“We want people to come in, hang out, and meet with their friends and clients.”
— Reliant Bank

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.

“Banks have a reputation of being stuffy and intimidating,” Brian Shaw, EVP Retail Banking/Reliant, told the Nashville Business Journal. “But we want to create an environment where customers feel comfortable and at home. They can sit at our coffee shop to meet with a friend or even pay their bills at our internet bar.”

The smoothie space is completely apart from the rest of the bank branch, although there is not a physical door to separate the two operations. Guests have to come into the bank to get to the smoothie shop, which also has space for a couple of tables and some stations for a computer and printer.

The arrangement between Reliant and Maui Wowi is proceeding on a trial basis for now. The Maui Wowi franchisee has a 6-month commitment to sublet the space, with the option to renew.

“We want to create an environment where people feel comfortable and offer them a sense of community. Several groups meet here regularly just to socialize and connect,” Kelly Williams, AVP Branch Manger/Reliant, said in an interview.

“There’s a lot to
consider when doing
something like this.”
– Marion Ingram
AVP Marketing
Director/Reliant

“There’s a lot to consider when doing something like this,” Marion Ingram, AVP Marketing Director/Reliant, told The Financial Brand. “It’s important for banks who are interested in doing this to contact their state. Tennessee law wouldn’t allow anything like this, but we were able to push it through — not without holding our breath.”

Not long ago, UNCB tried a similar approach with its Gold Cafe’s in 2006, but retrenched after realizing their design was too much like a café, something that bewildered and confused customers. Considering how Reliant has executed its smoothie strategy — only 10% of the floor plan is dedicated to the smoothie operation — it’s unlikely they’ll encounter the same issues as UNCB.

Reliant Bank, based in Brentwood, Tennessee, was launched back in 2006. Reliant currently has two locations, one main office and the other branch/smoothie shop. The bank is opening four more branches by the end of the year.

Will they put smoothie shops in those locations?

“At this time, we aren’t sure,” said Ingram.

Tip of the Hat: To to folks at Market Insights Insider, who brought this story to The Financial Brand’s attention via Twitter.

How does $35 million in deposits and 800 new members sound? That’s what Advantis Credit Union just did… in two days.

A recent grand opening sales event helped fuel one of the best first quarters ever for Advantis, with membership swelling by more than 4,000 in just the first three months of 2009 — impressive results for a credit union with $700 million in assets and around 40,000 members.

Most financial institutions usually have fairly limp grand openings — tea and cookies with the mayor and maybe a few giveaways. Not Advantis. Together with their ad agency partner Weber Marketing Group, Advantis took the grand opening of it new Orenco Station branch — the credit union’s sixth — very seriously. The campaign’s major components included:

• Offers — 5% 11-month CD up to $50,000, 2% cash back on auto loans and Fusion Checking, a “rewards checking account” that paid 4% (currently 3.5%).
• Major Sweepstakes — Trip to Hawaii.
• Two Day Event — Friday 9-6 and Saturday 10-2. Free food, drinks and “thousands of dollars in instant prize giveaways.”
• Newspaper Ads
• Direct Mail - Targeted to members and non-members. Included “match-and-win” instant prize numbers to help fuel traffic back to the branch.
• Radio Broadcasts — Live from the event to help drive traffic.
• Coordinated Staff/Planning

And here’s the campaign’s scorecard:

• $35 million in new deposits
• 804 new members
• 1,125 visitors attended the two-day event
• 579 11-month promo CDs
• 409 savings accounts with a $694 average balance
• 25% increase in loan volume

This isn’t the first grand opening sales event Weber Marketing Group has produced. They’ve been perfecting their strategy for the better part of a decade. Weber Marketing says branch traffic at these grand openings is phenomenal. Thousands of people show up, and some credit unions have had to hire off-duty policemen to direct traffic on the streets and in the parking lot.

Despite staffing the event with around 20 employees. Advantis didn’t have enough time to get accounts opened for everyone interested in the CD offer. “They had to hand out rain checks and scheduled appointments out for five straight weeks out,” Ruth Kapcia, Advantis Account Manager at Weber Marketing told The Financial Brand.

Location, location, location

“It takes most new branches over 3 years to attain results of this magnitude.”
– Ruth Kapcia
Advantis Account Manager
Weber Marketing

A huge factor in this branch’s success is its location. No matter how good your offers are, you won’t get the big numbers if you have the branch in the wrong spot.

Reality Check: Most credit unions don’t use much more than gut instinct when picking future branch locations.

Many financial institutions think they know where their next branch should go: “Right here, at this busy intersection.” Some credit unions have even used member polls to ask, “Where should we locate our next branch?”

Advantis didn’t use their intuition or rely on their knowledge of the market when locating its latest branch. They partnered with the financial facilities experts at Momentum, who deployed highly sophisticated software that maps out ideal potential locations based on traffic patterns/volumes, proximity to retail centers, density of existing financial providers, residential growth/decline, retail growth/decline, home prices, median income, ratio of owners/renters, etc. It’s called geodemography.

This kind of plan is usually good for around five years out, and can map out where you should put your next X-number of branches. It also looks at your existing branch network to see which ones might need to relocate or close. Sometimes, a branch only needs to be relocated as little as a 1/4-mile down the road to improve its performance 4-5 fold, which more than compensates for the cost of relocating it.

Momentum also performed an extensive breakeven projection for the brand eight months earlier. “Our process, developed with our partner CEO Advisory Group, creates an ‘eyes-wide-open’ benchmark for management,” Jim Haack, President/Momentum, told The Financial Brand. “We utilize up-to-date market data, demand-side assumptions and expense projections that include both capital investment and operating expenses to yield our performance projections”

“The results at Orenco relative to projections were outstanding, exceeding the first year’s goal during the event,” Haack said.

Bottom Line: The average branch doesn’t usually reach breakeven until around its fifth year, no sooner than the third. By picking the right location and using a robust grand opening sales event, Advantis’s Orenco Station branch will reach profitability 1-3 years sooner. $35 million in deposits for one branch and 10% member growth in one quarter is phenomenal by any measure.

Direct Mail Piece
The front of the DM piece (when folded) is shown above.
The inside of the DM piece is shown below.

Two-Color Print Ad

Weber Marketing Group worked closely with the financial facilities firm
Momentum to create a new, branded branch prototype for Advantis including branch
architecture, interior design and merchandising.

Last year, Forest Kraft Credit Union changed names and became Centric. The credit union was looking to appeal to a broader segment of the community by differentiating themselves in a crowded financial market with a unique name. Furthermore, the credit union wanted to dispel the assumption that it was only open to employees of Forest Kraft. The name change process took over 11 months from conception to official roll out. Now, a year later, the transformation is complete.

Centric contracted with LEVEL⁵ for its strategic consulting, real estate, integrated design, construction management and branding. LEVEL⁵, a consulting and facilities development firm specializing in financial institutions, worked with the credit union on a strategic plan focused on the best opportunities to reflect the credit union’s philosophy, approach and budget.

Centric and LEVEL⁵ also partnered with Sky Design for the rebranding and identity redesign. “It was a collaborative process between all three parties,” Greg Allen, Director of Marketing/LEVEL⁵, told The Financial Brand.

LEVEL⁵ then implemented the new brand into Centric’s branch environments.

The Financial Brand wrote about two other LEVEL⁵ projects last year — one story about Auburn FCU’s brand and branch revamp, and another about a modern branch design for Delta Community Credit Union.

Centric Credit Union, based in West Monroe, Louisiana, has $83 million in assets and 11,500 members.

Old Name & Logo
Established in 1937 to originally serve the community’s paper mill employees, Forest Kraft expanded to a multi-SEG credit union in 1996 when it merged with a hospital-based credit union.

Centric Name, Logo & Slogan
The name reflects the credit union’s roots serving the lumber industry. The concentric circles of a tree serve as the inspiration for both the name and the logo. Centric’s new slogan is, “Grounded in Tradition. Growing in Opportunity.” In excess of 300 names were evaluated, from which a short list of 20 were picked. Six rose to the top and joined a priority list for the final selection process. There are currently plans to secure a federal trademark on the Centric name.

Dialog Delivery
LEVEL⁵ calls the Centric branch design a “dialog delivery” layout, something that “enables employees to better serve members and handle transactions in a more retail-oriented environment rather than traditional branches with teller lines.”

New Centric Website

[Note: There is a slide show embedded in this article.]

“The Future of Branches” is another presentation by Jeffry Pilcher, Publisher of The Financial Brand and President/ICONiQ. It 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. Here’s a summary of the main points.

• With your next branch, be deliberate, strategic and intentional.
  Don’t just do “what you’ve always done.”
• You need to build your branch around interactions, not transactions.
• Think like a retailer. Move from “fortresses” to “stores.”
• Cross-sell your financial products and services.
• Think in terms of retail zones. Create retail destinations.
• Create brand theater.
• Have a retail street presence.
• You can create a secure environment without compromising your retail focus…
  and without turning into Fort Knox.
• Make it enjoyable.
• Make it memorable.
• Differentiate.

“The Future of Branches” is one of four presentations available from ICONiQ that have been built specifically for financial institutions. The other three presentations include “The 7 Deadly Branding Sins,” “Results 2.0,” and “The 11 Cs of Breakthrough Brands.”

Thanks to CUES for hosting the 2009 debut of this presentation.

Columbia Credit Union is just about as green as financial institutions get. They have green business practices, an E-Go Green Auto Loan, a Living Green Mortgage and they have tips for greener living on their website. They even gave away a Mercedes Smart Car last year. So the decision to go green with branches was an easy one for this eco-conscious credit union.

Originally designed to the goal of LEED Silver, Columbia’s first green branch project ultimately attained the higher level LEED Gold certification, making it the first financial institution in Washington state certified at the Gold level.

To meet strict LEED standards, 75% of construction waste must be diverted from landfills. Builders must carefully separate scrap metal, wood and concrete for transport to certified recyclers in the nearby area. Construction sites must also be contained to protect drainage systems from soil runoff. Builders and subcontractors have to review material lists to ensure supplies contain the right percentage of post-consumer recycled content. For example, the recycled metals that makes up the siding on the Washougal branch may have come from recycled soda cans or automobiles.

For the new green branch prototype, Columbia tapped EHS Design and Weber Marketing Group. (Weber Marketing has its own LEED Gold certified headquarters in Seattle.)

The architects and interior designers at EHS Design developed a new green prototype branch prototype that leverages several abundant local resources — harvesting rainfall, maximizing natural daylight, and interacting with the temperate climate through auto-sensor controls and operable windows.

Weber Marketing created an “Eco-Tour” of the branch’s green features, where members can read about Columbia’s environmentally-friendly ways at different “stops” throughout the space (see the list of descriptions at the bottom of this article).

Weber Marketing’s financial merchandising team designed features that relied on sustainable hardware, green inks and completely recycled materials. Use of laminates and adhesives was minimized to reduce the impact on the environment. Some displays were made by applying water-based coatings directly to recycled substrates, thus avoiding harmful inks and pulp-based papers.

Columbia COO Steve Kenny says, “We’ve created a healthy environment for our members, a productive atmosphere for staff, and invested in a sustainable future that benefits everyone.”

Columbia expects its green branches will save up to 50% in energy costs along with 13,500 gallons of water every year.

The Washougal branch is just the first of multiple branches to come. Columbia has already completed its second LEED-certified branch.

Here’s an excellent 2-minute video detailing Columbia’s green branch prototype.

“Iconic Pyramid Skylight”
A skylight lets in natural sunlight, reducing the need for interior lighting.  It’s always a good idea to have signature architectural elements incorporated into the design of your branch exteriors.

“Porous concrete”
Porous concrete in the parking lot aids proper drainage of the site prevents runoff from contaminating local bodies of water.

“Rainwater recycling”
A cistern harvests rainwater for landscape irrigation and non-potable plumbing indoor use. This reduces the need for public water and lowers monthly water bills.

“Native plants and local materials”
Native landscaping requires less frequent irrigation and fertilization. Stonework came from local quarries, requiring less energy to get to the construction site.

“The right stuff”
All wood was certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, ensuring it was harvested in a way that protects the environment. FSC-certified lumber is used throughout the building.

“Fresh air”
Vented windows provide natural ventilation, reducing the need for air conditioning and the amount of energy used during warmer days.

“A bright idea”
Auto-dimming lights cut electricity use. Dimmers and compact fluorescent lighting (CFLs) drastically reduce the need for electricity. Columbia also purchases 100% of its energy from the local public utility’s‘Green Lights’ program, which supports the development of renewable energy.

“Breathe easy”
Ensuring excellent indoor air quality is a key component of LEED certification. Paint, flooring and other finishes and materials should emit no- or low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can irritate the eyes and respiratory system.

“Recycled and sustainable furniture”
A table in the waiting area was made of lumber salvaged from urban parks and neighborhoods. Lounge chairs feature 100% post-industrial recycled fabric. Guest chairs were made from recycled seat belts. The staff’s furniture system is up to 69% recyclable at the end of its useful life. Most of the furniture was certified by Greenguard, ensuring high standards for indoor air quality.

“Corn cubes”
The fabric on workstation panels comes from 100% renewable, corn-based fiber, making the fabric completely biodegradable. It’s naturally stain resistant, and it doesn’t hold odors. When finished with it, the fabric can be completely composted in just three days.

“Sustainable casework”
Casework features Kirei board made from the leftover stalks of Sorghum plants, a food crop grown around the world. Other parts of the casework were made from wood industry waste and recycled wood fibers.

It’s been known for months that JP Morgan Chase planned to replace Washington Mutual’s innovative retail branch design with a much more traditional model. Now that the changes are actually being implemented, the failed thrift’s approach to branching is again being called into question.

In a recent Wall Street Journal story, Charles Scharf, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase’s retail financial services unit, said traditional branches “are superior in every way.”

Wrong. Just because WaMu collapsed does not mean its branch design was inferior. That’s a fallacious, oversimplified inference (something The Financial Brand pointed out earlier this year).

Reality Check: Chase’s branch model isn’t superior to WaMu’s. Using Scharf’s own words, Chase branches are more accurately described this way: “They might be boring, but they’re practical.”

“Traditional branches are
superior in every way.
They might be boring,
but they’re practical.”
– Charles Scharf,
CEO/Chase Retail Banking

WaMu rolled out its retail branch design with great fanfare in 2000, and used the new model as they moved into new markets such as Las Vegas and Atlanta. Later they remodeled existing branches to incorporate the new retail features. Before WaMu collapsed last September, they had spent roughly $1 billion on a branch-building binge.

Key Questions: Why would Chase want to spend millions undoing everything WaMu had taken $1 billion and 8 years to accomplish, despite a company-wide push to cut costs? Why would Chase basically drag the WaMu branches back to the past?

Actually, from Chase’s perspective, the argument to overhaul WaMu’s branches makes sense. For starters, it’s obvious why Chase would want to sanitize branches of all evidence linked to the largest bank failure in history. It’s also clear why Chase would want to standardize operations and create a consistent brand experience with one, basic branch delivery model.

But the real reason Chase needs to remodel WaMu’s branches is that the two banks had totally different business strategies.

It boils down to these two fundamental differences: (1) Chase offers small business, and (2) Chase offers private-banking services. WaMu never did.

Operationally, these two components of Chase’s business model necessitates branches with certain elements. WaMu branches branches were never designed to accommodate merchant services, nor did WaMu’s branches provide the degree of privacy required for a highly-consultative private banking audience. That’s because WaMu was a retail bank. Chase may offer retail financial services, but it’s a commercial bank at heart.

WaMu, as retail bank, was quite successful…at least from a branding perspective. The thrift did everything it could to distance itself from other competitors in the crowded retail financial space. It ran ads touting how WaMu was different as they made fun of bankers. They changed their name from Washington Mutual to WaMu.

WaMu new who it was and knew how to build its brand. That meant coming up with their own branch design and breaking away from traditional branch offices donning stark decors and staff tucked safely away behind bullet proof glass.

Which is exactly what WaMu did when they introduced their “Occasio” branches. Occasio locations were stylish retail operations that didn’t feel much like a bank at all. They did away with the traditional teller counter and windows. Customers were greeted by a concierge, and dealt with tellers at free-standing “pods” that resembled tall bar tables.

Occasio broke down not just the physical wall between customer and teller, but also a psychological wall. It put the service rep side-by-side with the customer in a casual, conversational atmosphere. And without ever making security an issue.

Latin for “favorable opportunity,” Occasio became such a symbol of pride for WaMu’s brand that they trademarked the name and got a patent on the branch design, reportedly the first patent for a store concept in history.

The branding was brilliant. The business model (risk management notwithstanding) also made a lot of sense. Occasio branches were designed to be high-speed transaction centers — no waiting, no lounge, no sofas, no chairs for tellers necessary. No need to sit down. Get in, get out.

WaMu’s branches took in a high volume of retail deposits to fuel their home lending operations. WaMu handled home lending through regional offices. (With big, one-time purchases — like a home loan — consumers are a lot more willing to drive 20-25 minutes). WaMu’s low-cost transaction centers helped them achieve their business objectives by feeding regional lending offices in a hub-and-spoke system.

Bottom Line: WaMu’s branches worked…for WaMu. Chase is talking up their more traditional branch design because that’s what they know and what works best…for them. Every financial institution needs to find its own unique branch delivery model — one that compliments their brand and business strategies. That means carefully engineering an experience while balancing your privacy and security concerns.

Further Reading: John Ryan, one of the world’s leading financial architectural firms, published a blog post about Chase’s decision to kill WaMu’s branches just yesterday.

On one hand, this sign from Congressional Federal Credit Union (oh, the irony) is so funny, it will have you peeing in your pants — literally.

On the other hand, “incontinence” is nothing to laugh about and this is a serious matter.

Why?

As innocent as typos + misspellings may be, they equate with inaccuracy. Inaccuracy is downright icky in the financial industry. People entrust their money to financial institutions. They expect you to keep track of it — all of it. That’s why people get pretty picky about where you put things like. periods and commas,

Unfortunately, one wrong word isn’t the only problem with this sign. The second sentence should read, “Rayburn and Longworth branches are open today.” (Repaired words are indicated in bold.)

It wouldn’t be as big deal if this sign had been hung on the door of a second-hand clothing store, but it was on a credit union.

Bottom Line: It’s risky leaving signage and other retail messages up to your branch staff. If you’re a financial institution trying to build your brand around “smart, knowledgeable advice you can trust,” this kind of faux pax can seriously undermine your efforts.

[Source: Politico]

Related Reading:

• Man Charged $81 Billion For $26 Gas Fill-up
• Credit Union Mistake Puts More Than $2 Million into 17-Year-Old’s Bank Account

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Using motion tracking, pedestrians can interact with the display, signaling birds to come flying in and drop coins, grow plants, create wind to blow the plants around and spray pollen, etc. The display is also time-reactive, automatically changing themes depending on the time of day.

This interactive display (video) for Citizens Bank
will go in branches in major cities across the U.S.

Nine colors of cut vinyl on glass.

Agency: Arnold • Interactive Design: Memo.tv
Photos: Habbyshaw, GraphicInstaller, Vanderlin

Barclays has opened a new flagship branch at Piccadilly Circus in London. The bank describes the project as “the first ‘brand concept’ branch in the UK,” covering 8,000 square feet of retail space over three floors.

“We have taken inspiration from retailers such as Apple and Nike,” said Mike Amato, Chief Distribution & Product Officer/Barclays in a press release.

According to one source, the design of these branches has been developed over the last two years at a warehouse in Northampton. This is similar to what Steve Jobs did when he built not one but two life-size Apple stores in a Cupertino warehouse to test the concept prior to public launch.

The branch has a large self-service area that includes deposit machines for cash, checks and coins, as well as an ATM that dispenses both dollars and euros.

‘Being:London’ is the first thing visitors see as they enter the bank. This online video wall art installation graphically represents London life using content from blogs and input from consoles within the branch. Customers can also access information from the magazine ‘Time Out.’

Outside of opening hours, the front of the branch will be transformed into the ‘Night Life’ screen. This installation picks up the image of passers using face recognition technology and cameras and creates moving silhouettes on the screen together with thought bubbles containing random messages.

With the opening of the branch, Barclays becomes the first bank in Europe to pilot Microsoft Surface. The Surface program allows users to “grab” digital content with their hands and navigate information about Barclays’ Premier banking offering with simple gestures and touches. TDECU is another financial institution experimenting with the Microsoft Surface.

There is a dedicated lounge for Barclays Premier customers complete with refreshments and wi-fi access.

One customer of Barclays Bank, Carole Railton from London, said she was keen to try out the new branch, only to be disappointed when she finally went. “When I keyed in my number all my account details were on the enlarged screen for everyone in the area to see,” she said. “Not happy about this, I spoke to a member of the staff who had no interest.”

“The bank of the future, surely will listen to its customers?” she asked.

The bank intends to remodel its entire network of 1,733 branches across the U.K. in coming months.

The project was designed by The One Off and architect Aukett Tytherleigh.

Since April 2006, Union National Community Bank’s Gold Cafés were heralded widely around the financial industry as a fresh innovation in branch design. The concept was a revolutionary combination: one part bank branch, one part upscale, fully-functioning café. There were espresso drinks, smoothies, menus, patio seating, checking accounts, loans, and even “financial baristas.”

The Financial Brand made some inquiries with UNCB about the status of Gold Cafés after Market Insights Insider ran an article suggesting UNCB’s cafés may be closed. Well, now it’s official. After little more than two years into its Gold Café experiment, the bank has reverted back to a more traditional branch environment.

In an official statement, the bank says, “the focus needed to shift back to community banking from full-service retail coffee operations. The decision was made to eliminate the café service and continue to provide community meeting space.”

The branches will continue to offer free Wi-Fi and 7-day banking. You can still get coffee. Drip. Regular or decaf.

UNCB’s reversal could be construed as a referendum on the branch + café concept, a design approach that had gained some popularity in the first half of the decade. Branch designs from Umpqua Bank and ING Direct seemed to suggest financial institutions could transcend their boring caste by introducing experiences outside the banking world. Everyone wanted to be Starbucks.

The basic, overriding strategy aims to transform branches from banking centers into community hubs by making them warm, casual hangouts. You probably heard the retail maxim, “The longer they linger, the more they buy.”

Reality Check: Most people don’t want to hang out at the bank, no matter how cool it is. No matter how retail you make your branches, no matter how enjoyable the experience, the average consumer will never say, “Let’s go hang out at the bank.”

Shades of trouble with UNCB’s Gold Cafés were starting to show back in 2007, after Mark Gainer, CEO/UNCB, had some time to look back and evaluate the concept’s performance.

“Banking is a very competitive but highly commoditized industry. We believed true differentiation was imperative for our successful growth.” — Michael Frey, President/UNCB

“I think we’re going to take a pause here for a while and grow these before we look into other markets,” he said. “There is a little bit of confusion; Is it a coffee shop or is it a bank?”

This is precisely the problem Jim Bruene, publisher of Netbanker, saw in the concept. “One of the biggest reasons to build branches is for their advertising value — placing the bank’s brand in front of thousands of commuters and errand-runners each day.”

“By calling it the Gold Café, UNCB lost the normal branding value,” Bruene noted.

Union National Community Bank serves residents of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and maintains assets exceeding $477 million.

Key Takeaways:

• Just because UNCB’s Gold Cafés failed and Chase is throwing out WaMu’s Occasio branches does not mean you can go on building the same old, boring branches — just like you have for the last 20 years.
• Branches are a critical brand-building tool for financial institutions.
• Branding requires relevant differentiation. You need to create a unique experience, but you also need to stay focused on your core purpose: banking (i.e., not coffee).

“Financial Baristas”
Employees served as dual employees of the bank and the coffee operation — as experts on bank products and the preparation of espresso beverages, was the bank getting two jobs for the price of one?

The interior space reflects something far from a traditional bank. The walls are painted in warm colors. Exposed ceilings, exposed brick, concrete floors, a fireplace, sofas, chairs and coffee tables stacked with books.

The bank had a contemporary-looking microsite supporting the cafes (left),
which was in stark contrast to the bank’s overall brand identity (right), as seen in the current website.

The old logo is dated
and looks very official,
like a notary’s seal.
The new, contemporary
logo draws off shapes
found in the building.

Auburn University FCU’s latest branch and new headquarters shuns traditional teller lines by opting for what they call a “dialogue delivery format,” in which members and member service representatives work closely together in a teller pod environment to complete transactions.

The teller center consolidates pneumatic tubes that serve both the drive-up lanes and the lobby’s member service stations, increasing teller efficiency while reducing the number of employees needed to meet member demand. Additionally, the teller center contains a cash recycler that greatly reduces the time required for teller end-of-day balancing.

LEVEL⁵, a consulting and facilities development firm specializing in financial institutions, was responsible for the project. The firm says the new layout not only benefits employees with enhanced workflow, but it minimizes wait times for members as well.

LEVEL⁵ provided training to credit union employees to ensure the staff was prepared for this new delivery channel.

Interior view.

Two teller pods. Each can be staffed by two employees, or four total.
Notice the subtle lettering inside the the circular soffit over the teller pods.

“Our new dialogue delivery environment provides a more intimate level of member service.”
– Henry Armstrong,
CEO/Auburn U FCU

“Our new dialogue delivery environment provides a more intimate level of member service,” said Henry Armstrong, CEO/Auburn University FCU.

“Branding throughout the facility, as well as in our print and online collateral, reinforces the identity of our credit union,” he continued.

AUFCU’s new headquarters also has safe deposit boxes housed in a biometrically controlled vault, which eliminates the need for staff to access the vault.

The branch includes four drive-up teller lanes and a drive-up ATM.

In addition to providing support in the headquarter’s retail merchandising, LEVEL⁵ and their branding partner, SkyDesign, worked with the credit union’s executives to design and develop a complete branding package, including a new website design, print collateral, branding standards and more.

Auburn University FCU has $105 million in assets and almost 15,000 members.

The grand opening of the branch, located one-quarter mile from Auburn University’s campus, led to the busiest day in the credit union’s 48-year history.

Dort FCU’s latest branch is characterized by its warm woods and rich hues, complemented by nice lighting and a healthy application of retail graphics. The open floor plan and spacious ceiling create a pleasant, inviting feeling.

Four video tellers handle all the branch’s cash transactions. (For more on video tellers, see yesterday’s article from The Financial Brand.)

A scrolling electronic display spans four remote video teller stations
that handle all the branch’s cash transactions.
Each stall includes a cable merchandising display.

A large, circular greeter/service station anchors the center of the branch.
The plasma monitor in the far-upper corner seems placed at an awkward height.
The video teller station on the right is ADA compliant.

It’s not quite a café. It’s just a basic coffee bar. The awning is a nice touch.
Notice the lifestyle merchandising in the windows, and the dimensional letters above the awning.

John Culp, CEO of First Atlantic Credit Union, complained that his financial institution suffered from “a physical image that was like that of a classic bank branch, with teller lines and big walls separating us from the customers.”

Enter Kenneth Gruskin, president of Gruskin Group, an architectural firm, who has reworked five of First Atlantic’s branches, including its headquarters.

The new branch design replaces traditional teller with “pods” (previous coverage on teller pods from The Financial Brand here and here) where members stand side-by-side with tellers, not opposite them. This style of transactional delivery was arguably made popular by the now-failed thrift, WaMu.

The branch also deploys video tellers (shown in the first photo below). Video tellers, also known as virtual tellers or Remote Teller Stations (RTS), have been around since at least 1996 but adoption has been slow. They work basically the same as drive-through banking, only it’s more like walk-up banking. The terminals provide a video and intercom link to live tellers elsewhere in the building. Money changes hands through pneumatic tubes. The member or customer can show their driver’s license to the teller via the two-way video.

Pros of Video Tellers:

• The terminals use less space than a counter
• They make better use of tellers’ time
• One teller can handle at least two screens and a drive-through traffic
• Increased efficiency can reduce wait times
• Can create multiple queues, shortening lines for those waiting
• Screens can be used for marketing (during and after transactions)
• Practically impossible to rob

Cons of Video Tellers:

• Can be technologically intimidating
• Reduces the “personal touch”

In an interview with New Jersey Biz, Culp said it’s working well. While he can’t measure the design’s success, “people feel more comfortable, and customers say they like it.”

The architectural firm has helped First Atlantic “put together a look and feel for our brand that coincided with the image we wanted — an open, inviting environment,” Culp said.

First Atlantic Credit Union has seven branches in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and has $270 million in assets.

Video tellers (shown left). People pick up the phone and talk with a teller working unseen somewhere else in branch. One employee can manage two or more video teller stations. Notice the unfinished ceiling that helps project a contemporary industrial image while creating a more open feeling in the branch.

Architects integrated retail merchandising into the design plans for First Atlantic’s branches from the outset — critical if you want your retail graphics to fit cohesively in your branch vs. looking like they were a tacked-on afterthought. The space also makes use of natural daylight.

An exterior view showing the branch’s stately drive-through.

A detailed view of the intricate and interesting architecture used in the drive-thru’s canopy.

The staff cafeteria received the same level of architectural consideration as the rest of the facility. Notice the opportunities to put marketing messages (presumably aimed at staff) on the far wall.

Has anyone actually seen this in action? It seems pretty cool.

You access a secluded security room using an access card, PIN code or biometrics. Then once inside, you use your card or personal key to have your safety deposit box retrieved robotically.

Gunnebo, one of the companies manufacturing robotic safety deposit boxes, suggests you could use their system to run 24-hour, self-service safety deposit boxes.

ING Direct officially opened its newest café in Honolulu last Sunday. The branch — if you can call it that — features more than 9,566 square feet of space with a conference room, broadcast studio, free WiFi and terminals for Internet access.

The cafe features an ocean theme highlighted by a 1930s custom outrigger canoe on loan from the Friends of Hokule’a.

Besides a full-service cafe serving espresso drinks, there are pastries from Panya Bistro.

The new Honolulu ING Direct café will also serve as a meeting place where nonprofits and local groups can host events. Additionally, the café will provide free financial seminars to the public on topics ranging from raising financially fit children to neighborhood economic summits.

The branch is staffed by 12 employees.

The previous tenant, surfing giant Local Motion had constructed a DJ sound booth to broadcast surf reports. It jived with the ING Direct brand, so the bank decided to expand it by adding a broadcast stage. The bank is encouraging those active in the local broadcast community to use the space, Andy Bumatai kicking things off with his NightTime show in January. ING Direct hopes to follow this with educational programs supporting Hawaii’s youth in broadcasting. The bank will also invite local celebrities, athletes, and state/city officials to use their “Hawaiian Sense of Place” as a backdrop for press conferences.

Creating a brick-and-mortar presence for a purely online bank

The story behind the cafés makes perfect sense. When, Arkadi Kuhlmann first started ING Direct, he had people visiting the ING Direct building on a regular basis to make sure the bank actually existed. It was the first time that anyone had heard of a bank without any branches. People drove from miles away just to make sure the place was legit. Kuhlmann figured the least he could do was invite them in for a cup of coffee and answer any questions they had. The concept stuck, so when he brought the ING Direct concept to America, he decided to open ‘touchpoints’ for the public.

ING Direct is committed to its branchless strategy. In an interview with The Financial Brand, a spokesman from ING Direct said, “It is part of our brand and is something that our customers have grown to appreciate.”

This is the third location ING Direct opened this year: New York, St. Cloud, Minnesota, and the most recent in Hawaii. The bank says it will build more in the future if it can “find the right footprint.”

ING Direct says the cafés are profitable retail operations, but they are more concerned with how the cafés build the bank’s brand image and awareness.

None of the cafés have any cash handling capabilities. ING Direct says they’re meant to serve as “public ‘touch points’ and not branches.”

ING Direct also started a unique partnership with Cycle Life in DC to operate as a reference/information/referral center in their newly operational café.

“The concept is like no other and as it continues to grow. We learn so much more with each success.”

ING Direct has been operating globally since 1996. They have over 20 million customers worldwide, 25,000 of them are in Hawaii. That’s about 2% of everyone in the state.

Tip of the Hat: To Jeff Mirabello in ING Direct’s Corporate Relations department for his cooperation with the writing of this article.

The would-be thief in this FBI image is a suspect in several bank robberies.

The employees working in a Seattle branch of First Mutual Bank recognized the man immediately. They’d seen his photo on a flier from the FBI and knew he was a suspect in previous bank robberies.

Instead of waiting for the man to rob them, the bank’s employees snapped to action. But they didn’t trigger any alarms, or call the police and run to the vault hugging each other.

“If a person is a legitimate customer, they will experience superior service. If their intention, however, is to rob the bank, they will experience paranoia, anxiety and a desire to escape.”
– FBI Special Agent Larry Carr

They just started a conversation with the man by greeting him and saying hello.

The man left the branch without any money — and without incident.

You might think this is a silly way to thwart a would-be robber, but it works.

Twice in a row, as a matter of fact.

After the robber left First Mutual, a bank employee called a nearby U.S. Bank to give them a heads-up: the man might be coming their way next.

Sure enough, the guy walked into the U.S. Bank branch, but to his dismay, he confronted the same sort of friendly, personal service he found at the First Mutual location. So he left, empty-handed again.

Key Insight: Robbers don’t like good customer service. A personal touch coupled with questions about opening a checking account annoys robbers. Why? Because they would prefer to remain fully anonymous and unseen. And because good service doesn’t fit the branch experience they usually encounter. In a sense, good, personal service is so uncommon that it surprises robbers, catching them off guard.

As FBI Special Agent Larry Carr puts it, “If a person is a legitimate customer, they will experience superior service. If their intention, however, is to rob the bank, they will experience paranoia, anxiety and a desire to escape.”

Carr worked with EHS Design, the financial industry’s leading architectural firm, to develop a complete strategy for secure branch design, something they call SafeCatch. NPR even did a piece about it last year.

Robbers will often “case the joint” before robbing it. If they walk in and are confronted with attentive staff who seem to be “on their game,” they’ll move on to softer targets. Remember: They’re after easy money.

Reality Check: You should be providing great service to everyone who walks through your branch door…no matter what — people with purple mohawks, 14-year olds, even guys with sunglasses and hoodies. If not because you want more business, then at least for the safety of your employees.

Bottom Line: Banks, 2. Robber, 0.

You don’t need to turn your branches into medieval fortresses to prevent robberies. A branch built like Fort Knox undermines your ability to ability to provide warm, friendly personal service.

Who knows, a greeter might be a more effective method of preventing robberies than having an armed security guard. One thing is for certain: greeting people with a friendly handshake, a genuine smile and a warm hello definitely helps create a positive brand image — especially among your law-abiding branch customers.

If you want more information about SafeCatch, check out this brochure (PDF) or contact EHS Design.

Deutsche Bank built a revolutionary branch prototype back in 2005, something it named Q110. Besides being a gorgeous architectural statement, the branch is one of the most progressive you’ll see anywhere in the world, combining most — if not all — of the latest ideas and newest innovations in financial retailing.

Before you read any further, go to this website and take the bank’s virtual tour. The branch could have been dull and boring and this interactive tour would still be awesome. Other banks have done virtual tours of their branches before, but never one this cool.

There are four “hot spots” you can move to within the virtual tour. In each hot spot, you can rotate your view 360° with your mouse. And not just left and right rotation. If you want to look at the ceiling, go for it. You can even zoom in [SHIFT key] and zoom out [CTRL key].

To make bank products more tangible, Q110 customers shop for financial products in off-the-shelf boxes, like in a supermarket. But Deutsche didn’t settle for a typical retail box (like Jyske or BNZ). Deutsche opted for tins. (See detail photo near the bottom of this article.) Very classy, very cool and probably very few are thrown away once they get home.

But that’s not all Deutsche Bank is retailing. They’ve got windowed storefronts displaying shelves full of soaps, candles, games, lotions, magnets, glass figurines, piggy banks, handbags, portfolios and logowear from just about every football club in Europe.

You can almost hear the bank’s salespeople saying, “What a lovely purse! Would you like a checking account with that today? There’s a discount if you get both.”

Reality Check: Most banks are good at warehousing money, but they aren’t nearly prepared to operate a retail store that includes challenges like “inventory” and “shrinkage.”

The Q110 name is short for Quartier 110, a mixed-use building on Friedrichstrasse in Berlin. Friedrichstrasse is a major European shopping Mecca, so the branch’s heavy retail theme and product displays should help pull a curious and unsuspecting public off the streets and into the branch.

Occupying an impressive 13,500 square feet (1,260 square meters), Deutsche Bank’s Q110 is being used as a platform for testing new branch features and technologies. The bank planned on rolling out successful Q110 elements including the Trendshop, lounge, product tins, and private advisory rooms to its other branches in Munich and Aachen.

But wait, there’s more.

As if the virtual tour wasn’t enough, the bank even took their Q110 concept to SecondLife. You can see a video about it on YouTube.

The architectural design firm on the project was Schwitzke & Partner, who has nine more photos of the project at their website.

This beautiful and innovative branch prototype is unquestionably deserving of a Breakthrough Brand Award from The Financial Brand.

The vestibule has an optional concierge station.
The seating arrangement drives traffic left of the greeter.

The lounge has a half dozen sofas and seating for at least 30 people.

A close-up view of the lounge. There’s a full espresso bar, with seating for 6 more.
Notice the library of books.

The Q110 branch includes what Deutsche Bank calls the “Trendshop.”
You can buy various items for the home, family or the office. Oddly, the signs are in English.

Within the Trendshop, Deutsche Bank retails items
from around Europe, including popular sports teams.
The bank rotates various big brand, major label retail items on a regular basis.

Bank employees circulate openly as a sales cleark might do in a regular store.
They present and discuss products with customers face-to-face.

A plasma screen near the entrance shows which employees are working that day.
The headline “Ihre Ansrechpartner” literally translates to “Your Greeting Partners.”
You’ve got to love Maxi’s title in the picture (above): “Produktinnovationen.”

The open floor plan almost entirely eliminates walls, counters and other barriers.

A foosball table? That’s the second foosball table to show up in an article about branches
here at The Financial Brand in the last two weeks.

Tip of the Hat: To Casey Davis, who, in addition to Deutsche’s Q110, also wanted everyone to see this supercool branch from Jyske. Another tip of the hat to the Europeans, who seem to be leading this year’s Branch Design Ryder Cup.

The transaction area features an open, dual-teller station and contemporary merchandising fixtures.

A special area with tire-tread flooring was created in the lobby where a brand-new motorcycle
(partially seen in the right photo) promotes the credit union’s “toy loans.”

The kids’ area.

Product merchandising displays.

A brand feature made from a perforated metal background panel.

Exterior view.

Member service area (shown left), and a conceptual illustration of a kiosk (right).

The project is the work of Weber Marketing Group and architectural partners EHS Design.

In the Danish market, Jyske Bank has introduced a whole new way of delivering financial services, using the theme “Jyske Differences.” Jyske says its “blazing new trails in interior design” with its branches, something that’s hard to argue with after you watch this video:

Jyske’s bank of the future is as imaginative as what Umpqua did with their “branch-of-the-future” video a few years ago. The concept centers around financial products that are presented in physical packages.

Here are some of the highlights:

• They call the branch a “shop.”
• The branch features a conceirge, called the AskBar.
• They are using a hotel-style check-in desk as their transaction/teller station(s), something they call the MoneyBar.
• They call the area between the various bars The Market Square. That’s where you’ll find Theme Island, with stacks of financial products packaged in boxes (see The Financial Brand’s previous coverage of BNZ’s pre-packaged, boxed financial products).
• They have a TestBar, where you can scan any of the boxed products for an on-screen tutorial.
• The branch has an Oasis, something that looks a lot more like a reading room than the waiting room it would be in a regular branch.
• Jyske says it wants to be known for its “good coffee,” so they’ve placed their CoffeeBar next to full-length windows surrounding the branch.

Key Question: Can anyone explain the catfish on the wall that “sets the mood” and “tells the history” of the bank?

The Financial Brand is honoring Jyske Bank with a Breakthrough Brand Award for having a very cool video about an incredible branch with great design and more features than one can list in a single article. Jyske could open a branch in any city in the Western world and wow just about everyone. I mean, come on: Who can possibly resist a conference room table made out of a foosball table? By the way, the conference room has a name too: Inspiration.

That’s an understatement.

Tip of the Hat: To Casey Davis, for bringing Jyske Bank to The Financial Brand’s attention.

Here’s the FBI’s latest data on robberies of financial institutions for the first three months of 2008.

Alarm Systems

Alarm systems were installed and maintained in 96.2% of all institutions robbed. Of those, they were activated 92.7% of the time, meaning that in 61 robberies the alarm wasn’t activated. Thirteen times an alarm was activated but it didn’t work.

Key Question: In this day and age, how can any bank or credit union not have an alarm system (that works)?

Surveillance Cameras

Cameras were installed in all but 23 institutions that were robbed. In 44 instances, cameras were installed but not activated. Seven times cameras were installed but failed to capture the crime.

Loot Taken: $16 million

Loot Recovered: $2.3 million

Key Takeaways:

• The presence of anti-robbery measures only reduces robberies — it does not prevent them.
• Anti-robbery systems do not work all the time.
• Expect robberies to increase sharply as the economy worsens.

Delta Community Credit Union has just completed construction on its latest branch in Newnan in Georgia. The spacious and open floor plan features high, sweeping ceilings and few enclosed offices.

Interior view of Delta Community Credit Union’s latest branch in Newnan, Georgia.

Level 5’s conceptual rendering of the project. Pretty accurate depiction, don’t you think?

“They incorporated our branding and retail merchandising elements throughout the Newnan branch, both internally and externally.”
— Rick Foley, CEO/Delta Community

Level5, also based in Georgia, was the design-build firm on the project. This is the 12th branch project Level 5 has done for Delta Community.

The branch is the first to incorporate what they call “energy efficient features,” although press releases touting the project only list three:

• Energy-efficient, blue-tinted glass
• A “cool roof” comprised of white thermoplastic olefin, reflecting solar radiation rather than absorbing it
• “Air foil” sunshades help keep interior temperatures down.

Note: This project was not submitted for LEED “green certification.”

The credit union occupies 10,000 of the building’s massive 100,000 square feet. Delta is leasing the remaining 80,000 as medical and professional offices. A 10,000-square-foot atrium in the middle of the structure connects the credit union with the rest of the building.

Delta Community is the largest credit union in Georgia, with 174,000 members and more than $2.8 billion in assets. Initially founded to serve the employees of Delta Air Lines, the credit union now has a 10-county community charter around the greater Atlanta area.

This branch design for Italian bank Chebanca! is about as radical a departure as you can get from the hallowed walnut-and-mahogany themes of yesteryear. Ultra-clean, über-contemporary, high-tech and super-light merchandising.

The bank has a special link off the homepage of their website. The bank says, “Che Filiali! La rete territoriale di CheBanca! si compone sia di filiali nel centro delle più importanti città sia di presidi nei centri commerciali.” Even though it’s in Italian, you just know it says something like, “Check out this killer branch design! It rocks tough!”

The project is the work of Crea International, who has a 3-D video fly-through of the branch model at their website.

Tip of the Hat: To Experience Fix, for the tip.

This weekend at BarCampBank B.C., Gene Blishen, the CEO of Mount Lehman Credit Union, asked an excellent question:

How do you build relationships with people
who never come into a branch anymore?

Seriously, be honest: If you didn’t work in the financial services industry, how often would you step foot in a branch?

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So how do financial institutions build relationships with those who prefer avoiding branches as much as possible? The participants in the session offered a number of great ideas:

Pick up the phone

Many financial institutions use MCIF and other data to trigger automatic direct mail pieces, but Gene suggested that there is no perfect algorithm that can substitute for a human analysis of someone’s financial situation. Gene wondered would happen if you had someone who looked at a person’s financial relationship with the institution, including their last 20-30 transactions. What would you learn? He suggested you’d learn enough in just a few minutes to make it worth picking up the phone for a quick phone call.

Think about it. What impact would it have on you if your bank or credit union called you up and said, “We noticed your average daily balance has exceeded $5,000 for the last six months and we just wanted to let you know that you could be earning X.X% on your money. I could set this up for you today. The change in your account would be automatic and seamless. All your checks and debit cards would be unaffected. Best of all, it’s free. Would you like me to go ahead and take care of that for you?”

For most people, this kind of interaction would have a long-lasting impact on their feelings and loyalty to their financial institution. And it would also be a huge differentiator between you and your competitors. No one does this, probably because they think it’s too expensive to throw real, live human beings at a problem (ironic, considering the problem is one centered around personal relationships). But aided by technology (and maybe a good algorithm or two to get you started) this kind of program could definitely be profitable.

Write a note

Just like the telephone, here’s another World 1.0 technology that can help solve our Web 2.0 problems. It’s called a “pen” (you remember, those quaint writing instruments that preceded texting, IMs and email?).

The power of a handwritten note these days is phenomenal. When was the last time you got one? It may have been months ago, but you probably remember it. If you can’t remember, it’s a good indicator of how big a differentiator this could be for your financial institution.

Just because more people don’t have the time or don’t like going to a branch doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate personal attention. If someone signs-up for a new product through your non-branch channels, you should send them a hand-written thank-you note. In fact, it’s probably even more important to do this with these customers because you don’t have as many chances to showcase your personal touch. Embrace every opportunity to build those relationships with your remote audience. They are rare. Take advantage of them.

Pick the right new media tools

You might assume that people who don’t like going to branches are online omnivores — that they prefer… nay, that they crave all their interactions to occur through sites like Facebook or MySpace. But you’d be wrong. They may like to consolidate their personal relationships at online social media sites, but that does not mean they want to be friends with your financial institution. And blogs will only reach a small fraction of your total audience.

There are other new media tools your branchless patrons might use though. Those are going to be the ones that help them when they have questions, needs or problems. Wachovia’s use of Twitter is an excellent example. There’s also realtime online chat, available 24/7 from fulltime employees at Airforce FCU. If you’ve never seen it in action, go check it out.

Maximize your points of contact

There are only have a handful of ways you can communicate with your branchless users. So how can you best utilize those touchpoints to build relationships with them? What opportunities exist within your online banking experience, your statements and your email marketing? Do these exist merely to fulfill a functional purpose? Are you only using these channels to sell people more stuff? Or are you looking for ways to use these to create a deeper level of engagement and dialogue?

What do you think?

What are some of the ways financial marketers can deepen relationships with people who seldom — if ever — step foot in a branch?

Here are some of this week’s stories of interest.
Click hotlinks for the complete story.

Bullish-it: Merrill Lynch’s failure…to live up to its brand

Home Loans: The American Dream is still alive despite wake-up call

Web 2.0: Wachovia’s smooth use of social media’s darling, Twitter

Congresswoman: Credit unions are the only financial institutions who aren’t in “dire straits”

Crisis Communicating: Why ‘safe and sound’ is no longer good enough

A Fine Line: The balance between “reassurance” and spreading panic

Quelling Fears: 7 things credit unions can say to reassure members

It Reads Like an Obituary: The history of WaMu

Fight™: Round 2 goes to ‘First Niagra’ in name fight

And The Winner Is: The results from ABA’s 2008 marketing awards

Facts & Data: Consumers don’t like current branch models

Green Branch: Using wind, solar and geothermal

Mistaken Identity Fraud: Man sues credit union after arrest, trial

Knocking Opportunity: Man gets shafted out of $125 by Opportunity CU

Update: Opportunity Credit Union pays up, apologizes

Credit Union Kills Woman: She now has a hard time convincing people she’s alive

Filene just released an interesting study called “Who’s Joining Credit Unions.” Of particular interest is data that suggests a paradox between how people feel about branches and how they actually use them.

While credit union members think they need a branch nearby, the data tells a different story. According to the report, the majority of credit union members use a branch once a month or less.

Despite their low usage of branches, they want more of them. When asked what would improve their experience with their credit union, members’ #1 answer was “More ATMs.” The #2 answer: “More branches.”

Key Question: What the heck is going on here?

Branch and ATM convenience can’t be the only way to win deposits…can it?

Do people only want the perception of convenience?

To take a trip to a branch once a month (or less) doesn’t seem like that big an ordeal, even if it’s over five miles. There are plenty of people who drive further than that to go to Home Depot or Costco once a month. Heck, there are plenty of folks who drive five or more miles to get a coffee from Starbucks.

Key Question: Does branch and ATM convenience apply to people looking for loans? Or does it only apply to depositors and transactors?

Perhaps the problem lies in the type of question we — as financial researchers — pose to people. Give them a choice and they seem to say, “Hey, it doesn’t cost me any money when you build more branches, so go for it. Give me some more.”

What do you think? What’s going on here? Can you explain it?

Key Takeaway: If you don’t have a large branch presence — and most financial institutions don’t — your marketing needs to stress your delivery-channel alternatives to branches and ATMs.

Other insights from the Filene report:

• Credit unions look to have the most success targeting families with household incomes between $70,000 and $130,000.
• Friends and family continue to be the #1 way in which people hear about a credit union. Essentially, one-if-three new members come from the referral of a friend of family member.
• For credit unions with an open charter, one-in-16 new members are enticed by a newspaper ad. Around one-in-ten people learn about their credit union by driving by. One-in-100 come from the internet.

You can download the entire report from Filene here (registration required).

With the christening of its latest branch, Augusta Metro Credit Union, introduced a new retail prototype boasting a more open and spacious floor plans and a wide range of the latest features.
(more…)

When BankWest in Australia expanded to the East Coast, they redesigned their branch prototype and gave it a total makeover. To tout their new retail stores, the bank put a neat, interactive flash tour on its website.

The tour includes 11 different “hot spots.” Pause your mouse on a hotspot and it reveals some little tidbit about the branch.

These stores should fit nicely with BankWest’s brand theme, “Happy Banking” (previous coverage from The Financial Brand here). If you haven’t seen their outrageous TV spots, you should definitely go check them out.

To give you an idea of how far BankWest takes “happy,” they are the “Official Happy Partner” for the 2008 Australian Olympics.

Also supporting their “Happy Banking” theme is a novelty microsite that defies explanation. It must be seen to be believed. (Hint: Singing kittens are involved.)

Now the bank has a branch model that fits right in. While the branches don’t ooze “happy” as much as the rest of the brand, there is a general perky cheer to the design.

They should put out Skittles in candy dishes for customers. They could call them “happy pills.”

:60 seconds on BankWest’s new East Coast retail stores:

• BankWest ditched traditional teller bays in lieu of cash recyclers, which allow more freedom of movement within the store for both staff and customers.
• BankWest refers to its new branches as “stores” as they will be retailing non-financial merchandise such as money boxes and financial books.
• Meeting spaces have been designed with movable walls so that more space can be created in the store for customer seminars.
• Traditional bank branches are often quite masculine, sterile places. The new design incorporates more earthy tones with wood and cork flooring and feature lighting. Or, as the interactive tour puts it, “Warm, friendly colors, not traditional bank colors.”

Source: The Bank Channel

Here’s another creative marketing effort from the folks at Arizona State Credit Union. (If you missed The Financial Brand’s previous coverage, check out their LOL Cats poster here.)

With around $100 in supplies, the credit union made this merchandising display to promote its financing for construction projects:

They also made wood blocks that were displayed on desks of member service reps and teller stations:

“Merchandising is a retailer’s tool. Just visit the grocery store or Macy’s. Even Walgreens does it. You just don’t see it in a financial institution.”
– Paul Stull, SVP/Marketing
Arizona State Credit Union

This campaign ran in branches only. No other media was used to support the promotion.

In an interview with The Financial Brand, Paul Stull, SVP/Marketing for Arizona State CU, said, traditional media has its place, “but doing something simple with big impact has more power with members who are right there in front of your sales team. It starts conversations and drives sales.”

“It was fresh, unique and made our point at a low cost,” he added.

Arizona State Credit Union has $1.1 billion in assets.

Bottom Line: The $5,563 campaign helped the bring in $2.3 million in new loans in four months. That’s a return of over 40,000%.

In recognition of the promotion’s phenomenal results, the Credit Union Executive Society bestowed this year’s GMA Golden Shoestring Award to Arizona State CU.

Key Takeaway: You don’t need big bucks to generate big results when you have a good idea.

The FBI just released its fourth-quarter robbery data for banks and credit unions. Rather than wait for the FBI to tabulate four quarters and publish its findings, The Financial Brand added it all up and broke it all down for you.

Here’s the raw data for 2007, quarter-by-quarter:
Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | TOTALS

Total bank and credit union robberies down 11.4%

2006 – 6,675
2007 – 5,917

Bank robberies down 11%

2006 – 6,154
2007 – 5,468

Credit union robberies down 14%

2006 – 521
2007 – 449

Injuries occur in 1.3% of all robberies

2006 – 94 incidents
2007 – 74 incidents

Employees are the most likely to be injured

2006 – 75 employees injured
2007 – 49 employees injured

Number of robberies in which deaths occurred

2006 – 13
2007 – 16

Robber is the most likely one to die

2006 – 10 robbers of 13 people killed
2007 – 12 robbers of 18 people killed

The data serves as a reminder that there are ways to engineer safe branch environments without creating “fortresses.” In the comments of The Financial Brand’s previous coverage of the FBI’s 2006 robbery data, Brett Conway of EHS Design suggested checking out SafeCatch, a branch design solution that minimizes risk of robbery. If your branches have security features like bullet-proof glass, you should definitely give it a look.

SafeCatch gets into robber psychology, recommending that front doors should not be visible from the transaction area because robbers always want to keep an eye on their exits. Good point.

The downloadable PDF includes a sample floor plan.

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!)

Here is the FBI’s official data on robberies of financial institutions, including injuries and deaths for 2006.

TOTAL NUMBER OF ROBBERIES: 6,985

• Bank robberies: 6,154 (88%)
• Credit union robberies: 521 (7%)
• Other (e.g., check cashing): 372 (5%)

INJURIES:

• Number of incidents in which injuries occurred: 94 (1.3%)
• Customer: 17
• Employee: 75
• Employee Family: 0
• Perpetrator: 17
• Law Officer: 8
• Guard: 5
• Other: 7

DEATHS:

• Number of incidents in which deaths occurred: 13 (0.2%)
• Customer: 0
• Employee: 1
• Employee Family: 0
• Perpetrator: 10
• Law Officer: 1
• Guard: 1
• Other: 0

Credit unions aren’t robbers favorite targets. Small branches with no or small vaults lack the significant stockpiles of cash that tantalize robbers. Also, many CU branches are off the beaten path, and robbers prefer easy access to main roads, thoroughfares and freeways – the quick, easy getaway.

CUs can probably also thank their image for fewer robberies. Robbers may not see CUs as big, lucrative “scores” for the same reasons many people struggle to see CUs as full-service financial providers.

Unfortunately, the FBI either does not publish or doesn’t have data comparing robberies and injuries/deaths vs. various security measures vs. branch size/designs vs. cash handling systems.

As a financial institution responsible for your staff’s safety, it likely that your fears of employee injury and death exceed the reality. Only 1.5% of all robberies result in the injury or death of an employee – and that’s assuming you get robbed in the first place. Applying this ratio to CU robberies means that only five credit union employees are injured every year across the country from robberies. And only one credit union employee is killed every five years in the course of a robbery.

Statistically speaking, working in a CU is probably safer than working in a bar, night club or gas station. And it has to be a lot safer than working in construction jobs.

Reality Check #1: Just because you are in a cash-intensive business doesn’t mean you need to build your branches like fortresses.

When you wall your employees off behind bullet-proof glass, you’re erecting a barrier between you and the people you serve – physically, visually and aurally. This is a literal roadblock to building relationships.

Reality Check #2: You can’t have bullet-proof “bandit barriers” if you’re going to say you’re “all about warm, friendly, personal service.”

Do people really feel comfortable discussing sensitive financial subjects through a four-inch hole in an inch-thick sheet of acrylic?

Employee safety wouldn’t be an issue if your branches didn’t get robbed. Bullet-proof glass is a treatment for a symptom, not the root problem, and there are other things you can do to deter robbers.

For starters, you can move your teller lines as far away from the entrance as possible, and cutoff sightlines between the transaction zone and any exits. Robbers get uneasy with each step they take further into a branch, and they get really uncomfortable when they can’t see an exit at the height of the robbery.

Simply saying “hi” to a robber when he comes in to scope the branch is often enough to scare him off (hint: “greeters”).

Reality Check #3: Your average architect doesn’t know how to design “robbery-resistant branches.” Most local architects will design branches that look just like everyone else’s…because “that’s what branches are supposed to look like, right?”

Bottom Line:

• Building branches like Fort Knox makes you look just like everyone else.
• You can reduce your risk of robbery with careful branch design and how you manage your in-branch experience.
• A well-engineered branch not only mitigates risk of robbery, it also builds your brand and helps cultivate relationships

The much-admired Umpqua Bank has created this fascinating video depicting one possible vision of the (very near?) future of financial services. Take a look:

What’s particularly interesting about the video is the absence of narration. It gives the viewer credit, and lets us fill in any missing pieces with our imagination. The video engages you by making you think, “What is she doing?”

Reality Check: The most brilliant innovations don’t require explanation.

Everything the video depicts doesn’t require some far-fetched technology that’s yet to be invented. Everything shown utilizes stuff that’s available today.

Very imaginative. Very cool. Very plausible. In fact (considering Umpqua’s history of innovation), it’s something we’ll likely see very soon.

Production Note: The video is a digital composite using footage shot in Umpqua’s flagship prototype in Portland’s Pearl District. If you think their “branch of the future” looks cool, that’s because their starting point — the real branch that they’ve already developed — is already cool. They don’t have a long way to go to realize their vision.

Tip of the Hat: To Ray Davis, CEO of Umpqua Bank, for having the unique combination of courage, commitment and capital to pull off some of the most exciting things happening in the financial industry.

Source: Banktastic.com

“PNC has more certified green buildings than any company on Earth.”
– PNC website

Here’s something interesting you might not have heard. Late last fall, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office approved a federal trademark application from PNC Financial Services for the term ‘green branch.’

Reality Check: People are going to use the term “green branch” like people use Kleenex. Policing this term will be next to impossible. Fail to enforce a trademark — even once — and the USPTO may declare it null and void.

“Consumers want to do business with socially responsible companies and PNC is leading the way.”
– Neil Hall,
Head of PNC Retail

Just the same, someone at Wachovia better pay attention. They plan to build only “green” financial centers by the end of this year, including 300 new “green branches” by 2010. This PNC trademark might force them to call their green branches something else, which would actually be a good thing from a branding perspective.

With over 40 LEED certified green branches, PNC is a long way ahead of Chase, who just built its first green branch last summer.

30 seconds on PNC’s green branches:

• PNC claims to be the first U.S. bank to apply green building standards to all newly constructed or renovated retail branch offices.
• PNC built the financial services industry’s first LEED Gold green building.
• With 1,500 employees, PNC’s Pittsburgh operations center was the largest LEED-certified green building in the world when it opened in 2000
• PNC says employee retention and satisfaction is as much as 50 percent better than traditional facilities.
• Compared to traditional branches, energy usage is reduced 50 percent or more and water usage is reduced by 6,200 gallons a year.
• PNC has a special page on its website celebrating the way the bank differentiates itself with green branches.

Key Takeaway:

• Only play the green card if you are truly leading the way in some category (as PNC does).

The latest branch for Delta Community Credit Union, its tenth, features an open floor plan starring a greeter station in the middle of all the action. The branch’s operational model is similar to the one used in many Bank of America locations.

The credit union will occupy 10,000 of the building’s 100,000 square feet and lease another 80,000 as medical offices. A 10,000-square-foot atrium in the middle of the building connects the credit union with a restaurant and medical offices.

Other features of the branch include:

• High, sweeping ceilings
• Few enclosed offices
• Floor-to-ceiling windows
• Lots of white space with bursts of bold retail graphics
• 4 drive-through lanes

Occupancy in the three-story building is expected in May 2008.

Delta Community is the largest credit union in Georgia, with more than 166,000 members and more than $2.5 billion in assets. The credit union just recently completed a rebranding effort (previous coverage from The Financial Brand here).

Level5, also based in Georgia, was the design-build firm on the project.

“Nothing will sour a member’s experience more quickly than waiting in line for a service you provide in another part of your branch.”
— Greg Gray, IBT

An article on branch design from CUNA’s Credit Union Magazine offers these very practical insights on shaping your brand experience:

• Experiences don’t just happen — you must plan them
• To create a true experience, you must incorporate physical and emotional aspects
• Concierge stations provide a friendly, personal, and informative interaction point
• You can give people the information they need without creating the “hard sell”
• Use vibrant, informational wall graphics and semi-private seating areas to create sales areas

The article also reminds readers about the importance of exterior signage, ample parking, and especially retail merchandising.

“Too often credit unions take for granted that members are aware of and understand what products are available,” says Greg Gray, the article’s author.

The article includes a number of suggestions for features such as kids areas and branded refreshments.

Read the whole article here.