Brand value increases across categories

Part 3 | The Categories
Banks tried to reduce the functional
divisions of their typically siloed
organizations. They expected the simpler
corporate structures to foster cooperation,
increase speed and improve governance,
making it easier to spot problems earlier.
Growing new business
Fewer siloes also enabled more cross
selling as the banks introduced new
sources of revenue. To drive growth in an
era of low interests rates and consumer
resistance to fees, banks developed
rewards programs and other strategies
for gaining additional business from
customers and credit card holders.
Most global banks developed programs
for higher wealth customers to grow
income for the client and generate fees for
the bank. While seeking immediate return
from their most profitable customers,
banks also cultivated younger prospects
with future earning potential.
Banks delivered their products and
services with improved technology.
Most global banks offered simplified
checking deposit using mobile apps, an
innovation first introduced by Chase. The
latest ATMs accepted checks for deposit
without paper deposit slips and envelopes.
In search of new business, some banks
transformed their branches from convenient
customer transaction points, to financial
services centers for selling investments,
mortgages and other products.
Direct banks compete
In the US, direct banks eliminated
the need for any physical banking
presence. Operating only online, these
organizations offered consumers the
advantages of convenience and higher
interest rate returns.
The direct banks appealed to an attractive
demographic of younger, higher income
consumers that does not feel tethered to a
more traditional banking experience. The
direct banks include brands such as Ally,
Capital One 360 and USAA.
In the UK, online banking options also
took advantage of the trust deficit. Free
site MoneySavingExpert.com included in
its menu of products and services advice
about financial products.
82 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2013
Economy, trust drive
regional brand value
The BrandZ ranking of regional
banking leaders reflects two key
trends: the influence of fast growing
markets; and the benefits derived
from building trusted brands.
Four of the Top 10 regional banks
brands are Chinese. The enormous
size of their home market primarily
accounts for their presence in the
ranking. The brand value percentage
increase of the Chinese banks was
strong but more modest than for
other regional bands. That’s because
of their high brand values and the
slower growth of China’s economy,
which flattened share prices.
Australia’s three leading banks
appear in the BrandZ Top 100
Most Valuable Global Brands 2013
ranking. Two of the Australian
brands—Commonwealth Bank of
Australia and ANZ—also appear in
the Top 10 regional bank ranking. A
third Australian bank, Westpac, with
a slightly lower brand value, does
not make the Top 10 regional bank
category ranking, but it appears in
the Top 100.
The presence of these banks
indicates how Australia’s proximity
to fast growing Asian markets
has benefited the investment and
banking businesses of the country’s
financial institutions.
The two Canadian banks, RBC and
TD, received the highest Brand
Contribution scores of any banks
in the BrandZ ranking of regional
banks. Brand Contribution measures
the impact of brand alone on brand
value, exclusive of financials or any
other factors. TD was one of the few
brands focused on serving the lowincome
unbanked.
In part because of Canadian
government regulations, the
country’s banks were less impacted
by the subprime fiasco that hurt US
banks. Their high Brand Contribution
scores may reflect residual consumer
trust based on performance during
the banking crisis. A third Canadian
bank, Scotiabank, appears in the
Global Top 100, but not in the
regional ranking.
The US bank Wells Fargo, which
leads the BrandZ ranking of
regional banks, received the third
highest Brand Contribution score
in the regional bank ranking, after
the Canadian brands. Smoothly
completing a large and complicated
acquisition, Wells Fargo effectively
married its technological strengths
with the customer satisfaction and
loyalty reputation of Wachovia.
Two other banks that did not quite
make the ranking of regional brands
appear in the in Top 100 Most
Valuable Global Brands: US Bank
and Russia’s Sberbank.
Motivate staff
with internal
communications
Insight
An emergent trend focuses on
internal communications. As service
organizations, banks are dependent
on reputation and recommendation.
If the staff who are in direct touch
with consumers lack competence,
then it doesn’t matter how much
brands spend on advertising, they
will not impress their target audience.
It’s important now to motivate
and refocus staff who have been
demoralized by the negative events
in the finance category.
Susan Burden
Planner
Grey London
Sue.Burden@greyeu.com
Top 10 Regional Banks
Brand value
2013 $M
Insight
Create and provide
content
Brands are becoming more active
in creating content and delivering
it to interested consumers via both
paid and owned channels. Global
banks have some advantage here
owing to their deep understanding
of international markets. We expect
to see more curating of content
to engage consumers around
economic trends, demonstrating
expertise that’s related to consumer
experience to attract new high-net
worth customers.
Rob McCave
Group Planning Director
Mindshare
rob.mccave@Mindshareworld.com
Brand
contribution
Brand value %
change 2013 vs 2012
1 Wells Fargo 47,748 3 20%
2 ICBC 41,115 2 -1%
3 China Construction
Bank
4 Agricultural Bank
of China
26,859 2 10%
19,975 2 12%
5 RBC 19,968 4 16%
6 TD 17,781 4 22%
7 Commonwealth
Bank of Australia
17,745 3 36%
8 ANZ 16,565 3 New
9 Bank of China 14,236 2 10%
10 ICICI Bank 14,196 1 12%
Valuations include data from BrandZ, Kantar Worldpanel, Kantar Retail and Bloomberg.
Brand Contribution measures the influence of brand alone on earnings, on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 highest).
Financial Institutions | Banks
Regional Banks
Up 15%
83