Many Americans face financial challenges that prevent them from reaching their dreams. Achieve is the leader in digital personal finance, with solutions that help everyday people get on, and stay on, the path to a better financial future. Pentagram’s Michael Gericke and team have developed a new brand identity for Achieve that captures its mission with a dynamic “A” symbol that points the way up and forward. The identity encompasses a new name, brand positioning and messaging that highlight the transformational approach of Achieve.
Pentagram collaborated closely on the brand with the leadership at Achieve, including Co-Founders and CEOs Andrew Housser and Brad Stroh and Vice President of Brand Tanya Peterson. Achieve’s foundation is built on the 20 years of consumer-centric financial services expertise of Freedom Financial Network. Since 2002, it has served more than 1 million consumers, resolved over $16 billion in debt and facilitated over $7 billion in personal and home equity loans. Achieve combines innovative technology with an empowering relationship-driven framework that helps people reduce debt, improve cash flow, save money, manage expenses and plan for the future.
Financial struggles, particularly with debt, can leave everyday consumers feeling frustrated, disempowered, and alone. Many people are already struggling or just getting by, feel underserved by financial services companies and have no idea where to turn for help. While Achieve uses the power of data and AI, it prides itself on putting people first and creating personalized solutions for each step of a consumer’s financial journey, including personal loans, home equity loans, help with debt, and financial tools and education.
Pentagram developed a brand strategy for Achieve that highlights this empathetic and customized approach, positioning the brand as a trustworthy financial “life coach” who will partner with people on their financial journeys, while navigating changing credit and economic cycles.
This starts with the new name “Achieve,” created by Pentagram. The name is a call to action that implies accomplishment — that Achieve is helping people plan, solve and rebuild their finances. It feels human, not “techy,” and is echoed in messaging that is warm, encouraging and hopeful about the future. Customers are referred to as “members,” or partners in their own journeys, and the language is sincere, straightforward and caring.
“We sought to create a symbol that has a sense of optimism, combining the letter “A” with an arrow pointing upwards. The mark’s single line suggests the curve of a financial journey, finding the way forward, creating a clear path to the next step and rising as you go,” says Gericke. The logo is accompanied by a wordmark in lowercase type that is friendly and approachable, reflecting the user-friendly experience of Achieve.
The brand color is a bright, modern electric blue that stands out in the category and conveys power and strength. A gradation in the logo reinforces the idea of transformation. Pentagram developed brand guidelines for the identity system that will be used by Achieve’s in-house design team as they continue to create the website, app, and other brand expressions.
Going forward, Achieve will grow to meet its members’ ever-evolving financial needs, with future plans that may include helping people with banking, budgeting and more. The new name and logo provide the foundation for a cohesive brand architecture that will bring these offerings together under a unifying brand.
“The new Achieve identity captures the central ideas of empowerment, humanity, and forward momentum that are the essence of what we do for our consumers,” said Achieve Co-Founder and Co-CEO Brad Stroh. “It expresses the ethos of empathy and partnership that has been at the heart of two decades of hard work and innovation on behalf of everyday people, and which Achieve will continue to embrace.”
