Somewhere in Canada, account managers are bound to be sharing a few laughs over their financial institutions’ advertising campaigns. But make no mistake: those chuckles won’t be of the slap-your-knee variety. Chances are they will sound more like derisory snickers.
A number of advisors surveyed in this year’s Account Managers’ Report Card say they have been laughing at, not with, their firm’s consumer advertisements. And they were happy to share what they think are their firms’ weakest links: either not enough advertising or the advertising being done is presented in an ineffective and, in some cases, embarrassing way.
“The advertisements try to hit the heart, then the funny bone. But our ads aren’t even funny; they’re very uptight,” says a Royal Bank of Canada account manager in Alberta, adding that rival banks, such as TD Canada Trust, do a better job.
Other account managers at Royal Bank echo that acerbic response. Its consumer advertising rated 7.1, lagging behind all of the major banks surveyed except National Bank of Canada (a dismal 3.7). Still, the Royal Bank score marks an improvement over its rating in last year’s survey, in which it scored 6.3.
“Our advertising is terrible,” says a Royal Bank advisor in Central Canada. “If I see another yellow box or ‘first for you’ advertisement, I’m going to be sick. It’s embarrassing — and it’s so ineffective.”
Judging by the survey results, account managers at Bank of Nova Scotia appear to be most satisfied with their firm’s consumer advertising, giving it a score of 8.6 — well above the 7.1 weighted average of all the firms surveyed.
Scotiabank executive vice president Wendy Hannam credits a powerful and meaningful branding of the Scotiabank image for the bank’s success in this regard. “We have an extremely strong brand in building relationships with customers, helping them become better off,” she says. “That is the very fibre of our bank; it’s our culture.”
Scotiabank’s 8.6 and TD Canada Trust’s 8.2 ratings aside, scores for advertising at the other firms are mediocre, with account managers citing lackluster and sparse ad campaigns as the reason.
To add insult to injury, the advertisements that appear to be having the most lasting impression on the public are those that have an anti-bank sentiment, such as the sing-a-long “hands in my pocket” ad from Capital One Canada.
Making matters worse, most ads fail to convey the positive contributions the banks make. “We do a lot of charity work,” says a TD advisor in Ontario. “We gave a huge donation to the local children’s museum of space exploration.”
Image Is Important
Coming up with memorable and effective advertisements to promote a bank’s image is not the simplest of tasks. And something as intangible as image is still considered highly important to account managers, as proven by the scores this year. Public image received a weighted importance average rating of 9.2, not far behind ethics, stability and freedom to make objective product choices.
Image can play a significant role in the financial services industry. And a revered brand can help a financial institution differentiate itself as a strong competitor in the marketplace. So, it can be considered a drawback when an ad campaign does not live up to the standards expected by an employee.
“Some of the ads are deplorable, both on TV and in newspapers,” says a Coast Capital Savings Credit Union account manager. “They give false impressions of some of the things we do. They don’t represent the firm well.”
Another Coast Capital account manager elaborates on how ineffective the ads are at communicating what the firm does: “People come in to the branch and are surprised we offer the same things the banks do.”
Although the general public perception of the Big Six banks may range from lukewarm to ice cold, some account managers feel there are ways that can be addressed and even reversed.
A Bank of Montreal account manager in Ontario suggests more and better exposure, specifically on the bank’s commendable achievements and charitable projects, would perk up its image.
“We’re No. 1 in different categories, but the public doesn’t seem to know about it,” he says. “We’re also involved in charitable programs and good people work here, but we don’t get ourselves out there as much as other firms.”
@page_break@That could be because BMO chooses to target existing customers with its promotional campaigns.
“I think anybody in a sales environment would say that they always want more advertising,” says Janet Peddigrew, senior manager for specialized distribution programs at BMO. “That’s a fair comment to make — we’d like to do more. I’m not sure if it’s as effective as it can be. But we find we’re more effective, and do very well, in the targeted customer marketing.”
A Royal Bank account manager in Alberta points to the overarching and persistent problem in the public’s perception of big banks: “Customers have a general malaise about ‘big banks.’ Royal Bank is the most respected and recognized bank in Canada — but they only give you so much credit. It’s a difficult stereotype to improve on: big bank, little client.”
A Royal Bank account manager in British Columbia addresses a similar matter, showing that perhaps all that’s needed is a new perspective: “There is a continuing fear of big banks. But size is an advantage because of ongoing stability. One of the best things that Canadians have going for us is stability in the financial industry.”
While the big boys grapple with issues of focus, account managers at Montreal-based National Bank say the firm struggles even to get recognized outside Quebec. “I don’t think the public even realizes that we exist,” says an account manager in Ontario. “The ones that do rate us highly. We’re our own best-kept secret.”
Within Quebec’s borders, National Bank account managers say there is a “very high” and even “stellar” public image, with lots of “French TV and radio ads.” But, this changes drastically outside its home base.
This helps explain why National Bank account managers gave their firm a paltry score of 3.7 — down 1.7 points from last year’s survey.
But National Bank is not alone in the struggle for exposure; account managers at even Canada’s largest credit union, Vancity Credit Union, have expressed similar problems. “Vancity is still quite unknown. The ads could be better,” says a Vancity account manager in B.C., who suggests that “it needs to advertise the difference between the credit unions and banks.”
It’s not all bad news for Vancity. It seems the credit union ethos — valuing members as humans rather than numbers, profit-sharing with members and investing back into communities — has helped bump up scores in the “image” category. Vancity advisors gave their firm a 9.0 public image rating, the highest among the credit unions. IE