SberCopied

Russia's largest bank had been signalling the change since 2018, when chief executive Herman Gref said the company had become much more than a bank. The Sber trademark was registered in April 2019. On 24 September 2020, at its first online SberConf, Sberbank presented Sber as one umbrella brand for nearly all the services in its ecosystem; SberMarket, SberCloud, SberAuto, SberHealth, SberLogistics and SberFood had already moved to it. By law the financial business still had to carry the word 'bank', but the ecosystem did not, Interfax noted.

Adindex reported that the brand was developed in 2017 and 2018, as the bank set course for an ecosystem, in partnership with Landor, with Russian design studios also involved. The creators framed the mission simply: yesterday Sber was only a bank, now it wanted to be a helper for life. The slogan 'Always nearby' stayed.

The logo keeps continuity with the old one but recasts its two elements, an open circle and the trademark tick. The tick is read as a locator, the search for something new, and as a clock, saving time; together they also read as the familiar digital 'done'. A gradient symbolises the variety of offers. Gref said the symbol stood for determination and focus on people.

The bank estimated extra costs of about 2.5 billion roubles over five to six years. Digital channels changed first; ATMs would be replaced as they wore out, branch signs over several years, and cards would stay valid until expiry. Little money was planned for image advertising beyond rooftop signs on key offices. The old logo came off the Moscow headquarters wall before the launch.

Sostav reported that the mark leaked before launch: RIA Novosti published it, a bank source said the official reveal would come on 24 September, and the trademark application was already lodged. The word bank was also to disappear from most group company names, so Sberbank Leasing would become SberLeasing, an idea German Gref had floated in 2018 when he said the business had become much more than a bank. The old logo had already been taken down from the Moscow headquarters. Dropping bank from the name is the real rebrand; the logo just has to keep up.

The tick-in-a-circle reads clearly, and the gradient gives it a tech sheen. But it looks like a checkbox in any app, which is both its strength and its anonymity.