Bank Rebranding: A Wild Goose Chase?
“Chase what matters” is the message you’ll soon be bombarded with by Chase, the bank that on Sunday will launch a slick new rebranding campaign that will include more than $70 million worth of print and online ads and television commercials in the first quarter alone. Created by New York-based mcgarrybowen (with assistance by boutique agency T3 for the online work), the campaign is Chase’s first rebranding since 2004, when it merged with Bank One.
In a release issued today, the bank promises that the campaign “will shine a laser-like focus on What Matters to customers.” We’re confident that there’s a better way to put that (shine a laser-like focus?), but onto the details. Look for black and white ads with pops of “Chase blue” (a shade we describe as “diffident cerulean”) in an approach that aims to unify the company’s image across multiple divisions, from credit cards and branch banking to auto finance, and student lending.
Is the expression “Chase what matters” inextricably linked with the quest for the almighty dollar, as opposed to that rock climbing trip you’ve always wanted to take (and now you can, with Chase’s mobile banking, promises one of the TV spots)? And more importantly, will the campaign work? “The promise of the bank experience is much like the promise of the airline experience,” Hayes Roth, chief marketing officer at brand strategy firm Landor Associates tells The New York Times. “There is a lot of lovely talk–we’re here for you–but I don’t think anyone believes it.”
