Now that Barclays and HSBC have posted significant profits, it appears that the financial crisis is ending and confidence is returning to the markets. We at Brandinstinct think it’s a good time to reassess where retail banks stand with customers and the brand narratives that they can adopt in this new age of ’social’. Consider these three observations of the current situation:

A. The success of socially-focused banks Socially-minded finance companies like cooperatives, building societies and Islamic banks have been successful during the recession. These companies are successful because they are more conservative with their investments thanks to their policies toward risk and ethics. These responsible ethics engender greater trust from customers during the crisis – a safe harbour in the storm. The recession will end but the caring, giving zeitgeist will remain for quite a while, enabling the more socially-focused banks to benefit further.

B. The wider trend toward socially-minded companies The widening of people’s area of concern beyond themselves and their immediate social groups has been an ongoing for more than a decade. It could be the internet and social media, it could be a kick-back against the ‘greed is good’ selfish era, it could be pending environmental doom, but we have observed a growing trend of people caring more about societal issues. We do expect this trend to continue as these contributing factors grow and build. Social media is still young, but is already an accepted way of connecting different communities, widening their areas of concern and encouraging this phenomenon. Companies are investing more and more in managing their social impact, as well as their environmental impact.

C. The current negative discourse The current accusation/defend pattern that retail banks now find themselves in with governments, the press and various customer advocate groups is not productive now. The recession and its cause are going to be remembered for some time. It’s not just retail banks that need to be concerned. Many large corporations feel maligned since they perceive the drastic reduction of credit as the single catalyst for suffering in their own businesses. Businesses with otherwise strong balance sheets were forced to contract when the crisis hit – despite only a small drop in consumer demand across many industries.

OK, now what? Moving beyond the crisis

If you agree that these observations hold some weight, then we can start thinking about the benefits of increased attention, referral and trust that financial brands could enjoy if they communicate the new perspective they have gained from this crisis. They need to reframe their brand narratives according to the new social context and the position they hold in it. We are not saying spin the old ways of working. We are are saying generate a dialog with the public that moves them out of the blame position and into a constructive way of working together.

Here are three different options:

Number 1. Identify a socially-focused vision

Arguably, the best way to reframe a brand narrative is with an authentic reframing of the company vision. During the past year, we at Brandinstinct have been helping pull together a coalition of twelve banks to form the largest Islamic bank brand by geographical coverage: Al Baraka. We worked with their leadership to identify a vision that has a civil idea at its core, defining money as the means to improving the fabric of communities and the bank as taking a custodial role in the development and growth of the resources for the community.

Here’s an excerpt from Al Baraka’s values statement:

We believe society needs a fair and equitable financial system: one which rewards effort and contributes to the development of the community.

We believe that banking has, or ought to have, a crucial role to play in society, one in which as bankers we have an incredible responsibility of stewardship for the resources placed in our hands. To meet this responsibility and use the resources wisely, we rely on Shari’a principles to guide us as we participate in our customers’ successes, sharing in the social development of families, businesses and society at large.

Of course, this is a path best suited toward organisations that are ready to make this shift. A social mandate will redefine the approach to the market and will not be useful over the long term purely as a communications strategy. One needs to ask how does this new vision affect the way we approach the customer, how does it alter our product and investment strategy?

At their best, civil brands address a fundamental shortcoming of an industry. Dove addressed the image anxieties with its ‘Campaign for Real Beauty’ and Citibank addressed the need to keep money in perspective with its ‘Live Richly’ campaign. While the Citibank campaign was popular, it did not transform the vision of the company internally or seem to affect public opinion and policy. So, its effectiveness was limited and has since been replaced.

When contrasting brands like Citibank and HSBC, one can see it is better to define a vision that can only be reached over the next five-to-ten years rather than to develop a new communications narrative that will not affect change internally and will not have a long-term affect on the market.

Number 2. Talk about what you learned

If a new vision is not realistic, not on the agenda, or if people would not believe how much the brand vision has changed right away, a good way to move forward is to talk about what has been learned. No doubt the leadership at the banks have learned a tremendous amount about themselves, the business they are running, and the needs, desires and opinions of their customers. Acknowledgement of a new perspective can go along way in changing the conversation.

These experiences shape the future of company cultures and go beyond short-term shifts in operating. It can be incredibly useful to create a narrative that addresses this experience in a positive and compelling light. Framing a new story based on learnings can help end the accusation/defence pattern that many banks find themselves in. The crisis has put many banks in a defensive mode, where ‘duck and cover’ wins out over strategy.

Lending Tree provides a good example for reframing the way banks are perceived.

This second option is useful as an intermediary stage or as a starting off point toward a new brand vision. Defining a new story based around what was learned does not commit a company to a particular position, but does provide an opening to begin a new conversation.

Number 3. Extend an already civil brand into financial services

Everyone recognises that recessions are incubators for innovation and opportunities for new and challenger brands to extend themselves. With this in mind, brands that already have a civil vision at their core can take this opportunity to extend into financial services.

It is possible that Virgin will purchase Northern Rock, closing the loop on the first banking collapse of the recession (see previous post). Consistent with their cultivated position of being the people’s hero, the Virgin brand would have enormous potential to captivate interest in this post trust climate.

As the ‘get social’ trend grows, socially-progressive territory can be a useful source of financial service innovation as well as brand narratives. New solutions like Zopa, a ’social lending’ site that puts together lenders and borrowers using social media tools, has done better during the recession than any other time. In an interview with the Guardian the MD of Zopa, Giles Andrews, comments on how the trust relationship used to be what kept credit alternatives minimalised: “Banks were never liked, but they were trusted. That is changing”. Andrews adds that “We want our users to feel that getting involved with Zopa means more than the financial transaction”.

So you could say that Zopa is appealing to people’s need for greater social meaning in their lives. These days people are receptive to narratives that carry social meaning, and this route to increased attention is by no means closed to the established retail banks; they just have to do some work on changing the conversation

Banks don’t have a history of engaging with the public and customer base in reciprocol dialogue and participation. Now is the time to make that change. It could be the only way some brands can remain relevant in a dramatically shifting market.

MUJI has posted a microsite dedicated to refocusing people on what is important and shifting perceptions to address the extreme notions of consumerism. The statement articulates a Zen-like vision of harmony and contentment where ‘enough’ is valued more highly than ‘the best’. Between the lines, we can read a rejection of meritocratic philosophy, yet this is balanced with an emphasis on paying attention to detail and a pride in one’s own work/design.

Quote from ‘Message’ microsite:

MUJI is not a brand. MUJI does not make products of individuality or fashion, nor does MUJI reflect the popularity of its name in its prices. MUJI creates products with a view toward global consumption of the future. This means that we do not create products that lure customers into believing that “this is best” or “I must have this.” We would like our customers to feel the rational sense of satisfaction that comes not with “This is best,” but with “this is enough”. “Best” becomes “enough”.

There are degrees of “enough,” however. MUJI aims to raise the standard of “enough” to the greatest extent possible. “Best” contains a faint amount of egoism and disharmony, but in “enough” we sense restraint and compromise. On the other hand, “enough” might contain a sense of resignation and a slight amount of dissatisfaction. So by raising the bar of what denotes “enough,” we cast away that resignation and slight dissatisfaction; we create a new dimension of “enough” to attain a clear and heart-felt “This is enough.” That is MUJI’s vision.

From a Civil Branding standpoint, other brands like Citibank have successfully promoted a questioning of materialism and a refocusing of societal values (see previous post on ‘Live Richly’ campaign). Since the Industrial Revolution, we have been hurling ourselves ever more quickly toward advancement and merit-based values. While prompting advancement narratives is a crucial part of forwarding society, so too is reflection and freedom from conflict. We feel that MUJI is articulating an interesting story and one worth telling. It will be interesting to see how the MUJI Enough message gets talked about and how people interact with it. This message has huge potential to engage and motivate people, and we look forward to seeing how MUJI tap into this.

Given the credit crunch, it’s interesting to review how Citibank’s ‘Live Richly’ campaign still rings true. The campaign was a real first, as no global bank had ever used narratives promoting notions of  ‘contentment’ before.

Traditionally, financial services brands have depended on a stable of achievement-oriented narratives for their promotions. Citibank was the first global bank to take a more sensitive tack to how we think about ourselves, our money and what achievement means to us.

The campaign launched in 2003, the same year that HSBC launched their ‘Different Perspectives’ campaign. Citibank moved their messages on into different territory while HSBC  continues to plug away at their successful campaign and bring in greater relevance to their service territory.

The paper that outlines our civil branding effort and explains a technique for creating more civil brands is now ready for download. Inside, you will find the following:

[1] Synopsis of the civil branding idea and its importance to marketers and society.
[2] Step-by-step process for creating more differentiated, more civil brands.
[3] Case studies from Citibank, Dove, Benetton, HSBC and others.

+ Download here