Headlines, snapshots and misc. stories of interest

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Here are recent stories of interest from around the web.
Click on the hotlinked headlines to read more.

Dueling piggy bank messages

To feed the pig or to not feed the pig? That is the question raised in this NPR story that examines the difference in two national PSA campaigns. One comes from Finland, where they are demonizing the financial industry’s iconic piggy bank, equating savings with “feeding the recession.” Meanwhile, back in America… The American Institute of CPAs is saying the exact opposite. They are running a savings-focused campaign called “Feed the Pig.”

Recently, The Financial Brand wondered whether the ubiquitous piggy bank was destined for the grave. With such a limited range of creative symbols available within the financial industry, it doesn’t look like that will happen any time soon.

American Banker: Ad spending down

Some banks are out there running brand ads, but that’s not the trend. American Banker looks at Neilsen’s data that says financial services ad spending dropped 10% last year (previous coverage from The Financial Brand here). Aite’s Ron Shevlin says that’s a good thing because financial institutions don’t need advertising right now. “There’s demand creation and there’s demand capture. Now, it’s more about how do you capture the demand that’s out there.” Exactly right, Ron. Like exploiting mergers and growing deposits. READ ARTICLE

No hats, no hoods, no sunglasses

The Financial Brand has previously expressed its skepticism in the effectiveness of the “no hats, no hoods, no sunglasses” approach to robbery reduction. But if the analysis in this in-depth article is correct, it seems that the method does indeed reduce robberies. READ ARTICLE

Top 500 financial brands

There just aren’t that may in the financial industry. There can’t be. Not any more. Nevertheless, here’s a 46-page PDF detailing the top 500 global brands in financial services. VIEW PDF

Build boldly

An interesting argument outlining the reasons why it’s a good idea to build branches despite an ugly outlook. READ ARTICLE