Mower: Now's the Time for Banks to Invest in Brand

In 2007 the average investment was 53 brand and 47 lead generation Today with brands focused on the immediacy of results that digital measurement affords budgets have skewed 25 brand and 75 demand In the short term advertisers struggle to justify brand marketing particularly in macro environments like today39s where inflation and concerns over a looming recession are putting pressure on banks and credit unions Additionally with skyrocketing mortgage rates a booming house market has now come to a haltLogically financial marketers know that this will pass but when faced with meeting this year39s forecast for new household acquisition an increasing number of checking accounts and overall increasing deposits the tendency is to want to shift brand marketing budgets to more shortterm demand generation strategiesThe CSuite39s desire to see immediate ROI can make investing and sticking to a 6040 plan challenging Yet history shows that companies that invest in growth and innovation win in the long and short term And when only 5 of customers are inmarket during a given quarter marketers need to target them with a longterm lensWhen convincing leadership to buy into a strong combination of both brand and demand marketing Erinn Steffen Senior Vice President Insight at the agency Mower says there are a few tactics to considerFirst measurement is important While it can take up to three years for brand marketing tactics to reach their peak learnings from a sixmonth pilot test can be gleaned much faster Doing a headtohead geography test is a great way to prove greater demand It can also help to limit any perceived riskEqually important is aligning on the KPIs to measure quotWe39ve got so much data it39s coming at us from every single directionquot Steffen said quotJust because we can measure it doesn39t mean that tactic is better It just means that tactic is more measurablequotAdditionally understanding the institutions39 strategies is important With 25 of banks expecting consolidation some have a sole strategy of being acquired In that case a focus on brand marketing might not be the right fit Inversely if the institution is one that39s doing the acquiring wanting to build strong consumer trust and equity may be a top priorityquotThe key to brand marketing is consistencyquot Steffen explained It39s not just a big TV spot but consistent messaging about a financial institution39s values mission and empathy quotYou want to keep telling the same purposedriven story quarteroverquarter instead of constantly changing itquot he saidThis consistency helps to build consumer trust One way to do this is through creating short videos and articles that provide value to potential customers Where regional banks can also excel is in customer relations For example how tellers interact with existing customers can be an emotionrich experience Steffen likens this to how ChickfilA employees reply to customers who thank them by saying quotmy pleasurequot instead of quotyou39re welcomequot or quotno problemquot Even the littlest detail of what a bank statement looks like or the welcome message on a mobile login screen can be a brand marketing opportunityThese seemingly little details help to secure ongoing meaningful relationships with the customer According to Forrester 40 of a financial brand39s strength comes from a brand39s ability to engage and activate emotions With a new crop of challenger brands such as Amazon Apple Google Starbucks and Walmart stepping into the financial services category it39s more important than ever for traditional financial institutes to build a framework of empathy values and trustBrands must be willing to make the investment of both money and time to develop emotionrich brand messaging that helps to establish that trust This is one area where regional banks can excel as consumers tend to trust local companies more so than ones with a national footprintWhen it comes to brand and demand marketing it does not have to be an eitheror situation IPA data shows that running the two concurrently to address the entire consumer journey is six times more effective than running demand campaigns alone The path forward is twofold relevance and relationshipquotTrust is the prerequisite for any actionquot Steffen concluded quotIf I don39t trust you I39m certainly not going to get a mortgage from you If I don39t trust you why would I put my savings account there or my student loansquotClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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Mower: Now's the Time for Banks to Invest in Brand

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Brandie Feuer

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