The Home Loan Expert Brand Book

T E A M W O R K | C O M M I T M E N T | A C C O U N TA B I L I T Y | A C T I O N | C O M M U N I T Y 1

THE HOME LOAN EXPERT | BRAND GUIDELINES

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T E A M W O R K | C O M M I T M E N T | A C C O U N TA B I L I T Y | A C T I O N | C O M M U N I T Y

“This book is dedicated to my family— both my wife and kids and my Home Loan Expert family. This Brand Book is just the first iteration of many, and it will grow and change with us. But it tells the story of who we are and what we’re about.

“I’m so proud of what we’ve built at THLE and so grateful to everyone who sacrificed to help us reach this point. If you’re reading this, you are part of what makes this company great. Thank you.”

- RK

K E L L E Y F A M I LY 2 0 2 0 - R Y A N , T R A C E Y , A D D I S O N , J A C K & J O H N N Y

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CONTENTS

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1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3

Mission Vision Core Values Voice

2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3

Brand Story Brand Story: Keys to Success Brand Story: Community Outreach Brand Story: Charitable Partners

3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6

Logomark Color & Gradients Logo Usage Logo Variations Logo Lockups Typefaces Brand Tree

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KEEP CLIMBING

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RK & APRIL - 2015

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1.0 MISSION

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The Home Loan Expert was founded with a defiant spirit to make securing a loan a positive experience, and with the goal of putting people and community first.

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1.1 VISION

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1.2 VISION

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Our vision is to become the premier, and most mortgage lending brand in the country.

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1 . 2 CO R E VA LU E S

Our success relies on collaboration—we succeed by working together and caring for one another.

W e’r e st r ong er as a team .

THE HOME LOAN EXPERT | BRAND GUIDELINES

We are resilient, dedicated, and focused on growing our business.

And most of all, W e wor k Har d.

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W e cr eate valu e for our cust om er s We offer value in both our services and how we deliver them. We are resilient, dedicated, and focused on growing our business.

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and our comm unities, too.

We have a passion for paying it for war d.

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We hold ourselves and each other accountable for best representing our brand and our team.

This is the measure of our success: giving back to others so they can overcome adversity and reach their goals.

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1 . 3 BR AND VOICE

THE HOME LOAN EXPERT | BRAND GUIDELINES

Our voice is casual, not corporate. Our tone is authoritative yet approachable, informative but never dull. Think smart, colloquial, no-nonsense, direct, and caring.

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We’re friendly! We try to be accessible, not exclusive. We balance stability with dynamism, skew more progressive than traditional. We’ve been known to crack jokes. We sound like your most helpful neighbor. We’re a big fan of the word “we.” ause w e put ( bec y fir st ) c omm u nit

Our brand voice is still evolving—and that’s a good thing. We’re all building this brand together, and the voice should reflect who we are. Our personalities are what make this company special. Let’s let them speak for us in everything we say, and make, and do.

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Smart Approachable Colloquial Friendly No-nonsense & Direct Caring

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BR AND STORY

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SAINT LOUIS, MISSOURI

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2 .0 BR AND STORY

THE HOME LOAN EXPERT | BRAND GUIDELINES

in 2011 when our founder Ryan Kelley was working for a soulless corporate mortgage company and closing loans from a cubicle, and he had a realization: what he should be doing was closing loans at his clients’ kitchen tables and shaking their hands. Closing home loans shouldn’t be treated like any other transaction— after all, buying a home is often the most important purchase of people’s lives. Ryan

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saw that mortgage loans had become the most stressful and least human part of homebuying—but it didn’t have to be this way. So he began knocking on doors in St. Louis and helping his neighbors receive the best rates for their home loans, offering them the guidance and personal touch he wished he’d gotten.

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2 .0 BR AND STORY

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All of the original employees are still on our team to this day, and are still driven by a shared hunger to build something special.

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Over time, word started to spread, and referrals poured too much for one person working in a basement, so Ryan made his first hire— shortly followed by a second.

All of the original employees are still on our team to this day, and are still driven by a shared hunger to build something special. Our brand has become synonymous with

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in. The work quickly became

getting clients the best rate for their home loans with the best customer service.

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2 .0 BR AND STORY

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The Home Loan Expert is now lending in 17 states with more than 200 employees.

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Today, our Loan Officers, Underwriting Department, and Closing Departments have well over mortgage industry. Our hard work has paid off, and we’ve been recognized as the Top Producing Loan Officers in the Nation for the past several years.

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1000 years of combined experience in the

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2 .1 BR AND STORY: KE YS TO SUCCESS

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We care a lot, and we stick to our values.

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Here’s the keys that got us where we are today:

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1.

We have a laser focus on not becoming the typical old-school mortgage team.

THE HOME LOAN EXPERT | BRAND GUIDELINES

The mortgage industry is stuck in ingrained ideas and bad habits. The traditional way of doing business is impersonal, inefficient, and not working for today’s homeowners.

Our founder Ryan wanted an authentic and personal approach to homebuying, because purchasing a home is a milestone in people’s lives that should be a happy memory. We get to know our customers, and focus on building relationships first.

2.

We’ve built a unique, efficient system.

We have developed a unique system to originate a loan from start to finish that is faster and more streamlined than our competitors’ methods. Our goal has always been to eliminate extra steps while consistently providing best-in-class customer service. And even though the THLE team has set the new standard for a streamlined loan process, we are constantly finding new ways to improve.

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Loan Officer (LO) training is a crucial component of what makes our system work. All LOs complete a full year of training alongside Ryan before becoming THLE Loan Officers to ensure consistently great customer service across our branches, and to give our LOs the tools they need to succeed.

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3.

We’re committed to family.

4.

We believe in giving back.

We know there’s more to life than just building a successful business. Our company is known for our extensive charity work, and for bringing our employees together behind the shared cause of community service. That’s why we started the Keep Climbing Foundation.

The Keep Climbing Foundation is our company’s charitable arm and our proudest achievement yet. It focuses mainly on climbs, races and expeditions undertaken by THLE teammates for the purpose of raising money for charity. Each year, our participants push themselves to their mental and physical limits to raise money for important causes and to practice enduring the difficulties life often throws at us by working as a team.

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Our commitment to family is at the heart of our company’s values and culture, and it informs everything we do. Our founder Ryan is a family man who spends all of his free time with his awesome wife Tracy and their three children. Our growing company now has more than 160 employees, but most of us are on a first name basis— and sometimes, we even climb mountains together (literally!)

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COMMUNIT Y OUTRE ACH

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o g er W e ' r e b u il di ng st r n co m m u n it ie s by he lp in g & d In sp i r in g p e op l e i n n ee .

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2 . 2 BR AND STORY: COMMUNIT Y OUTRE ACH

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The Keep Climbing Foundation Keep Climbing Foundation exists to help people facing challenges live their better tomorrow. We do this by raising

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awareness and money for a variety of pressing causes. These include childhood illness, Veterans’ support, assistance for first responders and frontline workers, and responding to urgent community needs such as natural disaster assistance.

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The Home Loan Expert has a long history of giving back. Through various efforts, we strive to help communities in need through outreach, charitable giving, and fundraising. We serve everyone from children battling serious illnesses to owners of local restaurants affected E AT L O C A L M E A L S

communities, and we strive to continually show up for them in innovative and dynamic ways.

With Climb for the Kids, our most impactful program to date, we’ve worked to raise awareness and funds for various nonprofits that help children—especially those dealing with severe illness and cancer.

Our most recent program, Eat Local Meals, focuses on promoting small, locally-owned restaurants during this pandemic that has caused so much devastation. Through this effort, we have also purchased several hundred meals

BACKSTOPPERS CHARIT Y

for healthcare workers in St. Louis and for Veterans

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by the pandemic. Our team cares deeply about our

in San Antonio.

The next phase of these efforts is our newly-formed Community Outreach team, which will establish an independent 501c3 non-profit organization, the Keep Climbing Foundation. The foundation will allow us to boost our efforts and invite others to join us so that we may amplify our impact and do even more good.

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GIRLS ON THE RUN CLIMB

2 . 3 B R A N D S T O R Y : C H A R I TA B L E P A R T N E R S

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Charitable Partners In addition to giving to charitable organizations, we also give back directly

D E L L C H I L D R E N ' S F O U N D AT I O N

to members of the community in need. We strive to support local causes however we can, and we encourage and inspire all

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employees to get involved, too, through our Community Outreach efforts.

Isaac Bruce Foundation | Dell Children's Foundation | Backstoppers | SSM Health Cardinal | Glennon Hospital | St. Louis Area Foodbank | Girls On The Run | Team Alec Forever Foundation | Catherine Cares | Sydney Soldiers Always | Fight DMD | Friends of Kids With Cancer

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S S M H E A LT H C A R D I N A L G L E N N O N H O S P I TA L

"At The Home Loan Expert, we like to say that providing great loan options and programs is what

incredibly proud to do our part to invest in the future of our children’s health. For years, we have been personally involved in doing what we can to help kids who deserve a chance at life. We’re humbled to have the opportunity to give back, which is not only a privilege but an obligation as well.

"Success can be defined in different ways. But if we can all help even one of our children get that chance to enjoy a fruitful life, then we have been

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we do, but giving back is what we’re about. We are

successful."

l y - R ya n K e l e

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LOGOMARK

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3.0 LOGOMARK

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3.1 COLORS

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SQUASH

3 . 2 LOGO USAGE

Do not squash, squeeze or non-proportionally transform the logo.

Logo Dos and Don'ts THE HOME LOAN EXPERT | BRAND GUIDELINES

CHANGE COLOR

Do not change the color of the logo. Do not add a gradient, tint or change the color shade.

L O G O C L E A R S PAC E

When placing the logo, make sure to have adequate whitespace around the logo.

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X

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3 . 3 L O G O V A R I AT I O N S

Logo Variations

LOGO WITH LLC

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LOGO WITH NMLS #

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LLC AND NMLS# CAN BE ADDED FOR COMPLIANCE REASONS.

RYAN KELLEY

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3.4 LOGO LOCKUPS

Logo Lockups THE HOME LOAN EXPERT | BRAND GUIDELINES

LINE DENOTES SEPARATION FOR PAIRINGS WITH INTERNAL LOGO AND TEAM OR CORPORATE LOGO

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PARTNERING LOGOS WITH CORPORATE OR TEAM LOGO

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3 . 5 T Y PEFACE S

Typefaces

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxz 0123456789!@£$%^&*()

Opensauce is used in Black for headings, while Bold is used for body and text copy.

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Open Sauce

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3.6 BRAND TREE

Brand Tree

TEAMS

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Endorsed Brands

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Affiliated Organizations

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Brand Extension

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Climbing

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