Barclays PLC has rebranded its U.S. credit card division, formerly known as Juniper Financial Corp.
The division became Barclaycard US two weeks ago. Ben Brake, its managing director of marketing, said the change is meant to increase name recognition, particularly when the division approaches potential cobranding partners.
"It's been our experience that when we're out talking to people, particularly on the B-to-B side, they tend to recognize the Barclays brand more," Mr. Brake said. The British parent company gave Juniper the choice of using the Barclays handle, he said.
Existing Juniper cardholders will not be reissued cards, Mr. Brake said, and the Juniper name will continue to appear on the back of the company's cards until Juniper's bank charter is moved over to the new name. The issuer's Web site has been fully rebranded, however, as has its headquarters in Wilmington, Del., which now sports Barclaycard US signs, he said.
Since Juniper's founding in 2000, cobranding and affinity relationships have been the cornerstone of its strategy. (Barclays bought the outfit in 2004.)
On Tuesday, Barclaycard US announced the launch of a co-branded World MasterCard with US Airways that rewards customers with 1.5 miles per dollar spent, 50% more than the typical airline card. Last year Juniper agreed to pay $480 million to lure away Bank of America Corp.'s only national airline cobranded partner. (B of A will continue to issue US Airways cards through 2007, after which Barclaycard US will be the exclusive issuer.)
Other Barclaycard US affinity partners include Best Western, Frontier Airlines, Midwest Airlines, Harvard Alumni Association, Orbitz, Sinclair Oil and Gulf Petroleum, and Century 21.
Despite taking the name of a retail banking company, the issuer will continue to pursue its cobranding strategy, Mr. Brake said, rather than marketing cards on its own in the United States.
"I don't expect that you'll see in the near future a move away from that strategy," Mr. Brake said. "It's all about the partners that we work with and the associations. … That is the focus of our business."
Last April, Barclays installed the chief financial officer of its U.K. consumer lending unit, Richard Sommers, as Juniper's CFO.
