Headlines, snapshots and misc. stories of interest
Friday, January 16th, 2009Here are recent stories of interest from around the web.
Click on the hotlinked headlines to read more.
Barclays boss: Banks must apologize
John Varley, the head of Barclays, says banks should apologize to customers to win back their trust. He said the banking industry was facing a “public relations crisis” and would not regain the trust of the public until it had said sorry for what went wrong. “We should share our portion of responsibility.”
How should financial institutions respond to bloggers?
William Azaroff, Vancity Credit Union’s Director of Online Banking & Engagement, explains in this 46-slide presentation. He answers questions like when, how and why you engage with bloggers who write about your financial institution. He offers good advice based on real experience that can benefit any financial institution, but especially the ones mentioned here and here.
Troubled economy shaping Gen-Y’s views of marketing
The deepening recession is making it harder for members of Gen-Y to find jobs and keep jobs, and they have a bigger debt burden than previous generations due to college loans and credit card debt. The impact? Gen-Y will spend more time looking at their finances to make judicious decisions.
Financial institutions targeting Gen-Y will want to put together messages based on honesty and singularity. “It’s all about sharing information and being a true guide and not a marketer,” one expert says. “When it comes to considered purchases, they want the face-to-face interaction.”
The Credit Union Brand: What Is It Good For?
This Filene report is yet another reminder that the credit union industry needs a national awareness campaign. People just don’t see any difference between banks and credit unions. And it’s not just the credit union industry that has a branding problem. Filene’s report shows that most individual credit unions lack any kind of real, differentiated brand either.
Economic crisis killing cool bank brands
Many of the financial industry’s most admired brand names have fallen victim to the meltdown. WaMu, a longtime comedic marketer, is gone to Citi. Wells Fargo swallowed Wachovia’s unique and professional image. National City’s “Simple” brand is going to PNC. And now, say goodbye to “Happy Banking,” thanks to Commonwealth Bank’s acquisition of BankWest.
4 banks + tough economy = 1 ad
Four community banks, each with less than $200 million in assets, have joined together to send the message that despite Wall Street’s failure and bank bailouts, all is well in Alabama’s Calhoun County, Alabama. The four banks teamed to create an ad campaign emphasizing the banks’ security, strength and ability to lend.
BofA has organized a “war room” so that when a headline in the news raises flags with consumers, the bank can figure out how to respond. They also say they have no plans to cut their $2 billion marketing budget in 2009, but haven’t ruled it out either. One more interesting thing: They say they’re trying to work in the word “guaranteed” more often to reassure anxious consumers. For instance, BofA’s CDs now feature a “guaranteed rate of return.”
The chairman of Fortis says the name has acquired a negative connotation due to the global financial crisis. (Fortis really took a big hit in Europe.) They don’t yet know what the new name will be. They just think the old one is baggage that needs to be dumped.
ING’s singular focus on helping people save money is behind the love, and the bank is staying on-message with its meltdown marketing. The article ends with a quote from The Financial Brand.
Yeah, but if the numbers coming from Vancity Credit Union are right, it looks like this one single credit union gave away $3.67 million in 2007. That’s about 10% of all donations by all Canadian credit unions combined. Of course, their brand is built around “doing good” and “giving back.”
The 37-year-old told his clients that he had hated the business and had only been in it for the money. He declared he would no longer manage money for other people, because he had enough of his own. [Editor: Who else wants to know where Mr. Lahde is putting his money today?] He concludes with a plea to legalize weed.