BRAND MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING RESEARCH UNIT (BMMRU) THE CHALLENGE OF FINANCIAL SERVICES BRANDING: MAJORING ON CATEGORY OR BRAND VALUES? Leslie de Chernatony and Fiona Harris

August 2000

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ISBN 0 7492 3535 7

 Open University Business School, 2000 The Challenge of Financial Services Branding: Majoring on Category or Brand Values?

THE CHALLENGE OF FINANCIAL SERVICES BRANDING: MAJORING ON CATEGORY OR BRAND VALUES
Abstract Research suggests that emotional values are more sustainable than functional values. It is argued that in the services sector the key to sustainable brand differentiation is a unique set of emotional values. This paper examines the nature of financial services brands’ values and finds that they tend to focus on functional category values rather than unique emotional brand values. A lack of congruency between brand team members’ perceptions of their brands’ values and a lack of correspondence with their brands’ espoused values were also noted.

Keywords: brand values, services brands, financial services

1. Introduction

A brand is a multidimensional construct involving the blending of functional and emotional values to match consumers’ performance and psychosocial needs (de Chernatony and Dall’Olmo Riley, 1998). One of the goals of branding is to make a brand unique on dimensions that are both relevant and welcomed by consumers (de Chernatony and McDonald, 1998). One of the problems marketers face is going beyond the values that consumers consider when they want to buy the benefit of the category (e.g. insurance is about protection and peace of mind) to position their brand with unique values (e.g. Brand X really understands my changing needs so every year it can adapt to me). Research with brand consultants suggested that many brand managers had only a superficial understanding of brand values and tended to focus on