I work on many branding projects for financial companies and find the most frustrating thing in the world is to create a great brand position, only to watch the client fail to live up to it, often to a considerable degree. The key question is: How much should brand designers temper their imaginations and big ideas with the reality of a client’s ability or even desire to live up to them? I always like to aim for the top – the clients tend to agree…and then don’t make the effort on their side. So if the brand fails, who’s fault is it – the brand designer who dared to think too big for the client? Or the client who went along with it without questioning their own ability or even interest in upholding their side of the deal?

The Financial Brand shared this campaign because it is a large project from a large bank. That’s all. The article draws attention to one aspect of the project that is both interesting and uncommon — the research.

Instead of heaping one criticism on top of another and telling financial institutions what they’ve done wrong, The Financial Brand aims to help them by singling out some positives. Pointing out where people screwed up is easy. Anyone can do that, especially with the benefit of hindsight.

Lucas, do you have any constructive advice for financial institutions?

…another venerable institution beimg rammed into the groumd unceremoniously.

but if they run a few ads and claim to have conducted a couple of market surveys prior and post, then it’s all good!?!?

do you have any idea how much money this bank is LOSING right now?!?!?