Front Page

Your Guide to Meltdown Terminology

Oct 10, 2008 - Here’s a cheeky glossary to help you translate the news media’s coverage of the economic meltdown, courtesy of The Financial Brand. READ MORE

As if credit unions need another reminder…

Oct 9, 2008 - Need more proof that existing market conditions are creating an optimal environment for credit unions to flourish? Here it is. READ MORE

The Five S’s: Safe, Strong, Stable, Secure, Sound

Oct 8, 2008 - So you’re thinking about running a “safe and sound” campaign? Here are some various perspectives to ponder as you craft your strategy. READ MORE

Someone’s someday is coming

Oct 7, 2008 - Ten thousand people took Wells Fargo up on its latest promotion, Someday Stories. The promotion had people submit a 250-word story about how they’d use $100,000 to fulfill a dream. Five finalists have already won $10,000. One of them will win an additional $100,000. READ ARTICLE

Wachovia asks, “Who would you thank?”

Oct 7, 2008 - In honor of National Customer Service Week, Wachovia is throwing a “Who Would You Thank” contest. You submit an essay about who would you like to thank and why. If you win, Wachovia will “help bring your special thank you to life.” READ ARTICLE

The media falls in love with credit unions

Oct 6, 2008 - In the wake of a massive economic meltdown, it seems the press can’t stop itself from singing the praises of credit unions’ “safety and stability.” READ MORE

The Frugal Future

Oct 6, 2008 - Here’s the story of the economic meltdown as told by one of Merrill Lynch’s economists. There are 76 slides in this fabulous presentation. It includes 59 graphs that, together, paint a pretty ugly picture of what’s in store. SHOW ME THE PRESENTATION

KeyBank says ‘Money Needs Attention’

Oct 2, 2008 - Key Bank’s latest brand ad campaign, “Money Needs Attention.” The campaign includes print, TV and outdoor advertising, as well as a microsite. SEE THE CAMPAIGN

The problems start at home… Or do they?

Oct 1, 2008 - Filene just released a study on employee perceptions of credit unions. The study concludes that credit union employees are confused about what “a credit union” is. But when you actually look at the data, the news isn’t all that bad for credit unions. READ MORE

WaMu: “A trillion dollars! Whoo hoo!”

Sept 30, 2008 - See WaMu’s latest ad, an announcement of JPMorgan Chase’s takeover of the mortgage meltdown victim. SEE THE AD

Another Red Canoe

Sept 30, 2008 - Canadian-based Lakewood and Kenora District credit unions are merging under the new name “Copperfin,” a name similar to Red Canoe Credit Union — unique, creative, trademarkable, and totally unforgettable. READ ARTICLE

Mission, vision, values…and the missing piece

Sept 29, 2008 - Some financial institutions have mission statements. Some have vision statements. Some have both. Some have core values, while others don’t. One thing is for sure: The confusion about what each of these tools should do creates some major branding roadblocks. READ ARTICLE

The Web 2.0 make/buy decision

Sept 24, 2008 - Building a Web 2.0 presence from scratch takes a lot of time and energy — with no guarantee of success. But it isn’t the only option. You can successfully “draft” off someone who already has an established online reputation. READ MORE

How to build relationships with branch avoiders

Sept 23, 2008 - Four strategies you can use to build relationships with people who seldom —
if ever — step foot in your branches. READ ARTICLE

Credit union gives fleet of cars to staff

Sept 16, 2008 - United Community FCU just gave brand new cars to 17 employees. The cars, wrapped from bumper to bumper with credit union graphics, cost $380,000. The credit union cust its marketing budget in half to pay for the campaign. READ MORE

Harris Bank says it’s ‘Here to Help’

Sept 17, 2008 - Harris Bank recently unveiled a new branding campaign to drive home the bank’s “here to help” message, a slogan the bank has used for the past two years. READ MORE

Welcome to Blingola

Sept 10, 2008 - Blingola is an imaginary world where everyone has “all the happiness in the world,” courtesy of their Virgin Money credit cards. With headlines like “The land of milf and honeyz,” you might be thinking this campaign is a joke. It isn’t. SHOW ME

B of A targets college crowd with ‘Morris on Campus’

Sept 2, 2008 - The campaign includes a microsite with7-8 video webisodes, some tips, tools and a glossary. Morris will also be making stops a college campuses around the country. READ MORE

The “convenience” paradox

Aug 28, 2008 - Filene just released an interesting study called “Who’s Joining Credit Unions” that suggests a paradox between how people feel about branches and how they actually use them. READ ARTICLE

Alabama Credit Union is 79.3% better than a bank

Aug 28, 2008 - Terrific TV ads from Alabama Credit Union that are brimming with personality. Very cool and fun to watch. WATCH ADS

OTHER BRANDING & MARKETING STORIES:

Wrap-up of recent financial name changes

Sept 8, 2008 - A look at 12 of the more interesting name changes in the financial industry over the last few months. READ ARTICLE

Will the real ‘Vista Bank’ in Texas please step forward

Aug 25, 2008 - A potential fight may be brewing over the inevitable confusion resulting from two Texas banks who now share the ‘Vista’ name: Vista Bank of Texas and Vista Bank Texas. READ ARTICLE

OTHER NAMING STORIES:

The good reason vs. the real reason

Every decision we make is made for emotional reasons. Those are the real reasons. We then back-up those decisions with logical justifications - the “good reasons.” READ ARTICLE

5 things HR must do to build your brand

You can have the best brand strategy ever devised, with the greatest marketing and the most-admired ad campaign running. But it all means nothing if your staff fail to create an experience that delivers on your brand’s promises. READ ARTICLE

Are you ignoring Gen-Y? Parents? Gen-Z?

There’s a lot of talk in the financial industry about “growing relationships” with a Gen-Y audience. Here’s two things you should be doing, and why now is the time to start worrying about what comes after Gen-Y. READ ARTICLE

STRNLE

The financial industry could learn a lot from how the TV gameshow Wheel of Fortune revamped its final round and dealt with six predictable letters — S, T, R, N, L and E. READ ARTICLE

Banks: Less differentiated than a bar of soap

A research company studied brands in 75 different categories to measure the degree of differentiation among them. Banks had zero differentiation while soaps had 100 percent. READ STORY