Brand Strategy for a Mortgage Company

In a mortgage industry obsessed with rates and transactions, Newrez has something special permeating their culture: they genuinely care about people. Our challenge? Turning that authentic humanity into a brand platform that resonates.

“Care Fiercely” was already an internal core value that employees lived by every day. We saw the opportunity to make it their external superpower. Working closely with leadership, we built a complete brand foundation around this positioning: attributes that felt real, messaging strategy that brought it to life, and a voice that sounded human in an industry that rarely does. The result: A scalable brand platform that gives every team member the tools to express what makes Newrez different.

A hand holds up five colorful cards printed with Newrez’s core values in text and illustrations that break down what each value means.

THE CHALLENGE

In a market where everyone competes on rates, national mortgage lender Newrez needed real differentiation. During discovery, we found something that clearly set them apart: genuine care for the people in the ecosystem—homeowners, partners, employees, and communities. The challenge was turning that authentic humanity into a brand platform that could guide decisions and inspire teams.

OUR APPROACH

“Care Fiercely” kept surfacing in our early conversations. It was already Newrez’s internal mantra, something employees actually lived by. We saw the potential to elevate it into their external positioning, then built the architecture around it: brand attributes, promise, voice, design evolutions, and approachable customer-facing messaging.

We summed it up in a highly visual brand book and internal syndication assets designed for the entire company, not just marketers. At the same time, we crafted their first corporate social responsibility (CSR) report, weaving years of grassroots community work into one compelling story. Both elements worked to show the refreshed brand in action.

PROJECT OUTCOMES

Unified Newrez’s positioning, messaging, and visual identity into a single, scalable brand platform.
Increased employee engagement through tools and storytelling that made the brand tangible and personal.
Activated the refreshed brand in a flagship CSR report that reinforced their brand position.

We crafted a comprehensive brand strategy that created a clear bridge from internal culture to external expression.

A spread from the handbook showcases the core values: Care Fiercely, Respect Matters, Heart & Hustle, Build Bridges, and Dream Big. — With the brand strategy established, we created an employee-facing handbook focused on making the new position simple, tangible, and actionable across teams.

A presumptive Newrez employee wearing a tee shirt that says “I’m here for all of it.”

Another tee shirt, featuring the text “Long-Term Relationship Builder.”

Two water bottles sit side-by-side. One says “Expert Guide” and one says “Care Fiercely.”

Newrez’s new swag wasn’t just swag—it was employee empowerment. Variety and customization gave people ownership over how they expressed the new brand and took pride in their company.

There are hand-drawn illustrations at left, and photographs with hand-drawn elements overlaid at right—adding whimsy and a human touch.

A large marketing postcard features a wide-angle photo of a neighborhood, with neighbors gathered together, and the headline “Together We Do Big Things.” — While Newrez’s core visual identity remained intact, we introduced playful illustrations, expressive image treatments, and organic typography to bring the humanity and warmth of “Care Fiercely” to life.

Three spreads of the CSR report are stacked on top of each other, previewing the down-to-earth look of the report and Newrez’s community service in action. — For the company’s first annual CSR report, we brought together grassroots storytelling and candid photography that reflected the new brand strategy and people-focused nature of their impact work.

Helping a mortgage brand preach what it practices