The challenge
What if independent financial planners could build their own brands, run their own businesses and still benefit from the credibility of a national network?
That was the opportunity Industry Fund Services (IFS) brought to Dovetail Brand Engagement.
Together, they set out to create Trusted Adviser, a new franchise-based brand and platform connecting Australian families with certified, verified financial planners specialising in superannuation.
The challenge was bigger than a logo or website. IFS needed a complete franchise experience, from attracting independent planners to helping them launch their own businesses.
The solution
One network. Multiple independent brands.
Dovetail built Trusted Adviser as a connected brand, digital and onboarding platform, designed to grow with every new adviser while keeping the personal feel of independent financial planning.
The identity needed to work for IFS as the franchisor and alongside the brands of individual advisers. Building on IFS's 2022 rebrand, Dovetail created a flexible logomark and badge system, with a full Industry Fund Services lockup for larger applications and a simplified diamond mark for websites, mobile screens and smaller spaces.
The digital platform followed the same principle. Each adviser gets their own branded website and domain, centrally managed through a shared network, with Australian hosting, lightweight code and a centralised lead enquiry process through Microsoft Bookings.
The result is a professional digital presence for every franchisee, without the cost and complexity of building a website from scratch.
Super Helpful: the first brand on the platform
To prove the model, Dovetail created and onboarded the first Trusted Adviser brand: Super Helpful Retirement Planning.
Founded by Linda Panazek, Super Helpful wanted to make retirement planning feel personal, approachable and free from unnecessary jargon. The brief was to help Australians aged 55 and over feel confident about their retirement, with a trusted adviser by their side.
The winning creative concept was confidence that makes you smile.
That idea shaped everything, from the smile built into the logomark to the handwritten website highlights, warm language and typography that echoes the same sense of optimism.
The result is a brand that feels like a conversation with someone you trust, rather than a lecture from a financial expert.
"I wanted retirement planning to feel like a conversation with a friend, not a lecture from an expert. Being IFS's first Trusted Adviser gave Super Helpful the credibility of a national network, without losing the personal feel our clients trust us for."
Linda Panazek, Founder, Super Helpful Retirement Planning
Super Helpful gave IFS a live example of the franchise model in action, and a strong foundation for growing the Trusted Adviser network.
What's next?
With the brand and platform established, the next challenge was making it easy for independent planners to join.
In Part 2, we look at how Dovetail and IFS built the turn-key onboarding process and launched the public-facing network website.
Read Part 2: Building the Trusted Adviser onboarding process and network website.
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