What are brand values and why are they important?

“Brand value is the ‘perceived value’, and how often people will choose one brand over alternatives. Brand value is important because when people perceive that a brand is distinct and aligns with their personal values, it’s a really powerful competitive advantage.”

– Rani Cohen

Most successful companies began their journey by creating a set of brand values which enable them to connect to their customer; promising that they will uphold admirable qualities that will in some way benefit the audience’s experience interacting with a service or product. It is important that before I begin designing visual elements for my banking brand and even thinking of the company’s name, I consider who my target audience is and what values I wish to uphold to create a good relationship with this audience. My brand’s values will act as foundation which my designs will strive to project to appeal to customers.

Who is the target audience of my bank?

I have decided that I would like my bank’s target audience to be university students as I think that this is an interesting time in a young person’s life financially as this may be their first experience moving away from home and the financial security that comes with it; learning to navigate new experiences and duties like rent, loans and everyday tasks like paying for groceries, balancing work and a social life etc.

Findings from online banking questions posed to university students on social media

Many of the university students I asked felt a huge range of negative emotions in relation to banking and their finances. All participants confirmed they have in some shape or form, finance related applications downloaded to their mobile devices. Most services belonged to banks which held their main accounts such as: Nationwide, Santander, Danske Bank, Ulster Bank, Halifax, NatWest and AIB. Many also mentioned other apps that they used to handle their finances beyond the traditional holding of accounts. Alternative services like Monzo, Revolut and PayPal were also mentioned as well as UNiDays. I found the inclusion of UNiDAYs significant as while it is a service that does not handle a student’s bank account or transfers; it is an incredibly popular company with over 20 million members registered internationally under the requirement they belong to an academic institution with 1 in 3 students being UNiDAYS members in UK, US, Australia, France, Germany, Italy and Spain and 7 million of these members also being UNiDAYS app users.  The company does not allow students to utilise their finances in the traditional sense e.g., accessing account balance, transferring and receiving amounts, holding income; but it does provide financial advice to students through providing deals and discounts.With more than half of the responses from university students to my survey citing UNiDAYS as a financial service they have downloaded and use frequently, saving money is vital to this demographic.

“UNiDAYS provides access to spending power in excess of $150bn in the US alone. Gen Z are the most disruptive consumers in history, their media and retail behaviours are influencing Millennials, Gen X and Generation Alpha following them.”

– taken from the UNiDAYS website

I also asked students what emotions they experienced when using banking apps and associated with banking as a whole. The response from over 30  participants was overwhelmingly similar and disheartening. Many responses were the same, using descriptors like “anxious”, “not interested”; that they “dreaded” having to look at their bank balance and it was also interesting to note almost all stated they were “worried about their future” financially. It was also interesting that some expressed a sense of hopelessness or at the very least “confusion” in relation to banking, citing a lack of practical financial education provided prior to entering into university debt and living away from home for the first time. These observations have also led me to consider how my bank could possibly work as an educational tool; providing advice and terminology to students on their finances. I concluded from my questions that there was clearly only negative associations with banking amongst university students which I had already predicted. It is common knowledge that while being a university student is an exciting time in many young people’s lives in which you are able to explore new cities, meet and social with new people and delay entering the workforce for a couple of years – for a large majority reflected in my questions posed, university life also comes with the stress of “exams”, “balancing work with a social life” and also “balancing work with education”. Thus, my main takeaway from my questions is that my bank should prioritise easing the burden banking has within the already busy life of a student.

User Persona & Empathy Mapping

According to marketing expert, Louis Grenier, a user persona “is a semi-fictional character based on your current (or ideal) customer. Personas can be created by talking to users and segmenting by various demographic and psychographic data to improve your product marketing”. A user persona was really useful to create when I was considering my brand values as it allowed me to summarise my findings from my questionnaire and understand what the main problems students face. Similarly, an empathy map allows a designer to note what a customer may interact with daily, allowing me to understand what is practical and useful to my target audience.

What are my brand values?

I want to create a banking app that ensures student’s feel supported by the company, easing their financial stress and encouraging its user’s to take an active role in improving their financial future and security.

Values Held By Companies Within the Financial Sector:

• Nationwide: valuing the people; member-focused; act with honesty and integrity; trusting and respecting each other; have a bias for action and a passion for result; act accountably; value coaching and feedback; working as one team; having fun; selling Nationwide in everything they do
• Santander: sustainable profitability; efficiency at all costs; control of risk in lively environment; persistently looking at customer experience; constant focus on improving the customer outcome created by our business
• Monzo: Monzo started because “we believe there should be an alternative to the banking of the past. We are focussing on solving customer problems, rather than selling financial products, to offer what we hope will be the best current account in the world”e., putting customer before profit?
• PayPal: “mission to democratize financial services to ensure that everyone, regardless of background or economic standing, has access to affordable, convenient and secure products and services to take control of their financial lives”e., financial equality among all customers; wish to provide opportunities to those who may not be able to access traditional banks in the past

My Brand Values:

• Honesty
  An issue I found many of the participants expressed in my research, was that they felt that their bank did not truly have their best interests at heart and that their livelihood and data was not truly protected. I think it is important that honesty is a key value of the mobile app as this will encourage customers to trust the company to keep their finances secure.
• Supporting the customer by providing opportunities that can nurture a financially secure future
  Many participants in my research felt that they did not have a rounded knowledge of their finances. Many students feel extreme anxiety in relation to their post-graduate careers. Unlike their parents’ generation, many millennial and Gen-Z students are their future is uncertain in the current economic climate. A majority are not guaranteed full-time jobs in their desired field with such a saturated market, forcing most to return to living in their parent’s homes. The mobile app will seek to provide financial clarity for students, providing easy to navigate opportunities and tips like e.g., saving account features that will provide a sense of ease

• A stress-free banking experience
  Many participants of my research admitting feeling extreme anxiety when having to even open their mobile banking app for fear of what their bank balance will be following a recent deduction like rent or social event. The mobile app will seek to create a sense of calm; wishing to decrease the looming sense of worry that many experience when navigating the app and being confronted by bank withdrawals etc.

• Accessible
  There was a general feeling of unease towards the banks the student participants held accounts with. Many of the 18-22 years old described a sense of detachment from the huge companies that they were customers of, with many citing this as a reason for their indifference to their finances. I think the mobile banking app should provide clear instructions and accessibility to help which would allow customers to seek help when worried about financial future. This will also provide a fair banking experience, levelling the field for a younger target audience who are only beginning to experience financial independency. It is therefore important that the design is readable and easy to navigate to enable this.

 

Tone of Voice

I would like for my brand to use an upbeat and conversational tone of voice which appeals to a younger audience beginning their financial journey and may be intimidated by the daunting formality and complexity of economic phrases associated with traditional banking (loans, mortgages, overdrafts etc.). A casual and friendly use of language is much more relatable for students, creating a sense of understanding and personal connection that will encourage customers to interact and continue to use my banking brand. For example, beginning emails and notifications with “Hi Emma!” instead of “Hello Miss Smith” suggests warmth and companionship shared with the bank; inspiring a user who may be weary or disinterested in finances to trust the company.

Brand Name

The name of your company is incredibly important to its branding and how your target audience perceives the bank. As seen below, I brainstormed a lot of variations of names as I wanted a title that called back to the target audience (students) while also emulating the brand values I stated earlier. I had noted many phrases used in association to money and banking, and one which interested me was: “Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees”. I liked the natural imagery of trees which this phrase conjured as the form is traditionally associated with wisdom, stability and growth – all terms that are reflected in my brand values and vision for my online bank. After narrowing my ideas to the concept of a tree, I began to combine words together which would make a memorable and appropriate company name. An important goal for my bank was providing a sense of security and awareness for students struggling with banking to reduce the anxiety felt towards finances; and so, I began to pick words that were synonyms of calm. Eventually, I decided on the name: “Trease” – combination of the word trees and ease. I decided to change the spelling of the combination, adding a “z” to ensure it was pronounced correctly aloud, however I also think that this addition creates a sense of modernity and alertness I want my brand to express.