Santander, the Spanish banking group that owns Abbey, Bradford & Bingley and Alliance and Leicester, announced in May that all the high street branches would adopt the Santander name. The rebranding and refurbishment will be completed by the end of 2010. Research released in June seems to support this decision, showing that public perception of Abbey and Bradford & Bingley was slipping. By contrast the perception of Santander was rising. When they began their profile raising campaign with Lewis Hamilton 3 years ago their recognition was at 20%. Now it's at 82%. So this seems like a good decision.
Another example (which I've posted about previously) is Aviva / Norwich Union. They went through an extensive advertising campaign, to explain the importance of having the right name to achieve your goals. They obviously felt it was Aviva. I've read quite a bit of debate about the issue, for and against, so it's interesting to hear their side. Conveniently they have posted an interview on their website, where their Chief Marketing Officer explains their reasons. The facts for Aviva are that they have 50 million customers in 28 markets, and in 23 of those they were already Aviva. Although they are the largest general insurer in the UK, only 37% of the total value of their sales comes from the UK. As part of their rebrand they have brought together 40 different names under the Aviva banner. So to create one brand makes it much easier, and cheaper, to manage on a global scale.
Looking at these examples we can see two reasons for a change of name. One is reputation management. The other, cost saving.
Reputation Management
As the public perception of part of their business slides, Santander take the opportunity to capitalise on the brand equity they have built over three years, and absorb the failing parts of the business into the parent. (The interesting point to note here is that Santander know what people think of all of the elements of their brand because they have carried out market research and asked them. Really useful before making any big decisions.).
Cost saving
Aviva have consolidated all of the constituent businesses under one brand. So that they can use the same marketing themes and messages around the world. Why did they choose to use Hollywood stars (Bruce Willis) and musical icons (Ringo Starr) in their rebranding advert? Because those individuals are global brands themselves, recognised around the world. When you have 28 markets and 50 million customers to talk to, it makes sense to do it in the most cost-effective way possible.
What lessons can we learn?
What does the experience of Santander and Aviva tell the rest of us? Well, your name's important. Building recognition and, importantly, perceived value in your name will bring real, financial value to your business. Keeping your brand simple makes it more cost-effective to manage (but sometimes you do need more than one brand - we're working with a client to creat a second brand, so that they can reach new customers).
How long will the Co-op and Britannia remain separate brands? We'll have to wait and see which path holds the most value for them.
