Baby with the bath water

A distinctive brand asset is invaluable. It should be rejuvenated, never jettisoned.

This is an extract from last week's IMTW.

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Issue № 111 | London, Sunday 13 October 2024

Read on to learn why:

① Only a fool would scrap a distinctive brand asset.

② You should never succumb to the temptation to modernise for the sake of it.

③ Regulation and taxes are denting Britain’s financial services sector.

④ CBDCs may be just a testing ground for the real prize: tokenised deposits.

⑤ Brand equity is a long-term game but essential for staying relevant.

⑥ Art can be a powerful relationship builder.

⑦ AI’s utility in wealth management depends on its ability to feel human.

What's new

A pensions firm plans to euthanise its old widow in a brand refresh, Citwire reports.

In short:

• “Scottish Widows is ‘phasing out’ the widow model with the trademark cloak used in its advertising since the 1980s. The provider has already started using a digital logo of the widow – a red silhouette of a woman wearing a superhero-style cloak. The new widow was launched in August and will run in parallel with the traditional widow until the latter is phased out next year.”
• “The 209-year-old business, part of Lloyds Banking Group, has used the ‘living logo’ since 1986, with Deborah Moore, daughter of late actor Roger Moore, the first to wear the iconic cloak, followed by Amanda Lamb, Hayley Hunt and Martinez. The figure is now one of the most recognisable brands in the financial services industry.”
• “The firm is said to be keen to move away from being seen as an old-school provider. It wants to be seen in the same way as other pension providers with platforms, such as AJ Bell and Hargreaves Lansdown.”

Why it matters

① Apple infamously called eliminating the headphone jack on its phones “courageous”. This isn’t that. It’s stupid. Only a fool would scrap a brand asset of such distinctiveness, one with such inherent and positive associations, to replace it with something that lacks character and any sense of the brand’s values.

Buried in Citywire’s story is a hint at the deeply flawed thinking driving the change. Chira Barua, CEO of Scottish Widows, said:

“Since we started building the app and digital tools, we’ve been encouraged by the phenomenal uplift in engagement we’ve seen; these investments will be game-changing in helping people take the right steps now to get the retirement they want. We’re also updating the Scottish Widows brand so it feels more intuitive in digital channels, like our app. Our new brand remains true to our heritage, while introducing a new look, including a ‘digital widow motif’ across our app and platforms, to bring it into a new era.”

Customers are adopting their digital channels because that’s what customers are doing. Everywhere. We talked about it a couple of weeks ago. That doesn’t mean it should determine your most distinctive brand asset.

What to do about it

Take action

② Never succumb to the temptation to modernise for the sake of it. The ‘shiny new thing’, ‘the new era’, aren’t for every brand.

When thinking about your brand assets the question that should guide you and any changes you make is: does it convey our core principles? Is it true to our brand’s DNA?

Brand assets sometimes benefit from being refreshed, but never at the expense of losing what made them distinctive and compelling in the first place.

Get help

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To learn why:

③ Regulation and taxes are denting Britain’s financial services sector.

④ CBDCs may be just a testing ground for the real prize: tokenised deposits.

⑤ Brand equity is a long-term game but essential for staying relevant.

⑥ Art can be a powerful relationship builder.

⑦ AI’s utility in wealth management depends on its ability to feel human.

Visit InMarketing This Week for the rest of this issue >

About

Written for senior leadership teams in finance and technology, InMarketing This Week is a showcase for news likely to impact you - delivered with insight on why it matters and ideas on what to do about it. It’s published every Sunday at six to give you a head start on the week. Read extracts?here, or subscribe to?have each full issue delivered straight to your inbox, before it's available anywhere else.