Featured Articles Archive
The Power of What Your Brand Isn’t
Most organizations struggle to define their brand strategy — who they are, what they stand for and what they do differently. In fact, many don’t even know where to begin. Not to worry. Here’s an
Your Brand Isn’t What You Say It Is
Your brand isn’t what you say it is. It’s what they say it is. – Marty Neumeier, ‘The Brand Gap’ You can have a carefully calculated brand strategy, ripe with insights and good intentions. You
Four Things Your Brand Must Be
Four principles serve as the underpinning for every great brand: differentiation, relevancy, credibility and irreproducibility. If your brand doesn't meet these four criteria, you've still got some work to do.
The Ugly Downside of Bank Bashing Ads
If financial marketers spend enough time telling people their industry sucks, consumers will believe it.
What’s the Return on Branding?
A number of financial institutions ask, “What’s the ROI on branding?” It’s often the bean counters who ask this question. They want to see a “demonstrable rate of return” before making any investment. Certainly it’s
Differentiation: The Key to Branding
Most financial institutions look, sound and act almost exactly alike, yet of all the components fueling strong brands, differentiation is the most critical.
Core Values: Do All Banks Really Believe the Same Thing?
If all banks pretty much share the same core values, then what good are they?
The 7 Deadly Branding Sins
Here’s a webinar titled “The 7 Deadly Branding Sins.” These are the 7 biggest strategic errors financial institutions make. They are broad generalized observations based on my first-hand experience evaluating 75 financial brands over an
5 Things HR Must Do to Build Your Brand
In order for your brand to thrive, employees must be on board. Here's 5 ways HR can do to help instill a branded culture and get staff living the brand.
Four Myths About Bank & Credit Union Slogans
Financial marketers should keep these four myths in mind when creating taglines for banks and credit unions.
Consumer Marketing Psychology: The Good Reason vs. The Real Reason
“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,
The 11 Cs of Breakthrough Financial Brands
This is a fairly visual presentation, so not everything will make sense, but you should get the general idea without hearing the script. Also, check out the critical 9-point branding self-exam you can take over
Banks: Less Differentiated Than a Bar of Soap
A study found that banks had the least differentiation and soap brands had the most. What's to blame?
