Post on 14-Feb-2017
THE NEW WEMA BANK
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
BY
ARMSTRONG ILILE
NEW BANKING MODELNew banking model structurally
overhauled the operations of banks in Nigeria
Discarded the universal banking policy
New policy regime based on a capital scale and fitted into a four-tier operating structure namely:
International National
Regional Specialized
Changes expected from the new licensing model
1. Banks will only be licensed to operate core banking services specifically defined in its mandates
2. Expansion will be vertically only into new geographical markets and not horizontal into non core banking services
3. Banks would either be commercial or merchant
4. Merchant banks are required to have a minimum paid up capital of 15billion
5. Commercial may be regional, national, or international
6 There will be specialized banks where primary mortgage institutions, discount houses, development banks and microfinance banks will be grouped
7 There will also be non interest banks like Islamic banking
REGIONAL BANKING MODEL: Prospects and Challenges
Regional banks are permitted to operate in a minimum of 6 and maximum of 12 contiguous state of the federation
This state must lie within two geo-political zones
Will they lose their clientele based in the north if they choose to operate down south?
Will people prefer national bank because regional banks will no longer provide services they may require?
Regional banks can build competitive edge by building services around regional economies instead of offering general services
FACT CHECK ON WEMA BANK
Incorporated in 1945 as a private limited liability company under the name of Agbomagbe bank
Transformed into PLC in April 1987
Listed on the stock exchange in January 1990
Shareholder funds in excess of 25 Billion
Asset based of 165 Billion 90% belongs to both private and
corporate investors including staff
10% owned by Odu’a investment Granted regional banking
License to operate within the South- West and South –South region of Nigeria
Brand logo is colored gold and purple and styled like a shield made from an African basket
Gold element represent wealth and purple depicts royal element of the logo
The basket which is traditionally like a carrier or receptacle symbolizes the bank as a repository of wealth, culture and heritage
It also stands for success, steadfastness and enduring achievements
The brand believes in people and societal values, collective progress, the common good and sustainable success
OBJECTIVE OF THE BRAND AUDIT
SOURCES OF GROWTH; WHAT BRANDS ARE EXPECTED TO DRIVE FUTURE GROWTH FOR THE COMPANY, ARE THEY HELPING IN PURSUING THE
GROWTH STRATEGY?
COMPETITIVE CONTEXT; DO THE BRAND HELP YOU STAND OUT OR GRAB MARKET SHARE?
To evaluate how the brand is perceived inside and outside the company
Comprehensively inquire how the value proposition is linked the brand management and marketing strategy
Seek clarity of the value proposition, brand recognition, effectiveness of the pricing strategy and brand loyalty
Audience diversity; is the brand focus on just one audience or must it appeal to many?
Product offering; how are product brands positioned, are they complimentary, competitive or incongruent?
Organizational structure; who is responsible for brand communication, and how are the brand ambassadors complying?
•Brand performance; how do brands perform against desired attributes, is there positioning clear and effective?
•Brand role; what is the role of the brand in fulfilling the business model, how important is
the brand in driving awareness or creating loyalty?
BRAND AUDIT AND STRATEGY
ANALYSES OF CULTURE PERSPECTIVES
. . WEMA brand will have to define what ideas and ideals it holds dear in the heart of the market through one or a combination of these cultural forms
They will reinforce what its brand value stands for
They will better tell the true story why the brand is a true repository of wealth, culture and heritage of the people
They will give credibility and credence to the brands value proposition
Strategy here will be to constantly seek for tie-ins with these components to create ideas that will eventually become part of the brand culture
Brands are key components of our culture
Fix deeply in our music, movies and conversation
They are key part of our conversation and even childhood memories
They are part of the social fabric of our society Fundamental and influential to modern life like politics, technology and education
Cultural perspective will situate the topography of the WEMA brand
It must describe were the brand lives within a cultural context
To determine which ideas hold the most strong promise to move the brand forward
RE-ENGINEERING MYTHS AND MORES
•Culture imposes belief system on us right from birthOur parents constantly enforce standard of behavior and appreciation of beautyThese belief system becomes schemes of stimuli
They form schemas that will be used as reference for cognition and understanding our worldTension between the ideal and the actual self
Tension that demands to be resolvedThey are peculiar tensions that arises from these cultural impositionBecause of the myriad of myths ,morals, fads,
values and ritualsPrevailing behind the scene and holding the culture together
WEMA brand attributes as a repository of the people’s wealth, culture and heritage
Have the power to use this culture elements to resolve tensions created by myths and morals
•Through a well articulated marketing communication strategy that places emphasis on consumer insights that invokes emotional engagements with these belief systems
Brand audit can also identify myth target to ensure they can be used in creatively crafting the brands story in a manner that will extol the brand value of team work, innovation
Customer Brand Relationship Management(CBRM)
Just like people , consumer keep relationships with brands
What kinds of relationship exist between the brand and customers?
Is it forced, platonic, a fling or an enslavement? Brand audit will use consumer insights (CI)here to
appraise how consumers describe the WEMA brand Factoring its new regional banking model Identifying customers brand relationship will provide
powerful insights into forging a bond between consumers and the brand
Strategy here will be to use this bond to create brand loyalty through the reinforcement of the brand values and philosophy
Diagram below further explain the (CBRM)
BRAND LOYALTY LADDER
Professionals, traditional marriages
Arranged marriage,
adopted
child, marriage of convenience, parent platonic
Fling, divorced, enslavement, rivalry,
etc
ADORERS
ADOPTERS
ACCEPT US
AVAILABLES
7 %
3 3 %
1 9 %
4 1 %
COMPETITORS ANALYSISCLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF THE BRAND STRATEGIES AND COMMUNICATION PRACTICES OF THE COMPETITION IS VERY IMPORTANT
BRAND CAN USE INNOVATION TO BOND WITH THE CONSUMERS BY CREATING A RELATIONSHIP
THAT REINFORCES AND PROMOTE MUTUAL RESPECT AND TEAMWORK
Otherwise this exercise will become a “Me too” and “Also ran” charade
Because of similar insights that competitors have found
Are they other regional banks like us, what have they done or what are they doing?
How are they positioned, and how do they execute their strategies?
Strategy here will be used as innovation to deliver brand communication strategy that differentiate us from competitions
Brand can use innovation to promote myth targets through an ideal cultural platform
POSITIONING DECONSTRUCTION
. .Positioning is not just a battle for the
mind It is an effort to find a home, refuge,
shelter in the world of the people that live with the brand
The brand may not change but the culture and environment in which
the brand operate always changes
WEMA Bank was a national bank, now it is a regional bank
The environment and culture it now finds itself is no more the same
as beforePositioning would take notice of the
peculiarities of the south-south and south-west economies,
politics, social and technological environment
An appreciation of the workings of the macro-
environment can be done through PRESTCOM and
SWOT analysisPositioning strategy will seek to
position the bank as a regional catalyst/agent building its
services around regional economies
Prospects for this is high given the demand for more autonomy
for the federating units of the country
BRAND PERSONALITY ASSESSMENTBRANDS ARE NOT HUMAN
BEINGSYET WE ASCRIBE HUMAN
CHARACTERISTICS/TRAITS TO THEM
This is done to strengthen the human connection to brands
Is the brand personality evoking excitement, sophistication, glamour or ruggedness?
WEMA Bank’s strategy here will be to identify desired personality dimensions to aid the development and evaluation of its creative
The creative strategy will have attributes of the brand which depicts royal elements and wealth
From the MD/CEO to the gateman, the nobility and status associated with wealth and royalty most be displayed at all times especially at the branches
Every stakeholder in this wise must be regarded as a brand ambassador, the chief brand ambassador being the MD/CEO
The head of Brand Communication must see himself as chief brand compliance ambassador and must ensure ;
All verbal communication interface with consumers support the brand
Coaching of all staff on communication styles and technique is done
Message theme examination identifies what is being communicated
Industry wide buzz and noise is avoided (me too syndrome)
A process is in place for all communication materials to be consistent and meet the requirements of the brand values attributes
An image appraisal mechanism is in place to strengthen the brand personality. This will prevent
the brand personality from drifting in unintended and undermined directions
All brand name assets are currently strategically appropriate to the brand ideals and vision
Brand name assets are not being over extended, misused, or potentially left legally weakened e.g
copyright, trademarks issues etc
• A proper guideline is in place for the proper use and format of all brand name assets
•A proper inventory of typography across media is maintained. This will help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of all typographic assets employed in all communications. The right font is not only readable but help contribute to the brand personality
BRAND ARCHITECTURE ANALYSIS
Irrational brand architecture threatens the brand’s equity both
internally and externallyTherefore it is instructive to have an
optimal synergy of all product brand within the bank
Strategic brand architecture that aims for synergy will ensure
different products reflect the core brand image and value of WEMA
BankA hybrid and unitary system of
brand architecture will ensure sub brands are linked to the brand
image and product brands bear the corporate name of WEMA Bank
BELOW ARE STEPS TO BE TAKEN TO ACHIEVE ALL THE ABOVE STATED
STRATEGYi. Draw a list of WEMA Bank’s
product/ services featuresii. Focus on the emotional and
functional benefitsiii. Review each feature and benefit
individually and determine its level of importance
iv. Rank your features and benefitsv. Identify the emotional benefit
and make it the core of the bank’s brand strategy
PAY-OFF ANALYSIS. THEREFORE WEMA BANK’S PAY-OFF LINE SHOULD
BE CENTERED AROUND A CONCEPT THAT RANKS HIGHEST ON THE CONSUMER INSIGHT INDEX
1. Provides a concise, memorable expression of the brand communication strategy
2. Objective is to have a single, clear and unequivocal selling proposition that differentiates WEMA Bank from its competitors
3. The overall meaning, tone and application must be simple and easy to memorize for recall purposes
4. The perceptual fitters of consumers ensures that decision are made on what verbal communication is retained for recall
5. Verbal complexities kills recall potentials
BRAND VOICE ASSESSMENTBVA provides an informed overall judgment of the brand’s personalityIt seeks to know whether the desired personality of the brand is being
expressed in the brand’s communicationsBecause successful brand consistently speak in its intended voice to
powerfully reinforce the bond that consumer feel for it WEMA Bank’s royalty and wealth personality attributes should be
established to drive creative expressionsThe personality should also represent reward for success, steadfastness,
societal values and enduring achievements
STANDARDIZED DESIGNSWEMA Bank brands must
have a unified and cohesive visual platform that can
easily be implementedStrategy is to have a unified
system that enhances recognition, maximizes
impact for the target audience to understand
All existing materials must reflect standards in a
professional and coherent manner
If we develop an effective internal
delivery system that communicates to staff
their roles in strengthening our
brand values as they interact with
customers, we will gain customer loyalty,
because it is the customer that actually
defines who we are and what we stand
for.THANK YOU