[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.

Why are credit union executives frolicking around an exotic Caribbean resort while thousands of miles away, their industry’s leadership cries to Congress about “hard times” and the need for a TARP bailout?

That question — fair or not — will apparently be the central theme of an ABC News investigative report expected to air sometime this week.

According to a document provided to The Financial Brand, the Florida Credit Union League (FCUL) says an ABC News news crew was sent to the tropical isle of St. Kitts to spy on the 200 or so credit unions executives that were attending a CUES conference there. (CUES, for those who don’t know, is the Credit Union Executive Society, a professional development organization.)

The reporter’s assignment, it seems, was to show that credit unions are wasteful, self-indulgent spenders, no different than their smarmy bank brethren. For several days, the ABC crew posed as ordinary vacationers, filming credit union CEOs as they relaxed poolside and played rounds of golf.

The Financial Brand has previously written about the perils of participating in TARP, as well as the specific risks credit unions face should their requests for bailout money be granted. But this type of investigative report takes the demonization of financial institutions to a new level.

Reality Check: Apparently, you don’t even need to accept TARP money to get blasted by the press. Simply asking for it is enough to paint a big red target on your forehead. If you work in the financial industry, the news media — and perhaps the general public — expects you to live like a frugal monk.

ABC News has apparently contacted CUNA, the credit union industry’s official trade organization, for an interview. According to the FCUL, CUNA declined to participate in what they characterize as “ambush journalism,” arguing that anything said on-camera would be edited and distorted to fit the report’s biased and negative storyline.

Presently, it’s not known when the ABC News report will air, although it will likely be part of a 20/20 episode. What is fairly certain, however, is that the show will portray credit unions in an extremely unflattering light.

In anticipation of the piece, the FCUL sent a memo to the CEOs, board members, managers and marketing departments working in Florida’s credit unions. Titled “ABC News Investigative Reporter/Producer Ambush Interview Talking Points,” the document suggests responses to the inevitable questions credit unions will face after the piece airs. Among the points (some of them disputable):

• Credit unions have received no TARP money, and we are not seeking a direct injection of TARP money
• The only TARP money credit unions are interested in is a “backup” to the self-funded NCUA deposit insurance system
• If it became necessary to tap the TARP funds — something credit unions believe is highly unlikely — credit unions would then pay the funds back over time
• Credit unions view TARP as simply backup assistance for a narrow segment of the credit union industry that has suffered collateral damage in today’s troubled economy
• Credit unions didn’t make the toxic mortgages and liar loans that are at the root of the economic crisis
• Many who attended the St. Kitts conference are board volunteers who used their own personal vacation time to attend

Good thing the talking points were sent out, because the credit union industry can’t seem to get its story straight when it comes to TARP money. In a Credit Union Times article about the ABC News story, CUES president Fred Johnson said, “We told them [ABC News]…that credit unions have not asked for TARP money and [that] they got their facts wrong.”

Mr. Johnson, it would appear, has his own facts wrong. The credit union industry has been asking for TARP money over and over and over, dating back to November 2008. NCUA, CUNA and NAFCU have repeatedly pled their case in front of the U.S. Treasury, Congressional representatives, FOX Business, CNBC and just about anyone who will lend them an ear.

If Mr. Johnson did indeed tell the ABC News crew that credit unions haven’t asked for TARP money (hopefully not on camera), brace yourselves for one of the most painful, embarrassing, squirm-in-your-seat exposés you’ve seen in quite some time.

Key Takeaway: It’s not just “employee recognition events” (aka “parties,” aka “junkets”) that will get a financial institution skewered in the news these days. Apparently, conferences of any sort are now taboo for anyone working at a financial institution.

Bottom Line: In this economic climate, financial institutions now have to look at every single penny they spend. If you don’t carefully scrutinize each individual expense from the public’s perspective, you better prepare yourself for a lynching by a pitchfork-wielding mob.

Note to Financial Conference Planners: Forget Vegas, New York City, San Francisco or anywhere that the sun shines. Start thinking about towns in states like Kansas and North Dakota. In fact, you might even be able to score a couple of points by booking your next event in Detroit. Bah, forget about it altogether. There’s no point. You can’t pick a destination that will immunize you from the press, and no one has the money to go to any events anymore anyway…

[UPDATE: Fred Johnson, president of CUES, responds to the situation and provides some clarification in an official statement.]

[ratings]

Here are recent stories of interest from around the web.
Click on the hotlinked headlines to read more.

Article blames WaMu problems on ‘café-style’ branches

An American Banker article suggests Chase’s takeover of WaMu is some sort of referendum on innovative BRANCH DESIGN, and that traditional, conventional branches are the way to go.

Beyond the fallacious inference that WaMu’s BRANCH DESIGN had anything to do with their collapse (hint: subprime mortgage lending), the article also described the bank’s the branches as “cafés.” There are a lot of words to describe WaMu branches, but café? Nope, doesn’t fit.

WaMu never ever tried to make their branches “hangouts.” They didn’t provide any comfy seating. There wasn’t any ambient alternative music. There wasn’t any free coffee. What ING Direct does can be called a café, but not WaMu’s Occasio branches.

The only thing WaMu did that was really any different was replace a traditional teller line with transaction “pods,” which supported the bank’s emphasis on transactional efficiency.

Research revises playbook for 700+ Wells Fargo copywriters

Wells Fargo researched how effective its written communications were. Following its ethnographic study (defined here), the bank shared its learnings with 700+ content writers in 30+ workshops. Among the findings:

• Marketing messages, especially those with presumptive language like “Congratulations!” or “Good News,” were viewed quite negatively; customers used words like “ploy” and “scheme” to describe them.
• The bank could mitigate negative reactions to bad news like a notice of insufficient funds if the communications provided relevant advice.
• Many consumers view the bank’s Website as the primary visual reference point, noticing differences with layout, color, and other design elements across communications.

Oh happy days… Credit union logo jet, circa 1999

The economy sucks now — the salad days are over and the gravy train has left the station. But less than a decade ago, even credit unions could afford to put their logo on jets.

Great advice for building your financial brand

October’s issue of American Banker has a fantastic article on bank branding — especially for its length (just over 700 words). The author, Cristi Kirisits, VP/Marketing at Silverton Bank, makes a number of excellent points, including:

• Your brand absolutely has to deliver on its promises
• You create familiarity and trust by delivering a consistent experience
• Every interaction is a make-or-break experience that will leave a lasting impression
• Establish an internal team of “brand champions”
• Only one competitor can be the cheapest — all the others must use branding

Earlier this year, The Financial Brand wrote about how Cristi’s bank changed names and became Silverton. They definitely “get it,” and are walking their talk.

Shrinking footprints, growing profitability

According to an expert quoted in a CUES article, branches traditionally break even with deposits in the $30-40 million range, although branches with smaller footprints and fewer employees can turn profitable at under $15 million. That may help explain why the average square footage of branches is dropping from 3,900 in 2004 down to 3,500 last year. You can even get away with 2,500 square feet in some markets. And some in-store branches are only 600 square feet.

Login to Wells online banking, see “safe & sound” splash screen

As Netbanker notes, the best time to get your customer’s attention is right after they log in to look at their account. That’s why login-screen marketing should be in your mix. Just don’t overuse it, or you’ll piss people off.

I just gave another webinar through CUES 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 8-year period.

Here is the executive summary:

1. DELUSIONS OF BRANDEUR
   Thinking you have a brand strategy when you really don’t.
2. TOXIC SAMENESS
   Looking, acting and sounding like everyone else.
3. LCD SYNDROME
   Trying to appeal to everyone (e.g., the Lowest Common Denominator).
4. CRIMINAL NEGLECT
   A failure to commit. Not supporting the brand with time, energy and money.
5. CULTURAL AUTISM
   Staff don’t know what the brand is or understand how to live it out.
6. BRANDING SCHIZOPHRENIA
   Delivering an inconsistent look-and-feel and/or experience.
7. COSMETIC FIXATION
   Undue significance or attention placed on the brand’s identity (it’s look and feel).

Tip of the Hat: To Ron Shevlin, for his coining of the phrase “Delusions of Brandeur.”

Today, I gave the following presentation, “The 11 Cs of Breakthrough Brands,” in a CUES webinar.

It’s a fairly visual presentation, so not everything will make sense without hearing the script, but you should get the general idea.

Also, check out the critical 9-point branding self-exam you can take over at CUES Skybox. It’s a follow-up to the presentation.

If you missed today’s presentation, don’t sweat… I’ll be giving this presentation a few more times in upcoming months, starting with the DOXIM Industry Focus – Forum 2008: Financial Services, Thursday, September 18th, in Vancouver, B.C. There’s a PDF of the DOXIM forum’s agenda here.

If you’re interested, you can also have me present “The 11 Cs of Breakthrough Brands” at your next event. Just shoot me an email. There’s a version specifically for credit unions, and another version that applies to all financial institutions.

That’s the title of an upcoming webinar I’ll be presenting through CUES next Thursday, August 14 from 8:00-9:30 a.m. Pacific time.

Here’s what we’re going to cover:

• How to build a breakthrough brand by putting 11 distinct, power-proven principles to work for your organization.
• The steps that must be taken to create, execute and maintain a healthy, vibrant and growing brand.
• The five biggest—and most common—branding mistakes.
• How to align your entire organization around a clear, strong brand.
• How to engage constituencies on all sides of the conversation.

The deadline for online registration is next Monday, August 11, so hurry if you want to catch it.