The next step after understanding the processes behind the brand development, I set out to explore current modern brands that exist, many with the same core beliefs and values that I would like to carry in my own brand. This would also allow me to see the trends or elements that successful brands have in common with one another and to further my understanding in this subject with it being something I haven’t paid much attention to otherwise.
I looked at the mission statements from a number of brands as well as their values, goals and also the socially and environmentally aware aspects that many contribute to such as anti slavery laws and reducing plastic waste.
Asos
Tesco
Primark
Primark, at the time of this research, does not have a website.
Santander
Monzo
First Hand Research
I conducted some research in the form of a survey I created using survey monkey. The information I was looking to gather was based on the opinion of online only banks such as Monzo and how popular they are. I was limited in my research as most of the people I know that I got responses from are the same age as me. However, this is also a positive because I want to aim my bank for university students who struggle to budget and save and most of my friends are in university.
From my survey I was hoping to obtain information on budgeting and saving particularly with students or young professionals that find it hard to manage their money. Additionally, I wanted to find out if, like myself, people generally avoid visiting their bank instore when most of their issues could be resolved over the phone or with an online assistant.
The results from my survey showed a number of things.
- Those answering the survey were in age bracket of my target audience
- Most respondents are either working full-time or studying full-time while working part-time (70%)
- Ulster bank is the most used bank among my respondents
- Just under half are unhappy with their current banking provider
- 60% had banking issues, with most saying that it took a to while resolve
- All of the respondents either visit their branch less than once a year or never do with one comment stating that they ‘almost never since online banking is the most efficient way’ to deal with their bank.
- 80% of respondents use an additional online bank with Paypal and Monzo being tied for 1st place
- 80% also preferring this online bank to their main bank.
- 100% would use a savings scheme with the majority benefiting from budgeting tips or incentives.
Conclusion
From my research, I was able to get more of an insight into the other aspects of a brand other than the visuals, the story behind what we see that most of us may not look in-depth for information on. This also allowed me to see what brands that I identify with the most, in this case being Monzo, due to already enjoying their services as a user myself but also aligning with their brand model of making things fun and simpler for everyone.
From the 2 types of research I conducted I was able to;
- gather general information on what companies have in common with values and mission statements, as well as the positive contribution they have to our environment or society. This would give me an indication of the types of brand values that are successful with customers.
- gather specific information from those in the age range of my target audience as well as in the same situation as the customers I would like to target. This part of the research really allowed me to identify the features I wanted my bank to include and move forward into the next phase of development on how to bring these aspects to life.
References
https://www.asos.com/
https://www.tesco.com/
https://www.santander.co.uk/
https://www.surveymonkey.com/
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