A couple of years ago I wrote a strategic white pager for Accenture Interactive, having previously met with a planner at Deutsch New York about a bank assignment. I came to the conclusion that not much intellectual or marketing capital is being spent by banks promoting savings. Savings, for banks doesn’t put biscuits in the oven. Lending is where banks make da monies. So as contrarian as it was, I suggested taking advantage of low, low consumer trust of banks and a climate in which 7 of every 10 dollars in political ads were banging banks, to recommend telling consumers that finances are best when saved. Not when borrowed.
No one was doing this. No bank was encouraging consumers to save their money. The idea was to become the “savings bank” in a sea of lending banks. Build a story, claim and proof, build a new banking brand position. And where would people go when they wanted to borrow some cash? Because we know there will always borrowers be. To the one bank that really cares about its customer finances, the savings bank. In strategic planning, sometimes by doing one thing you get credit for another. Tink about it (as my Norwegian aunt would have said.)
Peace.