Barclays

Barclays is an investment bank and financial services company with core business units in personal banking, corporate banking, wealth management and investment management. With a score of 6.46, it comes in at number 44.

Without a doubt, Barclays shines brightest for its ambitious and holistic ESG strategy. There is a separate microsite dedicated to the company’s ESG activities, including a non-financial reporting index, policy statements, presentations and information containing a green product suite. As a leader in this field, Barclays has also created its Social Innovation Facility (SIF), an internal mechanism which incubates colleague ideas for financial products and services that seek to specifically address environmental or social challenges. Barclays’ overall score is brought down by its visual style, which is inconsistent in its execution. Overall, there is a lack of creativity in its brand identity. The use of colour, photography, iconography and layout feels flat and generic of any large financial corporation. There is also an opportunity to further develop the values. ‘Integrity’, ‘Respect’ and ‘Excellence’ are the most commonly adopted values in B2B’s Brightest Brands and therefore not ownable or distinctive.