My first client was a bank. The bank’s tagline (long since abandoned) was “We want to be YOUR bank!” The marketing department was staffed by very seasoned veterans. When describing themselves, they used approachable phrases and words like “hometown” and “neighborly,” but also “a robust suite of financial services” and “convenient locations.”
As a young writer, the bank’s position in the world presented a real challenge. But not because the bank was without sellable assets. For example, because the bank was founded at the turn of the 20th century, the name recognition was great. The logo was a bit dated, but overall it was solid. The bank was a bonafide statewide brand.
Selling the products was the real obstacle. Banks are like hospitals: everybody has an x-ray machine. Likewise, every bank has a great rate on a CD, or a convenient new check card, or a host of business services, or ATM availability across the nation, or (in most cases) local decision making. I was tasked to promote those services, and to do so with an elevated level of enthusiasm. And I did! I was a junior copywriter, after all.
Since those early days, I’ve lent my creative hand to about a dozen banks and financial institutions, and I’ve come to accept a set of truths. Unless you’re a national brand like Regions, who can saturate the market with a green bicycle, your bank has but one thing to sell: it’s culture.
People make the difference is a common refrain for all kinds of industries – from long-distance trucking to healthcare to yes, banks. So it’s not enough to claim your tellers and lenders are more special than other tellers and lenders.
You must present to your audience your brand’s weltanschauung – or your worldview. You must present it convincingly, and it would behoove you to match your worldview with that of your consumers’.
For example, your weltanschauung cannot be “We’ve been in business since 1959!” That’s great for you, but it matters little to a customer who just wants to bank in peace. But if your weltanschauung is “We want to make banking as comfortable as a friendship,” then you’ve piqued an interest. After all, banks hold the all the cards. But friends enter the relationship as equal partners.
For 25 years, I’ve helped banks find a voice and tell their story. I’d like to help you tell yours. Whenever you’re ready to sit down and talk, I’m all ears.
Jeremy Harper
Chief Instigator
747-3973