Banking marketing leaders often walk a tightrope with brand management. It can be hard to discern where to be firm and where to be flexible. Yet, in a regulated industry where trust determines if consumers and business interact with you, brands must show a unified face or risk losing their power and credibility.
Over-policing every detail, though, can lead to frustration, limit genuine communication from staff, and stifle creativity. So, where can your brand can be flexible — and where can’t it?
Here’s my experience in establishing clear guardrails for visuals, voice, social content, and consumer interactions in ways that encourage compliance while still allowing employees the opportunity to let their personalities shine through.
How Elements Makes Brand Messages Human
At Elements Financial, a $2.3 billion Indiana-based credit union, the marketing team rolled out “Brand Central” in 2021 — a hub where employees can access ready-to-post graphics and suggested copy for their personal social media channels. The team made a strategic move to empower member-facing “brand advocates” like mortgage loan originators, financial advisors, and even the recruitment team to build their online professional presence.
Employees were trained to ensure they understand the boundaries of how branded content can be used. This training also focused on why the organizationps investment in a consistent brand would payoff for each individual. The change offered clear benefits for them to connect with current and prospective members, to grow professionally, and to support the Elements mission.
One frequent user, Senior Mortgage Loan Originator Justin Montour, shared with me that “content creation is one of the most time-consuming parts of my social media strategy. Not having to start from scratch gives me a great jump-start. Plus, knowing I have the flexibility to still be myself, within the established company guidelines, gives me peace of mind that my audience won’t think I’m being disingenuous.”
The shift from only allowing marketing-posted content to allowing employees to find their own voice — within clear guidelines — has resulted in hundreds of social posts and thousands of impressions, plus brought a sense of authenticity to the brand. The same amount of paid awareness and engagement would have required a spend many times greater than the organization’s allotted marketing budget.
“It used to be that we would encourage employees only to share the company’s social posts rather than creating their own,” VP of Marketing Michelle Payne said. “Now, with a branded and approved content library, our member-facing employees can craft their own posts, thereby appearing as a subject matter expert directly to their audience.”
Fighting Fraud with Brand at Financial Center
At Financial Center, an Indianapolis-based credit union focused on financial health and well-being, we introduced a refreshed brand voice and visuals earlier this year. As we trained staff on our new positioning and look, we additionally emphasized the brand’s role as an important fraud prevention tool.
Fighting fraud might seem a distant issue from brand enforcement, but let me put it this way: How can your members tell when they may have received a malicious message?
“Having a strong brand style and tone that is consistent across an organization can help identify fraudsters should they attempt to impersonate the organization,” Mackenzie Kepley, AVP of Compliance at Financial Center, says. “Oftentimes, having this recognizable brand will make what would have been muted or minor red flags in spam communications much more prevalent and glaring.”
The focus on brand identity being a fraud prevention tool has since become one of the Marketing team’s most effective ways to enforce brand standards across the organization. Our team recommends:
Partnering with compliance for training: Work closely with compliance and risk teams to deliver brand training. Teaching employees how critical brand standards are from both the marketing and risk management perspectives elevates the importance of these guardrails and helps enforce standards in the future.
Auditing email signatures and fonts: While these are often part of brand standards, enforcement can become lax over time. A pre-planned annual audit keeps these channels in check.
Sharing phishing examples: Regularly show real phishing attempts internally to highlight how fraudsters try to mimic brands — yours or others. It’s a clear way to reinforce why brand uniformity matters in every communication, both internal and external.
Teaching brand language: While visual cues can help employees or consumers spot fraud attempts quickly, language matters too. Branded language that sounds familiar, such as consistent email sign-offs, boosts message credibility.
Through both brand and fraud training, our employees at Financial Center have begun to quickly spot and report messages that feel ‘off brand’ for further review before clicking links or responding. When employees understand the dual role of brand as both a marketing tool and a shield against fraud, they’re far more likely to embrace their role as brand advocates.
Dig deeper:
- How First Horizon’s Branding Strategist Pursues ‘Relevancy’ for Its Customers and Prospects
- Prioritizing a Human Touch Is Essential to Bank Branding
- Why It’s a Good Time for Community Banks to Hire New Talent
Balancing Being Firm and Flexible
When leaders set clear guidelines proactively and enforce them repeatedly, this allows teams to understand how to activate the brand in a compliant way. Here’s how we remain firm and flexible:
Visual Look and Feel — Firm
Logos, colors, and fonts should remain consistent across channels to grow brand recognition. This includes email signatures, printed materials, templates, co-branding, and official documents. While there can be flexibility in creative delivery, consider setting overall style guidance. “For instance, receiving communication from ‘Disney’ that does not look magical is going to be very obvious that it’s fraud,” Kepley shares.
Voice and Tone — Flexible, with firmness around sensitive topics
Leaders should teach brand language and encourage staff to be consistent in their communications, yet provide the flexibility to personalize messages within guidelines. Marketing leaders can consider giving talking (or typing) points rather than strict scripting when asking your team to communicate on behalf of the brand. Clearly defining topics that are off-limits in brand communications — such as political or religious statements — should be outlined, too.
Social Media Content — Flexible, with boundaries
If you’re planning to allow your staff to speak on your behalf on personal channels, create a central hub for visual and copy assets paired with training and a regular review of mentions on social media. Refresh the assets regularly to ensure they don’t get stale and stay relevant. Updating creative additionally helps prevent the temptation for employees to create their own graphics. Consider regularly meeting with member-facing teams who use the content to understand their wants and needs for the future.
Fraud Prevention Elements — Firm
Ensure employees understand the approved channels for messaging and use them for their intended purposes. Especially when messages are critical, don’t surprise colleagues or consumers via a channel they aren’t used to receiving it on. Additionally, partner with your compliance team to internally share real phishing attempts that illustrate the importance of brand standards.
Consumer Interactions — Flexible, with a focus on core values
Allow employees to adjust their tone and language based on consumers’ needs, using the brand’s core values as a guide. Encourage tailored responses, yet use simple language that makes complex financial topics accessible to all. It’s important to consistently audit these experiences and provide coaching and feedback to teams. As Payne explains, “We monitor how the brand is used at all times at Elements. Professionalism, accuracy, and compliance are three brand standards that are set in stone.”
As marketing leaders, when we empower our teams to bring our brands to life in ways that feel real and relatable, we build trust both internally and with consumers. Finding this complex balance may not be easy, but it certainly is the key to building unforgettable brands.