How thought leadership can build a powerful banking brand

Financial services and banking companies tell us that their biggest marketing and thought leadership challenges can be traced back to a common issue: a lack of differentiation. Banking, in particular, suffers from this.

The trouble is that whether they serve the corporate space or the retail space, a combination of commoditisation, regulation and conservatism in the sector makes it difficult for banks to distinguish themselves.

Difficult, yes. But not impossible.

In a discussion with Joy Macknight, editor of The Banker, Rob Mitchell suggests that marketers can use thought leadership to develop a more effective approach to building brand and communicating objectives and values. By delineating themselves more clearly in this way, banks can truly begin to stand out from the competition.

Rob discusses how taking the following three steps can help banks kick-start their brand campaigns:

1. Understand your objectives

Banks may find it impossible to choose between campaign objectives that seem equally important to the business. The key to a successful campaign is to decide on your primary goal and make that the focus.

If you attempt to run a campaign with multiple objectives, your KPIs will be too broad and impact will be diluted. Prioritising objectives allows banks and financial services firms to develop a clear strategy for content development, activation and measurement, which will intensify their impact.

2. Choose your audience

Effective thought leadership targets a specific audience. Whether you choose to focus your attention on new or existing customers, secondary stakeholders such as investors, analysts, the media or your employees, you must speak to that audience directly and let them know that you understand their needs and intend to meet them.

You could, for instance, target existing customers who have been affected by a recent change in banking regulation. Campaigns with this target audience will need a different suite of content assets and messaging than a brand-reputation campaign that’s designed to appeal to tier-one media outlets or to drive new customer acquisition. There is no one size fits all, so act accordingly.

3. Pay attention to your competitor and content landscape

Research tells us that senior business leaders consume up to five hours of thought leadership every week. Unfortunately, it won’t all be yours.

The best way to make sure what your brand says and does is both striking and original is to find out what your competition is up to. Only then can you make an informed decision about where to invest your time and energy in order to make your banking brand stand out.

As well as banks, you shouldn’t forget about your secondary competitors within the wider business landscape, which could be approaching your audience with messages similar to yours. Consider all the other content that your audience is likely to consume on a regular basis — from every potential source — and decide how you can use thought leadership to offer your audience something that is new, distinctive and true to your brand.

To hear more banking financial services and banking insights from Rob, watch the exclusive interview with The Banker below: