Mortgage Broker is the magazine of the Canadian Mortgage Brokers Association and showcases the multi-billion dollar mortgage-broking industry to all levels of government, associated organizations and other interested individuals.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/505959
8 | spring 2015 mbabc.ca MortgageBroker It's here! A universal symbol for mortgage brokers report from the president We have been talkIng about our new MB logo for some time now and we slowly started using it in early 2014. We started with our own advertising in Mortgage Broker magazine then progressed to our signage, and later incorporated it into our Global TV commercials. At this year's annual conference and trade show the MB logo was everywhere – on shirts, on mugs, on signage and on pens. We stopped at tattoos but there is always next year! Many of you have asked me how the logo came to be and how you can use it. Since I became a mortgage broker in 1988 I have always thought mortgage brokers needed an identifying mark that would be universally recognized as the mark of a Mortgage Broker . . . a really professional looking symbol that identifies us as professionals regardless of the actual brand and company where we work. As an example, e Society of Notaries Public of BC has its seal, the insurance brokers have their blanket and the Realtors have their "R." Why couldn't mortgage brokers have something that gave them credibility? I toyed with the idea for many years. I even tried to come up with a new name for mortgage brokers. at was tough. Since many of us use different terms to identify our profession it was an even greater challenge than expected. Some brokers use the terms Advisor, some use Mortgage Manager and others use the term Mortgage Consultant. ere are many others. How could we advertise to the public if we didn't have unity in identifying what we do? Other professions were using branding to bring credibility and awareness to their value proposition. Mortgage Brokers needed to do the same thing. Ultimately I realized the one phrase that we all had to use was very simple: Mortgage Broker. e term "Mortgage Broker" is contained in the title of our governing legislation, the BC Mortgage Brokers Act. However, many mortgage brokers were reluctant to use that phrase even though it connects to their registration status in B.C. e media describe us mortgage brokers, so why not capitalize on this? In late 2013, aer I became President of MBABC, I was sketching some ideas at my desk. I realized we just needed to use the first two letters in Mortgage Broker and create a logo from those two initials, M and B. e MB could be used to identify a person who was not only a mortgage broker but also a member of the MBABC. I sent the sketch to Steve Culley at Culley Creative. I explained what I wanted to do. Steve then started working with the concepts I had sent him. We went back and forth several times to refine the concept. Ultimately the final version that you see is what was agreed on. It looked remarkably close to the initial sketch. e logo was presented to the MBABC Board of Directors and the rest, as they say, is history. e MB brand now has an important role to play not just in B.C. but also across Canada. Our consumer awareness programs are targeted within B.C. but we are being noticed by other organizations, media and the mortgage brokering industry across the country. Inevitably when someone visits B.C. they see the MB brand. ey are taking that awareness and slowly starting to disseminate it across the country. Several members have called me to say they have worn their new MB golf shirts on holidays and people have asked them if they are a mortgage broker. at is great brand awareness and the start of brand recognition. MBABC members are asking when they can use the branding along with their own marketing. As we complete the trademark process we will be releasing usage information. e use of the branding will be strictly controlled and will only be available for individual members to use. We want to make sure that the MB logo, along with associated collateral, brings maximum value to each member. If you are not a member the MB branding will not be available for you to use. Now that is a fantastic reason to become a member and a great reason to stay a member! As we move forward we will be using MBABC's MB brand more extensively to identify member brokers to mortgage consumers, media, other professionals and regulators as the identifying mark of B.C.'s mortgage brokers. You may even see that the MB branding will become the universal symbol of the Mortgage Broker across Canada: British Columbia's gi to the Canadian mortgage Broker industry. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or feedback about MBABC and its branding. I am always available. Ajay Soni President ajaysoni@mbabc.ca These are my first sketches!