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.”

“Since the mid-1800s,
the term ‘savings bank’
indicated a
financial institution of
somewhat limited scope.”
– Julie Livingston
CEO, Marblehead

Marblehead Savings Bank has updated its new logo while also deciding to drop the word “Savings” from its name.

According to the local Marblehead paper, the bank changed names to “better reflect its wide range of products and services.” Apparently, people interpreted the word “savings” too literally.

Neither the name change nor the logo redesign are all that radical, but sometimes it only takes slight evolutions to stay current and remain relevant.

The bank’s previous logo used a font called Palatino,
one of the oldest — and most-common — typefaces around.

In the old logo, the symbol of a bird seems disproportionately large and imbalanced relative to the type. The new logo keeps the bird, but shrinks and tilts it. The beak of the bird dips down to replace the visual pause that is missing now that spaces between words have been removed:

The basic, solid blue of the old logo gives way to
a softer, more sophisticated color palette.

The new logo uses a mix of two typefaces. Trajan, a classic typeface that looks like something straight off the Roman Colosseum, is used for the word “Marblehead.” “Bank” is set in Futura, a clean, retro-contemporary typeface that never loses its popularity among designers.

The new logo also preserves its formal and conservative all-caps typesetting. Lately, many financial institutions have opted to typeset their names in all lowercase letters to convey a casual, contemporary, approachable and easy-going personality (like BNZ).

The Marblehead website got an upgrade too. There’s a lot less clutter in the new design (shown right), but the placement of the compliance bugs in the extreme lower-right creates an awkward amount of whitespace.

Bottom Line: The upgrade to the bank’s overall image is subtle, but better.

To support the name change, Marblehead Bank has a “Scratch the ‘SAVINGS’” instant-win game. Prizes include a $2,500 cash grand prize, three $1,000 cash prizes, and gift cards and discounts to participating Marblehead retailers.

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 are this week’s stories of interest from around the web.
Click hotlinks for the complete story.

Money for Guns: Chase gives away prepaid debit cards for unregistered guns

Credit Score: Consumer Reports’ 12 best and 3 worst credit cards

Duel: Comparing ING vs. E-Trade click-through rates

Essay Contest: Credit union holds $1,500 ‘What Do You Want’ contest

Image Problems: Aussie credit unions in the same situation as U.S. peers

Pedal Pushing: 7.99% bike loans up to $2,500

Q&A Interview: Barclays sees how sponsorships can open doors in the U.S.

More Gas: DFCU-style gas promo from a Montana credit union

Online Media: Citibank’s exclusive sponsorship of popular Aussie website ‘The Fix’

Going Swimmingly: Visa happy with Phelps endorsement

Up for Review: ING’s £4 million direct mail account

Va Va Voom: Female employees pose in bank’s pinup calendar

That’s an Outhouse! But the sign says “Future home of Auburn-U FCU”

Fifth Third’s “Unlock Your Dreams” campaign, which started yesterday, centers on a scratchcard and a $250,000 sweepstakes. Anyone can enter by stopping at a branch to pick up their game piece, or you also can request game pieces by mail (as is legally required, but who does that?).

In addition to the $250,000 grand prize, the bank is giving away 22 first prizes of $10,000 — one in each of the bank’s regions.

The scratch-off the game pieces reveal one of the following “instant prizes,” most of them contingent on acquiring a new Fifth Third product:

+ One of 42,500 MasterCard gift cards worth $10
+ $50 in a new “Goal Setter” savings account
+ $50 off loan closing costs
+ $50 off mortgage loan app fee
+ 5,000 Bonus Rewards Points with a new Visa credit card
+ 5,300 Bonus Rewards Points with a new home equity line

The value of the campaign’s prizes, including cash and discounts, totals $895,000.

The scratchcards also include a special “code.” To win either of the cash prizes, you have to go to a special microsite for the campaign at www.53unlockyourdreams.com and type in your “code.” But that’s not all you have to type in.

In order to complete your entry at the microsite, you have to give up a lot of personal information — including your name, email, phone number, mailing address and DOB — so the campaign will definitely be a success from an MCIF perspective. Entrants even tell the bank what kind of financial products they might be interested in by checking a lifestyle option like “getting married” or “retiring.”

The magic of the “code”

From a marketing perspective, the “code” is just a ruse to make the scratchcard more exciting. It gives people the impression that their “code” may “be the one” and they “may already be a winner,” giving them more incentive to visit the microsite and surrender their MCIF profile. In reality, the cash prizes will be given away in a conventional drawing, so the “code’s” only real purpose is to validate entries, thereby preventing contestaholics from repeatedly entering. (Fifth Third is limiting the number of entries each person can have at 20.)

Key Takeaway: Scratchcards tickle people’s gambling nerve center — a juicy marketing tactic.

Bottom Line: This well thought-out and fairly straightforward promo should yield an immediate return in the form of new accounts and new relationships. If they maximize their MCIF opportunities, there should be additional ROI streaming in for months to come.

The contest complements Fifth Third’s slogan, “The things we do for dreams,” which the bank launched back in February.

“This year, our ads have touched on dreams of all shapes and sizes, and have celebrated the steps and sacrifices individuals make today to realize their dreams for tomorrow,” said Terry Zink, EVP/Retail for Fifth Third in a press release.

With $115 billion in assets and 1,300 branch locations, Fifth Third is one of the top 20 banks in the U.S. based on assets.

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?

Fight looms, confusion inevitable as
two Texas banks now share ‘Vista’ name

“We changed our name to soar above the crowd…to set ourselves apart.”
– Security State Bank

A new website for Security State Bank & Trust says the bank changed names to “soar above the crowd” and to “set ourselves apart.” But there’s a problem. The name they picked, Vista Bank of Texas, is almost identical to another bank in the same state, Vista Bank Texas.

Key Question: Who was first?

It’s hard to say.

Vista #1: Vista Bank Texas
Service Area: 6 branches around Houston
Claim to Name: It doesn’t look like this bank had been using the Vista name for very long. They launched their current website in December 2007.

Vista #2: Vista Bank of Texas
Service Area: 8 branches around the Texas panhandle
Claim to Name: In their trademark application on file with the US Patent & Trademark Office, they say the first time they used the name was June 2008. (Click here to view the USPTO trademark entry.)

Bottom Line: This may be a case of unfortunate timing and a terrible coincidence, but these banks are in for big trouble. It doesn’t matter that they are 500 miles apart. In today’s wired world, people are going to get confused.

Prediction: Financial trademark lawsuit in 3…2…1…

And it all may boil down to a difference of just six months and the simple preposition “of.” Maybe one of them should have put “First” in their name so we’d know which was the First Vista Bank of Texas. Joking. Just joking…

A creative solution to the problem would be for the two Vista Banks in Texas to merge, or create some sort of shared branching concept. Maybe you’ve heard the old adage, “The quickest way to eliminate my enemy is to call him my friend?” Don’t hold your breath though. This isn’t very likely.

A credit union in California holds the trademark for the word “Vista” in the USPTO’s financial services category, but a merger in 2007 between Vista FCU and Partners Credit Union name may make the trademark moot (click here to view the USPTO trademark entry.) Because the merged credit unions kept the “Partners” name, it’s unlikely either of them will step-up to defend this trademark.

More on the “Vista” name:

• It appears that Security State Bank & Trust bought their new URL, www.vistabank.com, for around $2,000 from a cybersquatter. The domain had been put up for sale after another Vista Bank gave it up a few years ago.
• Ironically, Security State Bank & Trust was also a name that was shared by at least two banks — the one that just became Vista Bank of Texas and another one in Montana.
• There is another Vista Bank in South Carolina.
• Earlier this year, The Financial Brand wrote about a two-year old bank in California changing names to Sierra Vista.

Here are this week’s branding and marketing stories of interest from around the web.
Click hotlinks for the whole story.

Texas Twins: Similar Gen-Y programs raise tough questions

What’s Behind All This Growth? Credit unions add 1.6 million members

Reaping ‘Rewards’: Bancvue checking product boasts $5.5 billion in deposits

Bee Good: Credit union serves free honey-flavored ice cream to save the bees

How To: Making a powerful financial brand

Driving Sales: Auto loans are hot as car makers cut leasing programs

2nd Generation: Bank switches names back to ‘Generations’

Pledge of New Allegiance: Illinois bank to become ‘Legence’

MembersProject.com: AmEx introduces contest for charitable ideas

School of Rock: CU’s financial literacy program rocks high schoolers

It’s a Wrap: BofA draws attention to wealth management with NYT ad wrap

Vishing: Are you ready to protect people from this latest security threat?

Op Ed: LA Times bemoans loss of marble and mahogany branches

Hawaiian Cafe: Credit union puts in a sofa and a “gourmet coffee bar”

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

Bank 2.0: Struggling banks turn to social networking

Case Studies: Branding firm analyzes 9 different megabank brands

Taken to Task: Marketing expert blasts bank for mailers on neon paper

Today 8 Slides, Tomorrow the World: A Gen-Y plan with big ambitions, few specifics

Bridging the Golf: RBC reaches across the border to sponsor U.S. golf

Stepping Up to the Plate: Big banks defend expensive stadium sponsorships

Lend Me Some Green: Seattle CU rolls-out green auto, home and equity loans

Inside Every Banker…: RBC rep enthusiastic about credit unions

Role Reversal: 86-year old woman turns the table on her bank

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.

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.

Identity Crisis: Creating a great credit union logo

Patronage Dividends: A great CU difference to tout

Save@YouTube: FNBO hosts “Savings Goal” contest on YouTube

Viva la Brand: Aviva, an international insurance provider, rebrands

Storm Clouds: Federal judge puts smackdown on community charters

Court Adjourned: Commerce name is out, ‘TD Bank’ is the new moniker

Eco-Branch: Canadian CU develops green+tech prototype

Pennies for Change: Credit union members can give 1¢ per debit to United Way

Greener on the Other Side? Coastway CU proposes bank conversion to members

Busted: Aussie bank fined over misleading ads promising big giveaway

Yours Truly: Thank you notes for new accounts signed by a credit union CEO