The A of the BBVA logo, which rises with respect to the rest of the letters, is called ‘Ascender’. It is one of the most relevant elements of the bank’s identity and represents opportunity, fulfilling BBVA’s brand purpose of “bringing the age of opportunity to everyone”. In BBVA’s graphic or audiovisual communication, this visual element is used to highlight the opportunities in the lives of customers, or the brand’s point of view regarding the major issues that concern society the most, such as sustainability, equality of opportunities or diversity. It is, in short, a universal symbol of prosperity, a story of growth. Within the set of creative assets of the BBVA brand, it is a resource that over time has been gaining in charisma and presence in communications.

In 2022, the BBVA Brand Strategy team and BBVA Creative, its in-house agency, have expanded the catalog of this element, so that the most representative and exclusive resource of the BBVA brand will reflect the themes on which the bank places its strategic focus to bring opportunities to everyone. Thus, for example, the ‘Ascender’ for financial health refers to the different resources that the BBVA ‘app’ makes available to customers to keep track of their expenses and income and make financial decisions. Green is the color chosen for the ‘Ascender’ related to sustainability issues, while to represent diversity it wears the colors of the rainbow.

In addition, with the aim of involving employees in the construction of this very important symbol for the bank, we launched an internal contest in which all of them could contribute ideas for new Ascender designs. They had to be able to represent the opportunities to make the world more sustainable, boost talent for an inclusive future, raise awareness about the talent of people with different abilities and encourage interconnection (of ideas, companies, products…)

A jury made up of people from the Brand Strategy department assessed the proposals and chose the finalists, from which the employees voted for their favorite. Subsequently, the Brand Strategy team designed the three winning sketches, the final form of which was included in the Ascenders catalog that the bank uses in its communications.

In short, the new ‘Ascenders’ are a joint result of BBVA Creative, the BBVA Brand Strategy team and the bank’s own employees, as an example of how the interrelationship and diversity of approaches enrich strategic objectives.