WSJ - The Trust

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Developing A Brand Evolution For Wall Street Journal's Most Powerful Asset - The Trust

You’ve probably heard of The Wall Street Journal. For millions of daily subscribers, it’s the #1 most trusted news source for business, economy, and breaking news.

In 2019, in preparation to re-position its intelligence-led creative consultancy called The Trust, the media giant turned to Magnetic to develop a brand identity and creative explorations to introduce its new brand. We had a couple of goals before we kicked off this project:

  1. Develop a foundational brand DNA and visual aesthetic that endears The Trust to C-suite and ad agencies worldwide.
  2. Differentiate The Trust from other news-backed branded content arms.
  3. Position a new type of intelligence-backed content and media organization that breaks free from the clutter.
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INTELLIGENCE BUILDS BRANDS. PERIOD.
Brand Development

Building A Strategy Focused On Integrity & Impact

While researching competitors and the needs of C-suite audiences, we stumbled onto a simple truth that would guide our strategy and creative recommendations moving forward: Too many brands are opting for the safe and forgettable middle, where they don’t offer an opinion on anything.

If The Trust was going to differentiate itself from its safe and forgettable competitors, we had to rise up to the demand for media and branded content companies to offer something better, something beyond the expected, something more intelligent.

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Artfully Curated Content

No Blind Spots. No Blurred Lines.

The Trust blends the integrity of The Wall Street Journal with the vast intelligence of Barron’s, MarketWatch, Mansion Global and Financial News databases. But more than that, it curates content with a point of view. It’s not all roses nor all thorns, but it is a refreshing take in a landscape that’s grown stale with sameness.

It’s this boldness that inspired MAG’s brand strategists to craft a new and ownable identity. We defined The Trust’s core values. We crystallized its "True North". We identified outward facing character traits. And for the cherry on top, we introduced a brand persona through which outward communications and ideas can be filtered. An intellectual with a razor tongue we called The Streetwise. Here’s an excerpt for your reading pleasure:

"The Streetwise is anything but ordinary. He’s the rare type of brilliant that fosters both textbook intelligence and social acuity. Rife with insight and allure, The Streetwise possesses an already impressive wealth of knowledge, but continually absorbs new information with every interaction. One by one, he leverages his unique skillset to track down captivating narratives that bring sense to the world; and somehow, he always knows where to look."

Creative Exploration to Launch The Trust

When Magnetic’s design team took on the challenge of building The Trust’s visual identity, we underwent several creative explorations for our clients to consider.

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    KEYART EXPLORATION V2.1
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    KEYART EXPLORATION V2.2
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    KEYART EXPLORATION V2.3
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    KEYART EXPLORATION V2.4
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Looks Smart

Visuals That Pay Homage To A Rich History And A Progressive Future Laced With Intelligence

After a few weeks of back and forth, we locked in a visual direction for go-to-market, including a brand style guide that supports internal decision making regarding creative output.

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THE TRUST BRAND STYLE GUIDE 2019

Story Seekers And Gathers. Digital By Nature.

Among the most exciting pieces of this new venture was exploring a whole new web experience for The Trust. From early concepts to final delivery, we pushed the envelope to create a modular, dynamic website with a clear value proposition. Sharing how the Trust fuels business growth for some of the largest companies around the world.

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Our digital design and content teams were also tasked with formalizing how The Trust presented the case studies on the website. The design needed to be fluid and intuative to update via a content management system that allowed the internal team to post frequently.

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Intelligence Driven Business Growth

As The Trust continues to generate momentum and results for its clients, we’re proud to claim our part in lifting it off the ground via the foundations of the brand strategy and creative explorations that continue to guide and impact business decisions for years to come.

To see The Trust in action, visit https://thetrust.wsjbarrons.com/

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Brand Intelligence
  • Research & Discovery
  • Brand Development
  • Brand Strategy
Creative Development
  • Creative Strategy
  • Creative Development
  • Asset Creation
  • Video Production