“I’ll be honest, there were
initial apprehensions.
But this soon gave way
to excitement.”
– Cas Scott, Companion CU
Marketing Manager

To support a new brand theme, “We’re Listening,” the members of Companion Credit Union, based in Australia, were invited to vote and pick the new logo for their organization.

Voting was open the entire month of October, and the winner was unveiled at the credit union’s Annual General Meeting on November 12th.

“The credit union is really owned by the members and therefore we decided we should invite them to actively participate in helping us decide.” said Ray O’Brien, CEO/Companion.

Over 1,000 votes were cast by the credit union’s 12,000 members.

The old logo had a style reminiscent of the London Underground.

The winning logo maintains links back to its predecessor using color and a curvy shape.
Four icons of people join hands to create a “C” monogram cupping the name.

On its website, the credit union says the new logo represents “our members, staff, community and our partners all working together — hand-in-hand — connected as one, for the mutual benefit of us all.”

Key Question: How comfortable would you be handing a strategic brand decision like this over to the general public?

In an interview with The Financial Brand, Cas Scott, the credit union’s Marketing Manager, said “I’ll be honest, there were initial apprehensions,” Scott said. “But this soon gave way to excitement as the concept grew on our management team.”

“Many of our current members founded Companion Credit Union, so it only seemed fitting that they would be a part of our new journey and direction,” Scott added.

The credit union gave the membership three choices, with a couple of flavors on two of them.

Option A - Opts for a dramatic square instead of a circle.

Option B - Only minor alterations to the old logo, mostly eliminating the pixels.

Option C - Different arrangements and combinations of the people icons were explored.

A new slogan is the centerpiece of the credit union’s new brand positioning, featured in TV spots stressing a message of dialogue and interpersonal communication between the credit union and its membership.

“We’re Listening” will replace the previous tagline “Your Personal Financial Companion.”

According to research conducted by the credit union, Scott said the new slogan “better reflects the relationships we have with our current members, and adds-in the warmth and emotive feelings they have with us.”

The credit union’s corporate website will be re-launched in two weeks with the new logo and slogan.

Companion’s TV spots prove you don’t have to be a billion-dollar credit union
to get commercials on TV. They produced a series of three spots that use only still images
but they keep them moving at a healthy clip.

A fledgling microsite used to launch the campaign aspires to be something along the lines of a community portal/local social media hub.

There’s also a 12-minute history video you can watch.

For many years, credit unions have lobbied hard to make sure they get fair and equal treatment from the U.S. Government. But begging the Treasury for TARP money is not a good idea.

CUNA, NAFCU and Fryzel at the NCUA have all joined together recently with their hands out as they ask for taxpayer relief. Each time they do, it undermines all the positive press credit unions have been getting (as reported by The Financial Brand here, here and here).

Key Question: Exactly how big is this problem? How many credit unions out there were engaged in risky lending practices that now leave them in such a vulnerable state that they need a bailout?

After weeks and weeks of mainstream media articles touting the safety, security and soundness of credit unions, why would credit union industry leaders want to come out with a “we-need-a-bailout-too” message? Are they willing to gamble the entire industry’s image just to make sure they get the same treatment as big banks?

Reality Check: If credit unions need a bailout, then they are contradicting claims that they are run differently than banks.

Big banks have made it tough for everyone in the financial services industry, for sure. And maybe the imposition on credit unions is so great that they actually need some relief. But if that’s the case, then this assistance should be directed at all credit unions, and not just used to create relief mechanisms for those who put themselves in jeopardy.

And if credit union associations feel that injecting capital into conventional banks is a misuse of TARP funds, then they should be lobbying Congress and the Treasury to have that money returned to the taxpayers — not begging for their “fair share.”

Bottom Line: If credit unions get TARP money, they are taking a powerful arrow out of their quiver and handing it to banks who will fire it right back at them.

If there are credit unions out there with “toxic assets” due to subprime mortgage practices, then they should take their lumps as quietly as possibly and not drag the entire industry down along with them.

Here’s a story from a reader of The Financial Brand. We’ll call her Erica (that’s not her real name). Erica got a letter from Chase a month ago. The letter informed Erica that her home equity line of credit was arbitrarily being cut by 65% — down to $171,000 from $495,000.

Here’s what the letter said:

“With home values falling in many parts of the country, we’ve used a proven method to estimate your home’s value at $530,000. Unfortunately, this value no longer supports the full amount of your Line of Credit.”

A more honest version of the story probably goes something like this: “We were running low on capital, credit got tight, housing prices plummeted and we freaked out. Sorry. We’ve had some time to think it out, and we acted hastily. Ooops.”

The Financial Brand has confirmed that Erica’s house is easily worth at least $1 million — there’s no doubt about it. You can’t find any 5,000 square foot luxury homes in her city — in any major metropolitan market, on the water, with amazing views and a private elevator — for anything close to $530,000.

Needless to say, Erica was miffed. Even though Erica had never needed to use more than $60,000 of her home equity line and the current balance was less than $50, she liked the idea of being able to borrow half a million bucks just by writing a check.

Sure. Why not?

Erica was on the verge of shipping an official appraisal off to Chase to prove she was indeed worthy of having her line of credit reinstated. The appraisal would have put his house at around $1.4 million.

But then, all of a sudden, out of the blue, came another letter from Chase:

“We apologize for a recent letter that incorrectly reduced your home equity line of credit. Unfortunately, the valuation was not properly matched to your property. So please disregard that notification. Your line of credit limit has been reinstated to your original credit line of $495,000 and you may begin drawing against it again.”

In an email, Erica wondered aloud (to me, along with 40 of her friends and family), what shape Chase would be in today if they used their “proven valuation method” in other areas of their business.

Key Question: Did Chase use their “proven valuation method” when they decided to takeover WaMu?

Reality Check: Things like trust and confidence are the most delicate of brand assets. Just like with our interpersonal relationships, trust can take years to build and only seconds to lose. Often, all it takes is one bad decision and “poof!”

Observations & Reflections:

• Erica will probably never trust correspondence from Chase again.
• Word-of-mouth marketing is powerful stuff. Personal, first-hand accounts like this one — whether they are good or bad — are the kinds of brand stories people tell one another.
• It was good that Chase caught it’s own mistake, but it’s a mistake that shouldn’t have been made in the first place.
• A more honest version of the story probably goes something like this: “We were running low on capital, credit got tight, housing prices plummeted and we freaked out. Sorry. We’ve had some time to think things out more clearly, and we acted hastily. Ooops.”

People still argue about whether credit unions should use the B-word or not.

The concern is that when credit unions use the B-word, they are blurring the distinction between themselves and banks. Someday, the difference could become so fuzzy that legislators decide to tax credit unions. At least that’s how the argument goes.

Reality Check: The issue of credit union taxation will not be affected by semantics.

A whitepaper commissioned by CUNA back in 2005 acknowledges the word’s ubiquity and its generally-accepted definitions:

1. Trying to ban “banking” it is a fruitless task — not worth the trouble because it is no big deal to consumers.
2. Bank is a generic term, and there is no reasonable alternative.
3. Creative and clever marketers can, and should, take on the challenge of finding words to describe the credit union experience, and establish “credit union” as a brand.

“Finding words to…establish ‘credit union’ as a brand,” as CUNA puts it, is certainly worthwhile, but CUNA didn’t include “finding a substitute or synonym for ‘banking’” as part of that task, acknowledging that there is no “reasonable alternative,” and banning it is pointless.

Remember, this is CUNA talking.

Reality Check: Consumers are going to refer to basic financial services as “banking.”

The credit union brand does struggle with a different B-word: “Branding” — real, meaningful differentiation.

Credit unions, especially those with broad community charters and billions in assets, have an increasingly tough time distinguishing themselves from banks, not to mention each other. As they continue expanding, they match most banks’ product lineup all the way down to business banking (or ‘business services,’ if you like).

Key Question: If credit unions haven’t been able to successfully communicate the fundamental differences between them and banks in the last 50 years, how can they ever hope to train the public to use whatever verb the industry may prefer?

There is certainly a difference between using the noun “bank” and the verb “banking.” But if the differences between banks and credit unions boils down to rhetoric, everyone (taxed or not) will be competing on things like rates and how many branches they have.

Sydney Credit Union recently relaunched as SCU and rolled out a new brand theme, “More Generous Banking.”

To celebrate the launch, SCU sent out street teams across Sydney conducting “Random Acts Of Generosity” including giving out free coffees, free massages and — no joke — free hugs.

As part of the overhaul, SCU streamlined its product lineup and unveiled what it describes as a more “user-friendly website,” two moves it hopes will appeal to younger consumers.

In addition to being generous with java, rubs and hugs, the credit union outlines a few other ways in which it is “generous” at its website:

• Being more generous with our time
  We’re happy to spend as much time with you as you would like in order to share what we know with you and help you to make the right decisions.
• Being more generous with our money
  You can always expect great rates from us and low (or no) fees and charges. And better than that. We’ll always look at the total deal you are being offered and do everything we can to make it as generous as possible for you.

SCU isn’t the only financial institution using the venerated piggy bank icon. BNZ, a bank in New Zealand, has built their entire campaign around them.

In an interview, Adam Milbank, marketing manager of SCU said, “We’ve got a modern and fresh new look that we believe will appeal more to the younger generations. Although it’s hard to compete with the big banks on advertising budget we have a strong brand and a great proposition that’s a little more fun and little more friendly.”

PR agency One Green Bean was appointed to support the brand refresh and new website, which was developed by design group Blue Marlin.

With economic upheaval on Wall Street, many Americans are looking for answers on a wide range of financial matters. O Bee Credit Union is telling people to “Get lost!” Literally. In a maze.

O Bee Credit Union has partnered with a local newspaper and the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions to create one of the most original, most creative and most engaging financial-education promotions ever attempted.

The credit union’s name, “O BEE,” is the centerpiece of a massive, 6-acre maze made from corn. They call it “The Amazing Money Maze.”

The “Amazing Money Maze” from O Bee Credit Union. Look closely. There are two bridges.

There are two separate corn mazes, a 1.2-mile maze and a 1.8-mile maze. In each maze there are six checkpoints. As participants work their way through one of two mazes, they try to answer questions at different checkpoints about savings, budgeting, investing, debt, credit, identity theft, retirement, college, insurance, credit score, checking/debit and housing. Each checkpoint has a question for adults, teens and children.

After reviewing the questions and answers, participants get their checkpoint card punched to enter to win a weekly drawing for movie tickets, iPods, savings bonds, piggybanks, bags of shredded money, museum prizes, martial arts lessons, dance lessons and other stuff kids dig.

The maze is created by the hyper-imaginative folks at the Rutledge Corn Maze. In previous years, the farm’s mazes have been more conventional in their design, but still cool nonetheless.

Admission is $7. The maze is currently “haunted” for the Halloween season. Oooooh spooky!

This multi-way co-promotion is also a fund-raiser for programs that help promote financial education throughout the credit union’s communities.

If you want to see more, check out the website they’ve got set-up at amazingmoneymaze.com.

O Bee: One A Mazing Brand

An incredibly engaging financial education promo isn’t the only thing the O Bee brand has to be proud of. For instance, the “O Bee” name name is great.

For starters, it’s highly unusual, which not only helps the credit union get noticed and stand out, it allows them to have the ultra-simple web address obee.com. But the name makes sense too. You see, it’s the phonetic spelling of “O.B.,” short for “Olympia Brewing.” The credit union, the 99th ever started in the country, was originally founded in 1955 to serve the employees of Olympia Brewing.

The ‘O Bee’ name, logo and slogan all work together
to help create a rich and interesting brand story.

The credit union’s slogan, “Refreshingly Familiar,” is refreshingly unique for the financial industry. The slogan says the credit union is a comfortable place to do business, while simultaneously suggesting they have a personality and approach unlike “those other guys.”

For cutting through the clutter by carving their unique name into a cornfield, O Bee is getting a Breakthrough Brand Award from The Financial Brand.

“Money creates money concerns. And genuine attention to money helps eliminate them.” That’s the underlying premise behind Key Bank’s latest brand ad campaign, “Money Needs Attention.”

The campaign includes print, TV and outdoor advertising, as well as a microsite.
(more…)

Some financial institutions have mission statements. Some have vision statements. Some have both. Some companies have a defined list of core values, while others don’t. One thing is for sure: There is a lot of confusion about what each of these tools should do.

The difference between a Mission Statement, a Vision Statement and Core Values in the simplest terms:

• Mission Statements – Say what you’re doing today
• Vision Statements – Say what you want to accomplish tomorrow
• Core Values – Define what you believe in

Reality Check: Most mission statements are full of trite, feel-good expressions. They only get approved because they say nothing unique nor courageous.

Here’s an example of a mission statement for an imaginary financial institution:

“Our mission is to be the premier provider
of superior financial solutions by
earning people’s trust in the most friendly,
professional manner possible.”

It is no one’s in particular. And yet it is everyone’s.

The day-to-day purpose, goals and beliefs of most financial institutions are almost identical, so it’s no surprise that they have similar-sounding missions, visions or values. They all want to “do what’s right,” and “hold themselves to the highest standards,” so they can…Yeah, yeah. It’s the same stuff you hear from hundreds of financial institutions.

Reality Check: In this economic climate, you’ll have to forgive the folks on Main Street. You may say you’re trying to do the right thing for your community, your employees and your shareholders, but right now, people are a little jaded and skeptical about such statements. When most people read a mission statement (including employees), they roll their eyes and think, “Phhbbbt…’a premier financial institution.’ Just more corporate mumbo-jumbo.”

Lookalike missions, visions and core values aren’t the real problem though. It’s when the board, CEO or senior leadership of a financial institution confuse any of these things for a brand strategy or brand position that real problems arise. In most cases, they aren’t anywhere close.

The missing piece: a brand position

All too often, senior management and the board are left trying to build a 3-legged brand strategy out of statements that essentially say the same thing as their competitors. The result? An undifferentiated brand.

Reality Check: The #1 thing that prevents an organization from crafting a brand position is that the CEO or board thinks the mission or vision is “the brand.” Odds are, these brands will live stunted lives.

What they need is the fourth leg of the table: a Brand Position. A Brand Position (or brand essence, or brand strategy, or USP, or whatever you want to call it) is where you can really differentiate yourself in relevant ways.

Things like mission, vision and values clarify what an organization is about, while a Brand Position says how you will deliver on those things. A Brand Position says how you will achieve your mission, accomplish your vision, and live out your values. It says how you will be different than your competitors. Will you become “the premier provider” by making banking easier? Will you be the most knowledgeable advisors?

Let’s use Disney as example. Their mission might be something safe, like:

“Our mission is to provide a wide range
of quality entertainment options
to families and children of all ages.”

Other entertainment companies could very well have an identical mission statement. And Disney’s core values are probably shared with at least some of their competitors. After all, Disney isn’t the only innovative family entertainment provider out there.

So what makes Disney special? It’s their Brand Position:

MAKE MAGIC MOMENTS

And they live this out. If you’ve ever seen a Disney film, gone to a Disney theme park or cruised on a Disney vessel, you should have had a fairytale experience. That’s how they provide “quality entertainment to families” differently than everyone else.

They can train people to live out their brand position. They can (and do) teach people how to make magic moments — how to use their imagination and creativity to do something people will remember. It’s engaging. Fun. Inspiring.

They are “The Happiest Place on Earth” because “The Magic Kingdom” is the kind of place “Where Dreams Come True.” (See the how a brand position can bring clarity, relevance and differentiation to tangible things like slogans?)

It’s a lot harder to help your staff understand what “premier” or “preferred” mean. Those kinds of terms are hard to train because they are vague, and have many varied interpretations to different people.

Give them something inspirational — that’s also credible — and watch them respond.

Breaking News – Thursday, September 25, 2008

The FDIC just seized all the assets of Washington-based thrift, WaMu, making it the largest bank failure in history.

The FDIC quickly brokered a deal where WaMu’s roughly $150 billion in deposits will be sold to JP Morgan Chase. It is reported that JP Morgan will be paying the FDIC about $2 billion to acquire WaMu’s deposits. Some sources estimated the value of the deal could have been worth as much as $10 billion.

JP Morgan is not taking on any of WaMu’s so-called toxic assets, things like home equity loans, but will probably take branches as part of the deal.

What will happen with the thrift’s $227 billion in real estate loans is still a question. More than half of those loans consists of home equity, option adjustable-rate mortgages, and subprime mortgages. That’s about $125 billion in bad loans.

Key Question: What happens at 9:00 a.m. Friday when WaMu branches are supposed to open?

According to CNBC, no one at WaMu knew about this until a few hours beforehand.

Indeed, it is quite a surprise, because the FDIC usually waits until a Friday to seize a bank and its assets, presumably for the two-day weekend cushion to avoid a run on deposits.

Why the FDIC moved today is unclear. It perhaps had something to do with WaMu’s share price, which hit its lowest level since the 1980s.

Federal regulators were quick to point out that the WaMu+JPMorgan Chase deal would not have any impact on the FDIC fund.

This year, 12 other banks have been forced to close their doors. Back in July, IndyMac was the largest collapse of an FDIC-insured institution since 1984. IndyMac had assets of $32 billion and deposits of $19 billion when it failed.

CNN Money reported WaMu had had combined assets of $307 billion and total deposits of $188 billion. The Seattle-PI reported deposits of $143 billion.

Further Reading:

• FDIC to Seize WaMu and Sell Deposits to JPMorgan (CNBC)
  
• WaMu’s Shotgun Wedding (Forbes)
• JP Morgan buys WaMu (CNN Money)
• JPMorgan Chase to buy bulk of WaMu (Seattle P-I)
  

Harris Bank recently unveiled a new branding campaign to drive home the bank’s “here to help” message, a slogan the bank has used for the past two years.

Harris expects to reach 95 percent of its core audience — millions of people across the Chicago area — using television, radio, digital, print, outdoor and transit advertising, including this example:

[Click any image to enlarge.]

The triptych says, “Bored? Pass the time with a word jumble. ULOQOSYIL HRSPIM NUJOROS EENRSE LSAIOABT. Hint: They all start with ‘S.’” The answers for the word jumble are here on page 2.

Unfortunately, the solution to the word jumble says nothing about the Harris brand. And you have to wonder, is a word jumble really that helpful to a bus riders?

Helping people in seemingly trivial ways is actually part of the bank’s brand strategy.

“The ads are about regular life and demonstrate that Harris is committed to helping in ways that are unexpected,” said Justine Fedak, SVP/Marketing with Harris. “They also provide clarity to our customers at the times they need it most — something we have been doing for over a century in Chicago.”

A YouTube account created last week has 11 different videos, all offering some sort of semi-useful tips completely unrelated to banking, like this one that shows a cool way to fold t-shirts:

TV ads are the cornerstone of Harris’s media strategy. The bank says it’s buying time on CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, WGN, ESPN and CNN. The ads will appear during major news and sports broadcasts as well as top-rated programs such as CSI, Dancing with the Stars and The Late Show with David Letterman. The campaign debuted during the Chicago Bears’ season opening game against the Indianapolis Colts on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.

This is the first TV campaign from the bank in two years. The bank has a number of popular TV spots from years past uploaded by various Harris ad fans.

Alan Spindle, creative director with Element 79, the agency behind the campaign, said, “The TV spots grew out of the print and outdoor we’ve established over the past few years. So out-of-home, transit and print ads actually star in the TV spots.” When you see the ads (sorry, they are only viewable at the microsite), you’ve got to look closely and pay attention to catch the cab-top ad whizzing by:

Element 79 is the same agency that released the popular viral video “Ball Girl” for Gatorade earlier this year. The agency lost the Gatorade account despite their success with the video, which has been viewed over 1.3 million times.

The bank’s microsite for the campaign offers advice in six different categories: Financial, Planning, Small Business, Travel, Entertainment and Unexpected.

At the microsite, there are “helpful” videos and links to external, third-party websites — an interesting use of other people’s content (perhaps without their consent).

There are also five puzzles at the microsite, including word jumbles and visual riddles. All but one of the games were crafted to reinforce some aspect of the Harris brand.

The microsite is linked off the home page of the main Harris Bank website.

Harris Bank, a unit of the Bank of Montreal, has assets around $40 billion.

You can have the best brand strategy ever devised, with the greatest marketing and the most-admired ad campaign running. But it all means nothing if your staff fail to create an experience that delivers on your brand’s promises.

In order for your brand to thrive, employees must be on-board. They must know what your brand stands for and how to live it out. Here are 5 things HR needs to do to help build your brand.

1. All-Staff Brand Orientation

Have you told your entire staff what your brand is about? Do they even know what a “brand” is?

Your HR department needs to create a program that immerses employees in the brand. Staff should know what a brand is and why branding is important. Most importantly, what does the brand mean to them? How does it affect their day-to-day interactions? What are they expected to do? Or do differently? (Hint: You know you have a strong brand strategy when it applies equally to both frontline- and back-office staff.)

A good place to start with Brand Orientation is with an all-staff event. That’s what  Xerox FCU did when it changed names to Xceed Financial.

Quite often, these brand kickoff meetings include a video that tells the story and positions the brand, like this one from Kinecta:

But you don’t need to wait until you rename or rebrand to have a Brand Event. You can have one any time. In fact, you should probably have some sort of “refresher event” every few years.

The nice part about holding a staff Brand Event is that it requires you to make a set of materials about your brand. The mere process of creating these materials can bring new clarity and fresh insights to your brand strategy. Moreover, these materials can subsequently be used for Brand Initiation, the next item on HR’s list.

2. New Employee Brand Initiation

New employees are often given training when they are hired. They learn the organization’s processes and policies. There’s always someone who shows them the bathrooms and tells them about nearby restaurants for lunch.

But when new employees are hired, are they ever trained according to the brand? They need to be. This can be done one-on-one, or in groups quarterly.

One great way to expose new employees to the brand is to assign them mentors. These mentors can come from any department in the organization, as long as they are passionate about your brand and understand the importance of their responsibilities as Brand Mentor.

3. Screening Prospects According to the Brand

If your organization has defined its core values, they should be used to screen applicants.

Say, for instance, one of your core values is “Teamwork.” You need interview questions that explore an applicant’s experience working in teams:

• Do you prefer working in a team? Or are you more comfortable working independently?
• Why do you like working in teams?
• What size team(s) are you most comfortable with?
• Have you ever been part of a team where something went wrong? Can you give me an example? What could have been done differently?

If you aren’t screening applicants according to your brand and its core values, what good are they?

4. Evaluating Employees According to the Brand

It’s this simple: If something isn’t measured and rewarded, it doesn’t matter. If you aren’t evaluating staff according to the brand and giving them incentives for on-brand behaviors, they won’t care.

Annual performance reviews are a good place to include brand evaluations, but staff need regular reinforcement. Once a year isn’t enough. HR needs to develop reward mechanisms and smaller, more frequent incentives that can be used on an on-going basis.

Cash isn’t the only reward either. You could offer a free lunch, a day off, a paid vacation, a parking space, etc. The best rewards reflect and support the brand. If you’re a green organization, for instance, you give certain on-brand employees a hybrid for some period of time (wrapped in the brand’s graphics, of course).

For some people, public acknowledgement goes a long way. Others just need a simple “thank you” to know their on-brand behaviors were recognized.

5. On-going Brand Training & Communications

You know the expression, “Out of sight, out of mind.” The same applies to branding. If staff aren’t hearing about- and learning more about your brand on a regular basis, they’ll forget about it.

What’s interesting is that many employees have an acute curiosity about their organization’s brand. They appreciate it when you take the time to explain the hows and whys of your various brand-building efforts. Everyone should know about current marketing efforts. Stories of on-brand experiences — from within the organization or without — should be shared. Sometimes staff are just curious about what’s going on in another department. Unfortunately when things get busy, internal communications are all too often one of the first things to fall by the wayside.

Reality Check: No matter how much brand information you’re sharing with staff, it probably isn’t enough.

The trick is finding the right communications mechanisms your staff will utilize. Intranet? Email? Newsletter? Social media tools like Facebook or even Twitter?

It’s no secret. Michigan’s economy is all doom and gloom these days, or so it would seem based on what you read in the news. Chemical Bank isn’t hiding from this fact in its latest brand ads. Recently, the bank unveiled a brand campaign addressing Michigan’s economic malaise.

The campaign kicked off in July with 14 billboards scattered throughout the state’s Lower Peninsula that bore only two words on a green background — the mantra “Save Michigan.” Nothing else. No logo. No website.

Know one knew who was behind the ad campaign. People speculated. Theories circulated.

Ten days later, Chemical added the URL savingmi.com to the billboards and the mystery was solved. The URL takes you to a microsite explaining the campaign, with cross-links back to the bank’s main website.

Key Questions:

• How are Michiganites reacting to this campaign?
• Will the audience be as large- and as willing to rally behind Chemical Bank and its “Save Michigan” cause as the bank might have hoped?
• Does it feel like a sincere attempt to revive Michigan’s economy and lift up everyone’s spirits? Or does it come off as disingenuous exploitation of a weakened state?

It’s hard to gauge how many other Michigan marketers are taking a similar approach in their advertising these days, but Chemical Bank certainly isn’t the only one. Maybe Michiganites don’t want another reminder of how badly things suck?

Chemical Bank hopes people will appreciate much-needed financial advice on how to get through difficult times.

”We’re going to be offering free financial workshops to help individuals deal with the realities of today’s economic times,” said John Hatfield/Marketing Director for Chemical Bank.

The series of free workshops is aimed at reinforcing the practical principles of personal financial management.

“We wanted to change the conversation and to get people talking.”
– David Ramaker
Chairman, President & CEO

Chemical Bank would not say what the campaign is costing nor how it plans to measure its success, but they admit this much: Sales weren’t the focus of the campaign. They assert that the campaign is less about promoting products than positioning Chemical as a strong institution in a struggling economy.

“We wanted to change the conversation and to get people talking,” said David Ramaker/Chairman, President & CEO of Chemical Bank.

At least one branding expert thinks this is a mistake: “Awareness is no way to measure. Image is fine, but they still need to get people through the doors.”

Despite how Chemical wants this campaign to be perceived, its motives aren’t purely magnanimous. They are using the campaign’s microsite to push their new, cleverly-named “MI Savings Account.”

Reality Check: There isn’t much chatter on the blogosphere — nor anywhere else for that matter — about the campaign. This is one key indicator of a campaign’s buzzworthiness (aka, it’s ability to “get people talking.”)

Key Question: Assuming the bank has people’s attention, what’s next?

Later this fall, “Save Michigan” will give way to a larger “Made in Michigan” branding campaign emphasizing Chemical’s 90 years in the state.

According to the bank, “Save Michigan” is the first phase of a larger brand campaign that will celebrate Michigan and demonstrate how Chemical Bank is doing its part by offering “a solid base of financial products.”

The campaign, which also includes radio ads, comes from Gravity Six Alliance in Grand Rapids, Michigan. You can read the script for the first radio spot on page 2, or go to the savingmi.com website and listen to it on the microsite’s homepage.

Chemical Bank, with $3.75 billion and 129 branches in 31 Michigan counties, is the third-largest bank headquartered in the state. It has operated exclusively in Michigan for over 90 years.

Key Takeaways:

1. Going to extremes — like running billboards without a logo — is what it takes to cut through the clutter these days.
2. Making a big splash is great, but having a “second act” is critical.
3. Linking products to your brand-building efforts is always a good idea. It’s best when there is obvious synergy between your campaigns and the products they support.
4. When you tap topical issues (pop culture, TV shows, news headlines) like Chemical Bank is doing with Michigan’s economy, you can create an engaging purpose for your audience and a common bond for your brand. It also suggests you’re current and “with the times.”
5. Be prepared when attitudes change and a topical subject or cause is no longer in vogue. What will you do next?

“Doesn’t this dress look cute on me?
Oh and look, it’s on sale.”

– Anonymous Consumer

“A person usually has two reasons for doing something:
a good reason and the real reason.”

– Thomas Carlyle, Victorian essayist (aka “blogger”)

Human beings, as intelligent and sophisticated as we like to think we are, are actually highly emotional creatures. Every decision we make is made for emotional reasons. Those are the real reasons. We then back-up those decisions with logical justifications — the “good reasons.”

If you think about it and you’re really honest, what’s truly driving our choices is our emotions.

And we aren’t just talking about buying decisions. We’re talking about every decision.

There was a Porsche ad a few years ago that captured the internal struggle between our emotions and logic with naked perfection:

We do things because we want to — plain and simple. We may talk ourselves into thinking it’s a smart decision, but ultimately, we let our emotions run our lives.

We don’t have to buy the more expensive option. We don’t have to upgrade. You don’t really need premium gas. Logically, there is no reason to spend $400 on athletic shoes (especially when you don’t do anything athletic). No one really needs a $85,000 car when they can get from A to Z perfectly fine in a $15,000 car.

Most Americans almost never choose the least-expensive option (think “generic brand”). Why do we do this?

Because we want to.

“I want, I want, I want.”

We fork over millions of dollars every day because we want to. Not because we need to. Not because we really think it’s smart. Because we just feel like it.

“Just do it…”

Reality Check: Marketers are “want makers.”

Good marketing taps people’s emotions — base emotions — the fundamental psychology that drives us. Things like Greed. Fear. Envy. Trust. Love. Spite.

“Spite? People buy stuff out of ’spite’?” you ask. “You’re joking?”

No joke. Kids make buying decisions to spite their parents. They do it when they’re 15. They do it when they’re 50.

Wives (and ex-wives) buy stuff to get even with their husbands:

Jane’s revenge billboard cost £2,500. But how much does she think it was worth?

Is it rational? No.
Does it make any sense? No.
Does it feel good? Yes.

“Just do it…”

Parents don’t take their kids to McDonald’s for rational reasons. It’s not because McDonald’s is nutritious. It’s not because it’s cheap. Not because “the kids just lovvve it.” Parents take their kids to McDonald’s because it’s easy…on them, the parents. Parents can trust McDonald’s to make their lives a little easier.

You’ll notice McDonald’s never runs ads saying they are “fast, affordable, convenient and consistent.”

Why?

Because McDonald’s is a smart marketer, and smart marketers know you can’t rationalize people into making their decisions.

Unless, of course, you’re willing to make the ultimate marketing rationalization: “We will always be the cheapest.”

Key Takeaways:

• Logical arguments aren’t effective and “running the math” doesn’t work.
• People will pay a huge premium when you address their psychological and emotional needs.
• Stop pushing features. Start selling the benefits — just make sure you provide enough rationale for people to justify their decisions.

Flagstar Bank debuted a new brand campaign during the opening ceremonies for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Spots depict consumers with boxes on their heads who need to “open their eyes” to Flagstar’s products and services. Here’s the video:

“People are different and want different things from their bank.”
– David Joyce, VP/Mktg Director
Flagstar Bank

In a press release, David Joyce, VP/Marketing Director at Flagstar, said the campaign’s new tagline, “The New Wave in Banking,” shows the bank understands “people are different and want different things from their bank.”

Flagstar’s brand ad positions the bank as a ‘unique alternative’ for ‘a different kind of people’ without ever really defining how the bank is unique or how the target audience is different. You can read the whole script on page 2.

The spot’s conceptual device – putting boxes over people’s heads – creates a surreal world that feels oddly in contrast with the idea that “people are different.” Instead, they are faceless, lifeless robots, waiting for liberation. The somber, three-step German polka soundtrack adds to the strange vibe. Ooom-paa-paa, ooom-paa-paa.

Flagstar’s brand strategy is similar to the one used by Pemco Insurance. To paraphrase, it goes something like this: “Everyone is different, and for people who are different like you, we’re your kind of bank – different.” Pemco takes a more direct approach while injecting a heavy dose of satire. Enjoy this spot:

If you liked that spot, here’s another one from Pemco, “Blue Tarp Camper.”

The Pemco spots are arguably the more effective way to deliver the “We’re-Different-Like-You” strategy. They make clear statements about how they are “different like you.” Like the Obsessive Compulsive Recyler, Pemco believes in doing the right thing even if it means going to tedious extremes. And like the intrepid Blue Tarp Campers, nothing will deter Pemco, certainly not Northwest rain. Pemco has a whole series of these lifestyle vignettes (around 20 total), so they’ve clearly given this some thought.

The Flagstar Bank delivery of the “We’re-Different-Like-You” strategy feels shallow and empty.

Key Takeaway: Relevant differentiation is the key to branding. Simply claiming your different doesn’t cut it. You actually have to be different. Sure you can say you’re different even if you aren’t (and many financial institutions do it). But be prepared for people’s disappointment if the experience you deliver is less different than people expect. Brand gaps like these can come back to bite you…hard.

Flagstar’s campaign includes television, print, radio, Web and in-branch advertising and is scheduled to run in Flagstar’s three banking states of Michigan, Indiana and Georgia. Joyce called it the largest brand campaign in the bank’s history.

SMZ Advertising in Troy, Michigan, where the $14.6 billion dollar bank is headquartered, created the campaign for Flagstar.

“Frost Bank understands the value of focusing advertising communications on the brand.”
– Pam Thomas, CMO
Frost Bank

“Frost Bank understands the value of focusing advertising communications on the brand.”

That’s how Pam Thomas, Chief Marketing Officer at Frost Bank, put it in an interview with The Financial Brand about the bank’s latest brand campaign.

The campaign, launched back in April this year, consists of magazine and newspaper ads, online advertising, outdoor and direct mail.

“It is imperative for Frost to stay at a high level and communicate relevant brand messages in a visually compelling way to current and potential customers,” Thomas added.

“The competitive environment in the financial category in Texas is cluttered,” Thomas explained. “We have to be different to stand out.”

Most financial institutions aren’t comfortable using marketing dollars for ads that don’t push a product or contain a rate, which may suggest a separate budget is needed specifically for brand-building initiatives.

Bottom Line: It takes courage to run brand ads.

Frost has been running brand ads for over 10 years, focusing a majority of the bank’s media budget on branding. This strategy, Thomas says, shows the bank is “acting in our customers’ best interests, not pushing products.”

Key Question: When was the last time your organization ran a pure brand ad (i.e., an ad without a rate or product offer)?

The primary purpose of the new campaign is to increase awareness of Frost’s full range of services, including banking, investments and insurance. Frost has even made an interesting choice to opt for a utilitarian tagline in lieu of a more traditional rallying cry (e.g., “Where service comes 1st!”).

By putting “banking, investments and insurance” everywhere the Frost logo goes, the bank ensures its product awareness message is getting out there.

Frost’s previous campaign, which ran for three years, is particularly stunning and distinct, especially for the financial industry:

The look of new campaign may be visually different, but there is a similar vibe shared with the old campaign. This undercurrent of consistency is good branding. Frost knows what it wants to say and maintains a consistent “brand voice,” even from one campaign to the other – a voice that is bold, proud, confident and distinctively Texan.

The timing of Frost’s latest campaign makes it stand out even more. In these dark financial times where budgets and staff are being slashed, who else is out there with brand ads (megabanks not withstanding)?

“We have a great story to tell right now in this time of economic anxiety,” Thomas explained.

Tip of the Hat: To both Frost Bank and their agency, McGarrah-Jessee, for their help and cooperation with the writing of this article.

Further Reading: Frost Bank Momentum Account Combines Reward Checking and Personal Financial Management

This is a follow-up to yesterday’s article here at The Financial Brand, The Branding Sweet Spot.

When financial institutions give the answer “service,” which question are they answering:

1. What are we good at?
2. What is the one thing we do better than anyone else?

More often than not, “service” is the reflexive answer to the first question, and almost never the honest answer to the second.

Few financial institutions do much of anything remarkably better than their peers, but when you ask about competitive strengths, they’ll often resort to “service” as a trusty fall-back. Many actually have themselves convinced that service is the answer to both questions.

Even if your service is good, it’s probably not notably better than your competitors. Every organization is better at some things than others. But its strengths, like “service,” may not be any different than the bank down the street. How do you know? How did you compare service experiences? What evidence is there?

Reality Check: Maybe your service isn’t that great. Maybe the other guys’ service is just worse. When people switch financial institutions, more often than not they’re doing it because of poor service, so some of these financial institutions are lying. Not everyone’s service is all that great.

Key Question: If you had to give any other answer than “service,” what would you say your organization does best?

Bottom Line: Unless you take service to the nth degree in everything you so, “service” is probably not the answer. Let go of this myth. In all likelihood, it isn’t what differentiates you, and you’ll have a hard time finding what does (or truly taking your service to a branded level) until you do.

This simple illustration shows you exactly where to focus your brand – The Sweet Spot, where “the things people want most” intersects with “what you do best” and “what your competitors suck at.”

Source: Brad Van Auken

The brand identity for Bangor Savings Bank illustrates many important principles of financial branding.

Consistency, for starters. Bangor always uses the same fonts and the same colors: blue and light beige. This makes it easier to spot something from Bangor Savings Bank and creates familiarity, whereas a constantly changing look confuses people and undermines awareness.

Bangor Savings Bank stays focused. They don’t send a wide and varied range of messages out to the market. They concentrate pretty much on one topic: Free ATMs. The bank is much more likely to get traction by sticking with one simple yet highly relevant message. How often do you see an ad with only one bullet point?

Even their ATM card reinforces the “free ATM” message. What kind of marketing message could you include on your plastic products?

They consistently deploy their identity across all touchpoints – branch, web, print, etc. This helps create a cohesive brand, one where all the parts feel like they go together. That way, there’s no surprises when someone switches from one channel to another.

Note: They allow dogs in their branches. Kudos.

Bangor Savings Bank produced “Maine Tracks,” a compilation CD of alt-country and indie-rock musicians from Maine. The bank gives the CD away to show how it supports Maine’s creative culture. That, and because it’s just kind of a cool thing to do.

Bangor Savings Bank created a brochure all about their brand, which is increasingly common these days. The brochure’s primary audience is presumably employees (both current and future).

There is a secondary palette of brand colors – including contemporary hues like melon and pumpkin – to help visually categorize information.

Here’s a couple of 30-second TV spots where two people with different personalities, different likes and different dislikes agree on one thing: Bangor Savings Bank.

Bangor’s brand identity is the work of a company called Forge. Forge won the account in a review including two other agencies. In the pitch, Forge showed the bank a video it secretly shot in Bangor branches. The video connected with the CEO, who jumped up during the presentation and said, “Yes! That’s It. These people have got it right.”

“Wait. That’s it?? All these months and all we get it three words?”
– John Edwards
Chief Banking Officer
Bangor Savings Bank

At the first presentation of creative materials, Forge opened with the new slogan, “You Matter More.”

Bangor’s Chief Banking Officer recalls thinking, “Wait. That’s it?? All these months and all we get it three words?” That’s the irony of branding. There’s a million pieces of input on the front end, and comparatively little visible output on the back end. Successful brands keep it short, sweet and simple.

Tip of the Hat: To Ron Shevlin, for pointing Bangor Savings Bank out to The Financial Brand.

Are these posters on-brand for Absa Bank and its target audience? Who is the target audience anyway? Hard to say.

Two things are for certain: (1) The posters look cool, and (2) they are very different. The copy, however, might be a stumbling point for some readers. Too hokey? Trying too hard?

By the way, Absa is in South Africa.

The series is a unique range of retro-eclectic and vibrant visual styles, sprinkled with semi-poetry here and there.

“Do your little bit of good where you are:
It’s these little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
– Desmond Tutu

We’ll help you take those steps today.
– Absa, “Today, tomorrow, together.”

Learn something new. Learn how to use it.
Learn to live by the rules, but only the ones worth living by.
Polish your shoes every single day, because you never know who you might meet.
Be brave.
Think before you speak. Speak less. Say more. Say something profound.
Look for the silver lining, but never settle for second best.
Don’t be afraid to face the music. Make music.
Stay hungry.
Learn who you really are.
Know that you don’t see the world as it is. you see it as you are.
Don’t measure yourself by other people’s standards, and don’t impose your standards on them.
Trust your gut.
The steps you take today lead to your tomorrow.
Let’s take the next one together.
– Absa, “Today, tomorrow, together.”

This is to the bus driver who gets us to work on time, the health worker who saves lives and the man who makes us paper clips. Here’s to the car guards and musicians who get us dancing and to the Lizzies, Janets and Thembas who know how we like our tea. This is for the teachers who give children homework and hope. The sportspeople who don’t take it personally when we scream at the TV. Here’s to the men and women who keep our streets clean, and to every South African who keeps our nation working.
HAPPY WORKERS DAY
Thank you for putting your best foot forward.
– Absa, “Today, tomorrow, together.”

The branding posters are the work of The Jupiter Drawing Room. (Warning: Gorgeous website ahead.)

Tip of the Hat: To Sarah Britten, for her original coverage of this ABSA campaign.

Looking out 10 years at the landscape of financial brands, what will we see? Here’s six trends in this two-part guest post from The Financial Brand over at OpenSource CU.

Read Part 1

• Prediction #1: More of the same
• Prediction #2: More self-deception about service
• Prediction #3: More me-too names

Read Part 2

• Prediction #4: Traditional branches will thrive
• Prediction #5: Innovation will come from extensive R&D
• Prediction #6: Being green won’t make a difference