IF WE CAN’T TRUST OUR BANKS
WHO CAN WE TRUST?
So, our big bank brands stand in tatters. Banks had always been those great bastions of security, conservatism, safety and caution. These are the kind of adjectives that consumers have used to describe their banks in focus research groups over the years. Today the picture could not be more different. Banks now look more like shaky, flimsy structures and it is a whole new set of words that are used to describe them. New adjectives in the press this week have described banks as high risk, greedy, opportunistic, over extended and most importantly not transparent in their undertakings.
And the bottom line of course is that a number of the leaders of these financial brands have been ousted and control of these household financial names will now pass to the British Government. The bill of course will be footed by you and I, the tax payers.
The reality is that in today’s world, brands who do not truly live the values they portray in their advertising and other marketing communications will ultimately be found out.
Whether you are a soft drink incorrectly positioning yourself as healthy when you are arguably not (Ribena) or L’Oreal (you’re worth it!) for making claims about wrinkle reduction which were not properly substantiated. The lesson for everyone who is a brand custodian is “you have to be able to walk the walk”.
The scale of the current banking crisis is a watershed in consumer confidence. If we can’t trust our banks who,after all, can we trust?
So, what advice can be given to brand owners in these turbulent times? There is only one piece of advice. It was good enough for past generations and good enough for at least one well known British brand. The strapline “It does what it says on the tin” is a famous one. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you the brand name.
Brand reputations are hard won and easily lost. Make sure yours does what it says on the tin.
