Bank brands ... forget the adverts
It started with Nielsen sharing some data about a branding analysis project they ran over the last year, across 179 bank brands across Asia. The results looked at the Brand Equity Index (BEI) for each bank, with BEI being comprised of various features such as awareness, consideration, confidence, preference, recommendation, trust, reputation and so on.
As a result of looking at these factors, each bank is given a score between 1 and 10 based upon consumer surveys, e.g. if the consumer is aware of the bank brand, it gets 1; if they would consider that brand, it gets a score of 2; if they are confident of the brand, then a 3. You get the idea, e.g. a score of 10 is a really good score where you not only have a loyal customer, but an advocate who would recommend you to their friends and family.
Only 3 banks out of 179 across Asia scored more than 4; half scored less than 1; and the average score was 1.37.
So much for all those $’s spent on marketing, ay?
The entire question of "marketing" needs to be revisited to fit into today's technology-driven realities. With the high degree of transparency, the speed of word-of-mouth information sharing and the proliferation of options, customers will continue to be less influenced by 30 second advertising spots and more influenced by actual value. Making this shift will require a significant cultural shifts for banks. Core services have already been commoditized; banks brands will be differentiated by innovation, not cute ad campaigns.
Posted by: Michael Megalli | May 16, 2008 at 04:11 PM
I totally agree with you Michael. The fact that we are all firewalled out of most internet conversation concerns me. The future is all about connecting electronically ...
Posted by: skinnercm | May 17, 2008 at 04:20 AM