Rocket Companies will return to the Super Bowl this year under a refreshed brand identity positioning the company as inclusive, as its Rocket Mortgage brand faces a racial discrimination lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice.
The Detroit-based fintech company – which operates across mortgage, real estate and personal finance brands – is getting a new visual identity “designed to position Rocket as one of the most inclusive brands in America,” according to a press release.
The company will also unify its identity under the “Rocket” master brand and create an “end-to-end homeownership experience.” Its national title producer, settlement provider and appraisal management company, formerly known as Amrock, has rebranded as Rocket Close; Amrock Title Insurance Company rebranded as Rocket Title Insurance Company; and Rocket Pro TPO – which works with mortgage brokers, lenders, banks, and credit unions – has rebranded as Rocket Pro. As part of the refresh, the company has acquired the Rocket.com domain.
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“Homeownership is a fundamental building block of the American Dream. As the category leader, it is important that every aspect of the Rocket brand lives up to this iconic ideology," Rocket Companies CMO Jonathan Mildenhall said in a statement.
The rebranding follows the DOJ filing a lawsuit against Rocket Mortgage, and appraisers it worked with, for allegedly discriminating against a Black homeowner by undervaluing her home due to her race in a required appraisal for a 2021 mortgage refinance application, and for Rocket Mortgage’s allegedly retaliatory action canceling the application after she reported the discrimination. According to the DOJ, the home was valued at “$200,000 lower than an appraisal on the same property that had been completed less than a year before.”
Rocket subsequently filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, and sued the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to “correct conflicts between the government’s regulations requiring appraiser independence and its enforcement actions seeking to hold lenders liable for the conduct of independent licensed appraisers.”
According to Rocket, its new visual identity was designed to position the company as engaging “with key growth demographics, including Hispanic, female, Veteran and first-time homebuyers, while continuing to resonate with its established audience.” Some key elements include a "halo” logo intended to represent “the journey to homeownership and the building of prosperity and generational wealth,” a color refresh to a “softer, warmer” shade of Rocket’s signature red, and photography featuring real clients.
“Rocket's new design elements embody our spirit and commitment to making homeownership accessible to all,” Mildenhall added, “This is just the first of many steps Rocket will take in 2025 as we embark upon this significant companywide transformation”
Rocket will reveal the next stage of its brand transformation during its 2025 Super Bowl campaign, which will focus on “demonstrating how homeownership has the power to unite the nation – instilling a deep sense of pride and belonging” as the first creative element in supporting Rocket’s purported mission to “Help Everyone Home.”