Savant Wealth Management: Knowing Oneself Is The Foundation of Wisdom
For decades, Savant Capital Management has been a juggernaut organization in the Registered Investment Advisory world. Brent Brodeski, his partners and his team have long been on a trajectory of steady progress and his firm’s geographic, service, technological and employment growth have been truly remarkable.
Especially remarkable were the years 2017 – 2020 when Savant saw growth accelerate in response to Brodeski’s aggressive M&A strategy and the 2020 acquisition of Chicago-based Huber Financial Advisors. That move alone boosted Savant’s Assets Under Management in Chicagoland to $3.1 billion and overall AUM to approximately $8.5 billion.
When Savant’s marketing leadership called GrahamSpencer in late 2018 to discuss their need for an updated website, it didn’t take long for the conversation to take a step back to the foundational element of every brand: the brand identity.
Savant knows itself very well. It knows its clients and their needs even better. And it knows the markets in which it operates. And, in 2019, Savant knew it had a brand identity that was due for an overhaul.
The decision was made to engage GS to conduct our blended process of qualitative and quantitative research known as GSearch, make recommendations on how to re-envision a new brand identity, craft new positioning, marketing and media strategies and, of course, design and build a new website.
GSearch uncovered both the need and support for a new brand identity inside and outside the company. It helped pinpoint the ultimate solution, which included a subtle name change from “Savant Capital Management” to “Savant Wealth Management,” as well as the new Wise Counsel brand with its iconic owl encased in a sturdy battle shield.
Everything about the new Wise Counsel brand is intended to be an umbrella under which Savant’s ever-evolving, progressive and powerful promise to their clients can exist and thrive. The Wise Counsel identity represents Savant’s values and the value they bring to their clients’ lives. And, it is indicative of Savant’s commitment to the ongoing acquisition of knowledge and skill.
Owls are inquisitive and methodical. They think before they act. Athena, the goddess of war, is linked to the observant owl in Greek mythology and storytelling, where she carried a mighty shield into battle. Savant’s owl represents generations of wisdom and the pursuit of lifelong learning. The shield is indicative of the lengths to which its fiduciary advisors will go to defend the best interests of Savant’s clients.
The first deliverable expression of the new Savant Wealth Management identity was the dynamic new website launched in the summer of 2020. It was met with broad acclaim among staff and clients. The site is a vastly improved lead generation tool that will fit smoothly into broader and more aggressive advertising and promotional efforts in the future.
Of course, the context into which both the brand and the website were launched was less than ideal. The summer of 2020 featured an uncertain economy and a troubling public health crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic. Undaunted by those challenges, Brent Brodeski and his executive and marketing teams relished the opportunity to extoll Savant’s strengths with the new Wise Counsel identity along with its better-articulated promise and positioning.
Savant’s evidence-based investment approach, its steady hand and the wisdom inherent in the deep bench of its multi-layered team is built for good times and bad. Surely, the company would rather not have launched a new brand during a global pandemic, but if any company could – and prosper as a result – Savant is the one.
The story of Brodeski’s and the Savant team’s confidence was told in a video GS produced remotely during the most isolated days of the Coronavirus pandemic using Zoom remote video conferencing technology. It is featured prominently on the website’s homepage.
Our GS team has enjoyed every step of the journey we’ve taken with Savant Wealth Management. The people of Savant know exactly who they are – and, now, so does the world. If your company or organization could benefit from a rigorous, strategic and expertly executed re-brand, do the wise thing: contact GrahamSpencer.