Why Legacy Brands Need a Mobile-First Strategy to Compete in 2026.
Legacy brands have always walked a tightrope between heritage and modernity.
But today, that tightrope isn’t something you balance on.
It’s something you sprint across. Just look at the App Store.
As of November 2025, half of the UK’s Top 20 Finance apps belong to century-old institutions—Lloyds, Barclays, HSBC, NatWest, Nationwide, and even HMRC.
Names once etched above marble doorways now live on home screens, shoulder to shoulder with digital-first disruptors like Monzo and Revolut.
It’s proof that heritage isn’t a handicap—if you know how to translate it for a mobile-first world.
Let’s start where legacy branding began.
In 1884, Lloyds absorbed Barnett, Hoares & Co. The black horse above the door on Lombard Street became their symbol — a sign that actually dates back to the 1600s. Before that? Lloyds used a beehive. Both ran side-by-side for years because legacy mattered.
But markets evolve. And the biggest shifts aren’t slow and steady—they’re seismic.
1. When the world went online, brands had to follow
For decades, progress was incremental. Then the internet arrived, and suddenly every brand needed a website. Those who didn’t move fast enough vanished.
Then came the iPhone.
Then the App Store.
Web presence wasn’t enough anymore — brands needed to land directly on the home screen. Apps became the new storefronts. Push notifications became the new email. ASO replaced SEO. Customer journeys collapsed into taps.
The brands that survived weren’t the strongest or the biggest.
They were the ones that adopted mobile thinking early.
2. The ones that didn’t evolve? They disappeared.
Hudson’s Bay Company — 355 years old, foundational to the creation of Canada — is the latest casualty. Recently shuttered.
Not because they lacked history.
But because they lacked mobile relevance.
They kept leaning on tradition.
They didn’t evolve their app.
They didn’t lean into TikTok.
They didn’t build modern acquisition engines.
Their brand became shorthand for “your grandmother’s department store.”
History is an asset—until you mistake it for a strategy.
3. But over-correcting is just as dangerous
Modern marketing can chew up even the trendiest brands.
Take Duolingo.
A company adored for its warm, human, unhinged tone decided to announce that it was becoming an “AI-first company.” The internet dragged them instantly. Why?
Because identity matters more than trends.
Their charm was human.
Their community values humour.
Their communication felt personal.
So a sudden jump to “100% AI” felt cold and alienating.
As Professor Robin Landa wrote, “You can’t joke your way through backlash.”
Irony: AI could have helped them. A playful, mobile-first demo inside the app would’ve landed perfectly. Instead, they forgot what made them them.
4. So how do legacy brands stay relevant in a mobile-first era?
One brand is doing it unusually well: Lloyds.
Instead of doubling down on “how things used to be,” they’re modernising their marketing infrastructure — from brand design to channel strategy to app experience.
A. They’re restructuring around agility
The new CMO, Suresh Balaji, has shifted from the traditional “agency on record” model to a flexible partner-led model. No silos. No rigid creative frameworks. Just expertise plugged where needed.
This is the kind of structure mobile brands rely on — fast iterations, not 12-month creative cycles.
B. Their rebrand focuses on digital touchpoints
Wolff Olins redesigned the brand around its real front doors:
the website and the app.
Typography, motion, iconography — all built with mobile UI in mind.
This is the shift most legacy brands miss.
Your brand isn’t your TV ad.
Your brand is your App Store preview video.
C. They’re experimenting with unexpected digital ecosystems
At Media360, Lloyds announced a partnership with Activision Blizzard. Whether or not it becomes operational doesn’t matter. The signal matters.
A bank entering gaming is a mobile growth mindset:
Go where the next billion users are
Insert your brand natively
Don’t wait until everyone else gets there first
Imagine Lloyds running the bank in World of Warcraft’s economy.
Exposure, relevance, credibility — in one of the world’s most active digital ecosystems.
5. The new rule for legacy brands: Modernisation is mobile-first
We’ve moved past the website era.
We’ve moved past the social-media-only era.
We’re deep into the mobile attention economy.
Your:
App Store screenshots
Push strategy
Onboarding flow
Performance creative
TikTok presence
In-app UX
AI augmentation
Personalisation
…all carry more weight than a 300-year-old logo.
Legacy alone won’t keep anyone relevant.
But abandoning legacy won’t either.
The brands that win blend both:
Respect the past
Build for mobile
Protect your voice
Experiment without losing yourself
Treat your app as your flagship
Move at the speed of users, not committees
Legacy brands don’t fail because they’re old.
They fail because they stay still.
The ones that thrive?
They capitalise on their heritage—and translate it into the mobile era.
Are you a legacy brand in need of some solid advice? Get in touch.
