Pen Air took an ordinary brand makeover and created a new organizational narrative based on trust, respect and ‘communerosity’. Learn what an “inside-out” enterprise-wide cultural brand transformation looks like. How a top to bottom research-led process can transform your credit union brand experiences and culture for growth. FOLLOW THIS LINK to download the article published […]
Author Archives: Mark Weber
Branch Makeover: Live from the Financial Brand Forum
As one of three design teams selected at the Financial Brand Forum, we were challenged with presenting a branch design concept to NYC-based Municipal Credit Union—live on stage, in front of 900 conference attendees. This presented a terrific chance to share our perspective on innovation.
5 Tips for Your Next Branch Transformation Project
The new wave of mobile, social and online banking is reshaping how consumers bank. Their preferences and patterns are shifting forever. Financial institutions are scrambling to define how their traditional teller-focused transactional model will shift – or fade away. But what can you do to set your brand apart from competitors in meaningful and relevant ways to evolve technology and connect with consumers and business audiences?
Driving Brand Leadership
Let’s face it. The traditional financial services world we have known well for many years is in massive transformation.
As consumers embrace new mobile technologies, wean gradually away from branch teller transactions, and new online competitors rise up, the financial industry is rushing headfirst into a fusion of online, digital, branch and social media channels that are reshaping how we retain consumers, compete and grow.
In this new world of smart phones, tablets, Twitter and video tellers, it raises the bar even higher for how we manage our brand reputation and position our financial institutions to stand apart in a highly commoditized – and now increasingly wired financial industry.
Strategic brand design: A driver of growth, enhanced culture and unique experiences
One of the keys to unleashing the potential of an organization to step into the next level of market growth is building and clearly articulating a unified brand strategy and brand-driven culture. With it, you can inspire and guide internal teams towards meaningful change and consistent communications that align to build a fresh and well-differentiated brand image. This can create a unique experience in the market, generating meaningful differentiation from competitors.
One of the first challenges facing most financial institutions is identifying whether your current brand program and messaging is helping – or hindering employees from knowing how to behave consistently and help customers bank smarter, simpler and solve problems every day.
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Is your brand in stellar health, in need of a “refresh,” or needing some serious work?
Great health rarely comes from one simple solution like changing your diet, sleeping more, or just exercise alone. You treat the roots, not just the symptoms.
You start first with a good diagnosis and assessment about the state of your health from a well trained professional – physical, mental, even emotional. You uncover what’s brought you to the state you’re in – before you take a friend’s advice to leap on a treadmill – or worse, to drink wheat grass shots. You look at the whole body and mind, not just the surface.
What does this have to do with your financial institution’s brand?
Probably the most frequent comment I hear across the US and Canada from financial executives is, “I’m not sure we know what our brand is internally, let alone how we’re doing on delivering it out in the market.” What is that such a huge question without clear answers?
A “brand” is not done when you update your logo, add mobile banking, build a new branch, upgrade your website or even change names to differentiate yourself. Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner described it succinctly saying, “a brand is a living entity, the sum of a thousand small gestures.” Great brands require nurturing, focus, alignment and clear metrics to adapt and remain relevant.
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How are executives viewing Financial Marketing evolution amidst this economic cycle?
Since the financial crisis broke four years ago, the expectation of senior management leaders for high-impact marketing has never been higher. It has led a number of credit unions to re-examine their traditional marketing, brand image, name, products and even campaigns that worked for years but are no longer driving desperately needed results.
With the NCUA’s forced recapitalization, the crunch of loan losses and reserves, many leaders have tapped cost cutting measures and are now turning to marketing to drive earnings, new sources of fee income and overall member growth. The pressure is rising for marketing results.
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Welcome to our “it’s about time” blog – The Jam
No one will accuse Weber Marketing Group of being fast followers to the agency blogging world. But we chose to launch our blog (appropriately named The Jam) only when we thought it was relevant – and maybe finally ready for prime time. After scanning, I’d love your feedback on whether you think it’s ready – or not. Our […]