Brand, Identity and Reputation: Exploring, Creating New Realities ...

firms can actually predict consumers‘ responses based on their patterns of multisensory stimulation, further supporting
the view that brands rely more and more on using interesting and multi-dimensional experiences in order to help
customers feel fully satisfied with products and services (Zarantonello and Schmitt, 2010; Schmitt, 1999).
Atmosphere(s): How and Why it Matters
‗Atmosphere‘ is a concept which is both immediately understood by consumers and also notoriously difficult to define.
However, it is well-recognized as a determinant and antecedent of consumer behavior in many contexts, including, but
not limited to, retail and/or service settings (Bitner, 1992). Its multifarious effects have been studied extensively in the
marketing and management literature. The applications of multisensory marketing are many and diverse and have been
studied in both physical as well as virtual environments. Their applications in web retailing environments (e.g.
Manganari, Siomkos and Vrechopoulous, 2009; Cheng, Wu and Yen, 2009) show that ambient effects such as light,
colour and sound have a noticeable impact upon consumers‘ moods and their capacity for pleasure and arousal.
Environmental variables have noticeable effects on individuals‘ behavior (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974) and affect their
propensity to make purchasing decisions (Donovan and Rossiter, 1982; Wirtz, Mattila and Tan, 2000; Menon and Kahn,
2001; Eroglu, Machleit and Davis, 2003). Multisensory stimuli such as music (Yalch and Spangenberg, 2000; Wilson,
2003), colors and (Babin, Hardesty and Suter, 2003) and smells, odors and olfactory cues (Spangenberg et al., 1996;
Chebat and Michon, 2003) also play a significant role in shaping consumers‘ behavior. To date, however, there has
been no research on how these multisensory cues are used systematically as part of a corporate branding and identity
programme within organizations.
Method
Two retail banks were chosen as the empirical site for this study because this sector is under-represented in the literature
at present. To keep the research tractable, the study was limited to a single country. Desk-based reviews of the
literature were undertaken; at the same time, it was noted by the researchers that corporate branding and image within
retail banking sector was changing in practical terms. Our project is thus a first step towards addressing gaps in the
literature as well as in practice.
Several observational visits were paid to the banks by one of the researchers over a period of a year and a half, during
which distinct changes in the physical layout of the site were observed. It was then decided to initiate informal
conversations with staff in order to get a sense or ‗feel for‘ how such changes were developing and why. Based on
these conversations, the bank was contacted to arrange interviews with staff. We also asked permission to interview
customers who dropped into the branch. All employees contacted were enthusiastic and open to being interviewed. We
decided to interview marketing and customer service managers whose role it was to ensure that a consistent ‗fit‘
between customer experiences and the banking experience and environment, as well as frontline customer service staff.
Notes were taken and all interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed, with the full agreement of the participants. Due
to bank protocols, interviews lasted between 30 and 45 minutes instead of the usual hour to hour and a half and were
semi-structured according to an interview guide. Questions included the length of time the employee had been with the
company, his or her job role and educational background. They were also asked about how they perceived the corporate
brand and image of the organization. Some simple definitions of ‗atmosphere‘ were given to staff to read before the
interviews commenced, something which the respondents said they appreciated very much. The interviews ended with
questions about how physical design as well as other elements (smell, sound, etc.) can be improved in future.
Customers were asked similar questions but questions about their background and so on were obviously neither relevant
nor appropriate to the project and so these were left out.
The two banks are called Bank A and Bank B, for research purposes. Bank A is a local bank in Singapore with many
branches located all over the island. Bank B is a multinational bank with a strong presence in Asia. In total, 12 bank
employees were interviewed, 5 of them at Bank A and 7 of them in Bank B. In addition, 15 customers (10 for Bank A
and 5 for Bank B) were interviewed.
Findings
One outstanding finding from our interviews with bank managers, employees and customers is that expectations of
banks‘ environments, services and overall experience – atmosphere, in other words – were changing. It was the general
consensus among managers and employees at both banks that the role of banks was changing, and, with it, customers‘
expectations. A few spoke of the locations in which banks chose for their premises. Several key branches, interesting,
were located with Starbucks coffee outlets, premium bakeries, supermarkets and even high-fashion stores.
As a result, the corporate image of banks was changing from being ‗merely‘ highly professionalized, business-oriented
and profit-driven to a servicescape in which customer service in all its different aspects was embraced. The appetite for
‗change‘ was also a recurring theme for respondents:
‗Our bank is located in the central business district, as you can see, but we don‘t just want to portray a ‗strictly
business‘ atmosphere. Why not change our image? Many of our clients drop in for coffee at Starbucks and we are part
of that jazzy feel…‘ (Assistant marketing director, Bank A).
Bank A‘s employees tended to feel they were part of a changing trend in how banking institutions were perceived.
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