeling ‘proud to be a part of ICON’ after seeing the new website, it’s not trivial, but electrifying. It’s business transformation in action.

We love making our clients happy. So for us, the measure of a rebrand isn’t just how it looks, but how it makes people feel about the work they’re doing and the firm they’re building. From that perspective, ICON’s transformation has already succeeded.

Does your firm require global investment bank rebranding?

We work with ambitious firms across the financial services, legal, and tech sectors to create digital experiences that deliver measurable business value from day one. If you’re ready to hear our business case for great quality, professional web design first hand, let’s have a call.

Call us on 020 7351 4083 or email us direct to begin the conversation.

More about this project

Our portfolio page about the project

Visit the new ICON Corporate Finance website

More of our work for tech firms

More of our work for financial services firms