Integrated luxury brand with lush branch, gorgeous website
Every now and then, there’s a bank that really understands the importance of having an integrated brand supporting a narrow focus on a specific audience.
Goldwater Bank, targeting upscale residents in the posh retirement mecca of Scottsdale, Arizona, is such a bank. Their website is a visually lush and stunning reflection of the bank’s equally-impressive in-BRANCH EXPERIENCE.
When you pull up to their prestigious location on Scottsdale’s ritzy waterfront, you can have the Goldwater valet park your car for you. Then, when you’re inside, you can help yourself to a cold drink from the refrigerator and check your email on a new Apple Macintosh. There are no tellers, just private, sit-down transaction pods.
Everything about them is refined, sophisticated. Even the name is on-brand.
They call it “Lifestyle Banking,” and it’s built on what they refer to as “The Five C’s:”
Common sense- Courtesy
- Customization
- Concierge
- Courier
It’s the last two C’s – the concierge and courier – that really stand out. Yep. That’s right. They have a courier. If you’re too busy to make it to the bank, don’t worry. You can use Goldwater’s door-to-door banking services.
That’s not all. Their concierge will help you with everything from taking care of your pets to picking up your mail. They’ll also help you with such things as buying flowers, arranging dinners, booking exotic trips, getting tickets to exclusive events, and all that other stuff the rich don’t have time to do themselves.
Luxury banking with swanky pampering. Sounds pretty nice, doesn’t it?
Surprisingly, this bank isn’t just for the super-rich and mega-famous. The minimum required to open a checking account is $25,000. Maintain an average balance above that and you qualify as a member of their Elite Status program.
The only downside to the website is its music track. It gets old pretty quickly. And forgets that your preference was “no music” when you reload the site.
Key Takeaway: When you focus on a specific audience and their unique needs, it’s much easier to align every aspect of your organization around a cohesive brand — what you do, what you offer and how you offer it.
Source: Cashcow.in (thanks!)
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- Umpqua unveils new ‘neighborhood store’
- Omaha bank rolls out new branch prototype
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Tags: emerging affluent, lifestyle banking, luxury, upscale, wealth management
July 21st, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Looks pretty sweet! I was totally let down when I took a demo of their online banking. If you’ve got kick ass digs like that, you’ve gotta have an online banking interface to match.
July 21st, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Agreed. Thanks for doing the extra legwork to investigate!
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:35 am
Great concept, one that I think has traction in a lot of markets.
I did get a kick out of the graphic they used to represent “Remote Capture.” As FI’s we still seem to have trouble describing this service properly to our customers (and in this case – describing it properly to the web designer!!).
ps: Great site! Keep up the good work.
July 22nd, 2008 at 9:22 am
Thanks for the comment Marc. You’re absolutely right, this idea can play in any market with a concentration of affluents.
Branding is all about differentiating in a relevant way. Goldwater had done this — in one swoop, simply by narrowing its target audience down as finely as possible/practical. They are able to connect with their customers by providing a solution unlike other banks (differentiated) that aligns with their target’s lifestyle (relevant).
They would have never ended up with this brand if they had said their target audience is “people ages 25-55, with a slight focus on women.”
July 23rd, 2008 at 7:33 am
Check out Great Wisconsin Credit Union: http://www.greatwisconsincu.org
It’s not quite Goldwater obvious, but can you tell what their target market is after a few clicks through the site?
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Interesting site for Great Wisconsin. Seems like (young/active) women are the target. They present it well as to not be exclusionary towards men, but it isn’t hidden. I like the “Changing Your Marital Status” section…with links for those on the way in (getting married) and out (getting divorced).
July 23rd, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Ha, I caught the “Changing Your Marital Status” thing too. I love looking at the various ways financial institutions tackle lifestage marketing. To me, this was the most interesting part of the site.
February 8th, 2010 at 1:06 am
[...] The Financial Brand writes about Goldwater Bank’s new website, which is a reflection of Goldwater’s upscale image. Their branch offices look more like posh hotel lobbies than the usual slightly run-down brownish interiors of many other banks. The article mentions Goldwater’s luxury offline amenities like concierge and couriers. So let’s take a closer look at their new website, and see whether it provides the same luxury experience. [...]
February 11th, 2010 at 10:09 am
I disagree.
There appears to be a disconnect between the website and the luxury brand.
The colors are rich but from a design standpoint it looks strictly square and out-of-the-box.
You can tell this site was done by a web development house and not a marketing agency with an eye on the brand and how best to express it through the most important marketing channel ever: the web.
February 11th, 2010 at 11:51 am
I’m not sure Goldwater would agree that the web represents their most “important marketing channel.” These guys are different than your typical bank. They are all about private banking, which normally means in-person meetings. Goldwater is using their online channel to say, “See this… This is what you can expect when you come in to Goldwater.” If you look at most other private banking websites, they will mostly feature photos of serious-but-smiley business types.
Goldwater is selling its BRANCH EXPERIENCE, arguably its strongest- and most-important brand asset.