The Financial Brand » Front Page

Time capsule: ‘Bank of the Future’ from 1973

July 2, 2009 - Check out the 70s vision of banking in the future, including picture phones, 24-hour universal tellers and video tellers. It’s far out, man. SEE THE BRANCH

Caja Navarra: Pioneers in Civic Banking

June 29, 2009 - In northern Spain, there’s a bank that really gets branding. It’s called Caja Navarra and they could show other community banks and credit unions a thing or two about what’s really possible with “community banking.” READ ARTICLE

Inside-out vs. outside-in

July 1, 2009 - There are two ways to build a brand. You can start with what you believe in and stand for, or you can start by listening to your target audience. READ ARTICLE

10 interesting (and free) whitepapers

June 30, 2009 - Reports on design, audience segmentation, Twitter, loyalty, PR and more. SEE THE REPORTS

Creative Showcase: Tongue papercuts, money lovin’

June 25, 2009 - Some great billboards from BofA… a TV commercial that is so risque, it will blow your mind… and more. SEE THE WORK

Notably Quotable: “I love to share everything on Twitter”

June 24, 2009 - That quote comes from the CEO of a major financial institution. See what else people have been saying around the financial industry lately. READ QUOTES

Fun, summery loan promo and scooter giveaway

June 23, 2009 - TFCU’s is giving away gas cards and a pair of Buddy Scooters as part of its Get Going summer promotion. The campaign is built around a push on toy loans, including auto, boat, RV and motorcycle loans. SEE THE PROMO

2009 Strategic Brand Challenges Survey

June 22, 2009 - A survey conducted by The Financial Brand found that retail banks and credit unions are worried about a tough economy, and will be concentrating their energies online to retain, attract and acquire relationships over the next three years. SEE THE RESULTS

Passion papaya smoothies and 3-month CDs

June 18, 2009 - Reliant Bank has blended a smoothie shop into one of its branches. The bank has put a Maui Wowi franchise inside its Lennox branch, where you can now get tropical fruit smoothies, exotic Kona coffee, muffins and “Go for the Gold” protein bars. SEE THE BRANCH

Datahead: The reality of the financial consumer

June 16, 2009 - 39% say the economy is getting better. 35% say the worst is yet to come. 2,900 families lose their home each day. Half the country didn’t pay attention to the big bank stress tests. SEE THE DATA

Advanta forces Avanta to become ‘Altana’

June 15, 2009 - Avanta FCU is being forced to spend more than $80,000 changing names by Advanta Bank in Utah, which back in 2008 gave the credit union one year to change names or face a lawsuit. READ ARTICLE

10 tweets you shouldn’t send (and why)

June 11, 2009 - You see financial institutions talk about dull and boring things all the time. Take a look at the list and you’ll probably see many familiar-looking tweets. SEE THE LIST

Creative Showcase: Ally TV, Loans Gone Wild

June 10, 2009 - Kids star in some hilarious TV spots, show us those rates in “Loans Gone Wild,” a Gen-Y microsite from a credit union… and more. SEE THE WORK

‘Fair fees,’ brought to you by ING Direct

June 9, 2009 - ING Direct is trying to ignite a populist revolution in Canada over big bank fees. The project is built around a microsite at www.fairfees.ca, where there is a petition signed by as many as 6,000 Canadians. READ ARTICLE

USAA defines what it isn’t in massive ad push

June 8, 2009 - Usually known for its understated and reserved approach to marketing, USAA is going on the attack in its latest ad campaign, spelling out what USAA isn’t and what it didn’t do. SEE THE CAMPAIGN

Two squirrels go nuts for First Tech Credit Union

June 4, 2009 - Meet Chuck and Leroy, two squirrels going nuts for First Tech Credit Union in a new brand advertising campaign called First Tech Fans. SEE THE CAMPAIGN

Twitter is white hot in the financial industry

June 3, 2009 - Twitter is ablaze in the financial industry. It’s spreading like wildfire, and for many financial institutions, it’s not a question of “if” but “when” they will be on Twitter. READ MORE

Three years’ results. Two days.

June 2, 2009 - How does $35 million in deposits and 800 new members sound? That’s what Advantis just did… in two days. It helped fuel the best first quarter in the credit union’s history. How did they do it? READ ARTICLE

Get $1 for each Facebook friend from TD Canada

June 1, 2009 - TD Canada Trust is giving its customers the chance to win $1 for every friend they have on Facebook. The giveaway is part of an effort to draw attention to the bank’s new automatic savings product, the Simply Save program. SEE CAMPAIGN

Datahead: Facts, stats and figures

May 21, 2009 - Even though 60% of us say we’re angry at banks, three out of four people say they have no plans to change financial institutions. These statistics and more. SEE THE DATA

Bank woos small businesses with free marketing

May 20, 2009 - FirstBank in Denver is aggressively marketing to small businesses…by giving free marketing to small businesses. The bank is running billboards for customers, and is developing a microsite directory of local businesses. READ MORE

GMAC launches deposits-only ‘Ally Bank’

May 19, 2009 - Ally will be an online-only “direct bank” serving as the deposit-taking division of GMAC — no loans. Ally has an ambitious, consumer-focused brand strategy, but can they live up to it? READ ARTICLE

An excellent campaign that raises an ethical question

May 18, 2009 - A tongue-in-cheek promotion from Coast Capital makes fun big banks and their fees. But the campaign’s microsite might be breaking the unwritten rules of social media. READ ARTICLE

What Chase/WaMu can teach us about Twitter

May 8, 2009 - We hopped on Twitter to see what people were saying now that the WaMu brand has almost been fully devoured by Chase. How should your financial institution respond? READ ARTICLE

Results 2.0: Social media for financial institutions

This presentation by Jeffry Pilcher, publisher of The Financial Brand, picks up where those impassioned, touchy-feely recommendations to jump on the Web 2.0 bandwagon stop short. This is what you need to know to implement Web 2.0 tools that accomplish real business objectives. SEE THE PRESENTATION

United FCU asks Gen-Y to rant and vent

United FCU launched a new campaign targeting the much-coveted Gen-Y crowd. The project invites those between the ages of 18 and 30 to rant, vent, complain and express their feelings about financial matters. READ ARTICLE

Credit union gets snarky with ‘greeting card’ for banks

Coast Capital Savings, a credit union in British Columbia, is asking people to add their signatures and messages to an 8′x10′ greeting card that “congratulates” big banks for the $3 billion in fees that they charge Canadians annually. SEE THE CAMPAIGN

BofA is on Twitter, so why aren’t you?

When Bank of America launched a Twitter account, it instantly became the largest financial institution in the world using a social media tool for customer service. What make this particularly noteworthy is that BofA’s Twitter rep proactively goes out to find customers who need help. READ ARTICLE

MOST POPULAR BRANDING & MARKETING STORIES:

The Future of Branches

“The Future of Branches” takes a look at trends in retail branch design, and examines the best practices for engineering a branded financial environment. The presentation features 50 photos and dozens of examples. SEE THE PRESENTATION

LEED gold branch for a true-green credit union

The decision to go green with branches was an easy one for Columbia Credit Union, who is just about as eco-conscious as financial institutions get. Their prototype branch became the first in Washington state certified at the LEED Gold level. SEE THE BRANCH

Why Chase killed WaMu’s retail concept

Chase describes its own branches as boring. So why would they kill the innovative branch design they just inherited from WaMu? Some people chalk Chase’s move up as a referendum on retail branching, saying people prefer traditional branches. Wrong. READ ARTICLE