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.
Tag Archives: Mark Weber
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.
Mark Weber Interview: Why Savvy Credit Union Marketing is Critical
Mike Lawson of CUBroadcast interviewed Mark Weber last week. Their conversation, “Why Savvy CU Marketing is Critical Now More than Ever,” is posted here.
We’ll see you at the Forum: April 3-4
The first ever Financial Brand Forum is coming this April — and Weber Marketing’s Mark Weber and Josh Streufert are tapped to speak.
The Financial Brand Forum is an all-new conference, specifically designed to help financial institutions tackle the biggest branding, marketing and advertising challenges they face today. With hundreds of the sharpest minds in the financial marketing field in attendance, from the North America’s top credit unions and banks, The Forum will show financial marketers how to perform at the highest levels, so they can work smarter, faster and more effective than ever before.
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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