Reputation in Financial Services
June 28, 2011
Reputation in financial services.
Insert your favourite joke about our least popular professions – traffic warden, estate agent, lawyer, banker – here.
Except it isn’t a joke, is it?
Financial services companies continue to be reviled by the public and the media. You might be unsympathetic… but like it or not, the financial services sector is a core part of the UK’s economic system. Their reputation matters to us all – and even if you don’t work within the financial sector, their experience in dealing with these issues may hold useful information that you can use in your own sector.
Communicate Magazine are hosting the 3rd annual conference for corporate communicators in the financial sector this week (Wednesday 29 June), to discuss strategies for rebuilding trust. As always, there will be a range of speakers with different perspectives on the topics under discussion: there are over 25 of them (find out more about the programme).
Sessions include discussion of corporate sponsorship, sustainability reports, managing activist risk, crisis management and brand valuation. The keynote speaker will be Stephen Hammond MP, chair of the Parliamentary Group on Wholesale Financial Markets and Services.
And at least one of the sessions will involve audience participation. Do you, like me, dread being called out from the audience for obligatory fun (read: deep embarrassment)? Having acted as scribe for our group at the Social Media in a Corporate Context conference, writing up our thoughts for the Build an App in a Day task, I can tell you that that genuinely was entertaining, and not too strenuous. I’ve no idea what they have in store tomorrow, though!
Interested? Get in touch with Communicate as soon as possible…
Financial Brands Enjoy Mobile Banking Growth in Europe
May 31, 2011
In a new study from comScore, it was reported that mobile banking is on the rise among European consumers. In fact, 8.5% of mobile subscribers in the top five European markets (United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, and Italy) accessed their bank accounts via a mobile phone in March 2011. That’s 20 million mobile users.
It appears that the growth of smartphone use is driving much of the mobile banking growth in Europe. In March 2011, 70% of mobile banking in the European market was done via a smartphone device. In fact, those smartphone users who are banking via their mobile devices have grown by 40% since August 2010. It’s safe to assume this growth is not going to stop anytime soon, particularly since smartphones account for only 35% of the total mobile user population in Europe.
Data security remains a concern for consumers, but clearly, there is a large audience of financial consumers in Europe who are willing to put those concerns aside for the convenience of mobile banking. In addition to accessing bank accounts via mobile devices, consumers also accessed electronic payments and credit cards. France saw the highest penetration of mobile users who accessed bank accounts during March 2011 of the top 5 European markets as follows:
- France = 10.3% penetration
- Spain = 10.2% penetration
- United Kingdom = 8.6% penetration
- Italy = 7.5%
- Germany (the largest smartphone market in Europe) = 6.8% penetration
Another interesting finding in the comScore report tells us that men are two times more likely to use mobile banking than women. Furthermore, the 25-24 year old demographic is most likely to use mobile banking.
What does this data tell financial brand managers? The days of thinking consumers are too afraid of security issues to bank online or via mobile devices is over. It’s time to create the useful and convenient apps and tools that consumers need to make banking on the go easier than ever. Smartphone device and table device targeting should be top priorities for the next year.
What do you think? Is your brand ahead of the curve when it comes to mobile brand marketing or behind? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.
Image: stock.xchng
LSE & 3i : Precision and Content Combined | FTSE 100 Website Reviews
March 7, 2011
My eldest son, having reached the dizzying age of 11, really kinda worries me. He doesn’t want to be top of his class and, I have a sneaking suspicion, he deliberately sabotages various tests to ensure he’s not.
Why? Because he’s afraid of being labelled as a nerd. It’s OK to be in the top class you understand, and he gets rather upset if there’s any suspicion that he’s not. But not top of that class; that just makes you a social pariah.
Eh. We’ve all been there in our school and professional days I guess, hiding our true thoughts under the bushel for popularity reasons, pretending we’re not quite the person we really are.
Me? I have no such issues anymore and I’m happy to admit to getting rather nerd-ish about companies, their websites and their Sustainability Reports. Perhaps it will catch on? Who knows…
This is why two websites have caught my eye within the financial sector of the FTSE 100. Not because they’re outstanding in any way, but because each has its own little nuances which makes it an intriguing site to have a look at.
See. I told you I was a nerd didn’t I?!
Read more
Barclays and Standard Chartered – Two Sides Of One Coin | FTSE 100 Website Reviews
February 18, 2011
It’s always interesting to compare two leading companies in a sector and see how they approach their sustainability websites.
There is a “standard” website design which has pretty well been settled on these days (3 columns, head and footer, menu system etc) but the question always remains how to use this to the best advantage.
Barclays and Standard Chartered are two of the best performing banks in the UK, yet their approaches to how to design a sustainability website are radically different. You end up wishing they could have got together and produced one super-duper website, but that’s what competition and market segmentation is all about: being different to your rivals in certain, key areas. Read more
A Rabbit Warren of Brazilian Banking CSR
December 6, 2010
Management & Excellence is what I can only describe as an intriguing and unique company. Their website describes them as:
a research and rating company in the areas of ethics, sustainability, corporate governance, transparency and corporate social responsibility (CSR) specialized in Latin America, Spain and the oil industry worldwide
The company recently released the results of their 2010 “Most Sustainable Latin Bank” survey (PDF). And the winner is (for the SIXTH year running!) Itaú-Unibanco.
This is no surprise. Itaú-Unibanco is the largest Brazilian bank and one of the top 500 companies in the world, maintaining a presence not just in Latin American but also the US, Japan, Hong Kong, the UK and the UAE. It’s no Merrill Lynch, but neither is it a small town squib.
But how can you examine its exceptional sustainability record online? Only through digging, it would appear. Read more
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