“Ask a child to draw a car, and certainly he will draw it red.” – Enzo Ferrari

Founded in 1929 by Italian racing legend, Enzo Ferrari, Scuderia Ferrari are the only team to have competed in every season of Formula One since the world championship began in 1950.

They have secured 16 constructors’ and 15 drivers’ Championships since then, including a particularly dominant period between 2000 and 2004, when Michael Schumacher claimed five consecutive titles for the team. And, despite fluctuating performance in recent years, Ferrari remains an enduring and iconic presence within F1.

But why them?

Both McLaren and Williams – who entered the sport 16 years and 27 years after Ferrari respectively – are the only other teams still racing to have stayed faithful to their original name and brand. The strength of their reputation, however, and that of the other teams on the grid, pales in comparison to the boys and girls in red.

In 2021, former chief executive of the Formula One Group, Bernie Ecclestone, commented that, “Formula One is Ferrari and Ferrari is Formula One”.

Their years of racing success and back catalogue of impressive drivers have contributed to the enduring strength of the brand, but there are other teams who can say the same. What sets Ferrari apart is their rich history, and how they communicate that to their audience.

Discover how Scuderia Ferrari’s visual identity reflects their history, how that has helped them build a strong and engaged fanbase, and how you can weave the same powerful tenets into your business.

Scuderia Ferrari = “Ferrari stables”

For anyone even vaguely familiar with Ferrari, it’s impossible to separate the brand from the image of the “prancing horse”.

But the symbol was first painted on the fuselage of the warplane flown by Francesco Baracca, an Italian aviation ace, during the First World War. His parents, Count Enrico Baracca and Countess Paolina, met Enzo Ferrari in 1923.

Recalling the encounter, Enzo later wrote: “One day, the Countess said to me, ‘Ferrari, why don’t you put my son’s prancing horse on your cars? It’ll bring you good luck.’ The Horse was and will always be black; I added the canary yellow background, the colour of the city of Modena [where Francesco, Enzo, and his racing team, were born].”

Equally, the most iconic and universally recognised Ferrari paint job is “Rosso Corsa”, or racing red. And while, yes, it’s a colour synonymous with passion, speed, and excitement, the choice can be traced back to early international motorsport competitions. Each country was assigned a specific colour for their racing cars and, for Italy, that was red.

If you compare Ferrari’s logo in 1929 to today, notable iterations have been made through the years, some more extreme than others.

The latest redesign in 2002 stripped out some of the black lines, making the logo look cleaner and more sophisticated, without losing the story behind it. It now features a spindlier and stronger-looking horse with a higher front leg than that of the original, contributing to a greater feeling of dominance and motion.

You can harness this same power for your own business.

Whether you’re starting your own firm, or have been long debating a rebrand, crafting a strong visual identity is essential. Consider the image you want to project and the values you wish to convey, as a well-thought-out visual identity could differentiate your business from others, build trust, and attract your ideal client.

The power of a niche

Ferrari’s story gives fans – especially their Italian following, known as the “tifosi” – something to relate to and engage with. Translated as “fan” or “supporter”, the tifosi are fiercely passionate devotees to the Ferrari brand in F1 and are as iconic within the sport as the team itself.

A huge 84% of racing fans in Italy support Ferrari, representing the largest share of any of the 20 countries included in a recent study. They’ve done an excellent job of following the same maxim that we follow at Yardstick, namely “the riches are in the niches”.

They aren’t trying to appeal to everyone, instead leaning into their Italian heritage and ensuring that, for many Italians, supporting Ferrari and filling the grandstands with red is a matter of national pride. When the team unveiled a new blue livery for the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, the change wasn’t well received!

Maybe you specialise in financial planning for rock climbing instructors in Yorkshire. Or something slightly less niche? Even if you consider yourself a more generalist adviser/planner, and you’re happy to work with a broad group of people, your most powerful differentiator is you, your team, and your story.

And you need to be able to communicate that story effectively:

• Ensure your visual identity is reflective of your firm’s history, and there’s a reason for your decisions. From the logo to your typography to the colour palette, ask yourself why the choice is important to you, and whether it fits with the firm you’re trying to be.
• Your website should include high-quality photography of your team so prospects can start to build a connection with the people they’ll be working with before getting in touch. Every team member should have their own “meet the person” page, and it would be nice to include a few facts about them that aren’t related to their work. Here’s how we do that at Yardstick – these personal details humanise your team, making them appear more approachable and relatable to a potential client.
• You should record client testimonial videos of your current clients explaining how you’ve helped them work towards or achieve their goals. Showing prospective clients how working with you could change their lives will always beat telling, especially if the prospect can relate to the challenges and aspirations expressed in the videos. This is another reason why having a niche can be so powerful. A 40-something-year-old business owner in Kent is likely going to have different financial goals than a young, single mum in Bolton. If a prospect can hear that you’ve helped someone very similar to them, the connection is going to be that much stronger.
• Ensure you maintain a regular and consistent presence wherever your audience hang out, both online and offline. This might be by posting every week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or X. You could consider local advertising if working with clients in your immediate area is important to you. An email newsletter maintains a regular touchpoint with your prospects, clients, and professional connections. Whatever channels you choose to use, the content should be tailored, relevant, and very “you”. Demonstrate your expertise with sound advice that solves the financial challenges that keep your clients and prospects up at night, and have a voice that is unapologetically your own.

Forza Ferrari!

For your financial services firm, your story is your strength.

But, when it comes to communicating that story, many advisers/planners struggle to find the time, skill, or inclination to do so consistently.

• Our branding team can help convert the vision of your brand stuck inside your head into beautiful assets that reflect exactly who you want to be.
• Our content team can find the right words to build a long-lasting relationship with your clients, prospects, and professional connections, communicating your firm’s expertise and personality.
• Our social media team can help you maintain a consistent presence wherever your audience hang out online, while growing your network to attract more potential clients.

Email hi@theyardstickagency.co.uk or call 0115 896 5300, and we’ll find a good time for a chat about how we can help.