Your Brand is Culture, Not Collateral

During a recent discussion about branding  that I had with a credit union marketing audit client, a recurring theme surfaced. The client referred to specific marketing collateral (such as the logo, corporate colors, brochures, etc.) as the brand.

This is a not an uncommon misunderstanding. While specific marketing collateral like your logo, brochures and commercials are definitely a part of your brand, they are not the totality of your brand. When seeking a way to define this somewhat vague notion, the point I emphasized was:

Your brand is much more cultural than collateral.

Again, this misunderstanding about brand is not unique to this particular client. Many credit unions and their marketing leadership teams default to defining brand as something collateral. But in reality, the brand itself goes much deeper, straight to the cultural heart of your organization.

You can have absolutely amazing-looking collateral—and, during mystery shop experiences, I find that many credit unions do have fantastic collateral—but none of that matters if your brand, a cultural thing as lived by your staff in front of your members and each other, falls short.

Think about it this way: Your collateral materials are a brand promise you make to consumers. In them, you can promise a number of things, such as “We are the fastest,” “We are the friendliest,” “We are the (insert brand proposition here).”

Those pieces are designed to elicit a response from existing and/or potential members. Once those people actually make contact with your credit union, however, does the cultural experience your staff provide match the collateral promise? Are you indeed the fastest and friendliest?

If so, terrific. You are living up to your brand promise. If not, your credit union suffers from a brand gap. You must repair that gap before it does serious damage to your brand credibility. You cannot be one thing in your collateral and another in your culture.

I used an outside-the-industry example about the importance of culture over collateral with a credit union client earlier this month. Often, I find outside-the-industry examples are powerful ways to get points across to credit union staff because, while they specifically reference the same important brand tenet, coming from different industries provides unique perspective that helps drive the point home.

In this example, I referenced a local restaurant (part of a well-known national franchise) where I ordered a take-out meal my first night on location with the client. I placed the to-go order with the bartender who, while making small talk, mentioned that she liked my first name. The next day, I had lunch with members of the credit union leadership team at the same restaurant (without seeing the same bartender). That afternoon, after member brand journey mapping experience training, I decided to keep the streak going and do another to-go order from the same location. Upon entering, the same friendly bartender greeted me with “Hi, Taylor! Great to see you again. Will it be another to-go order tonight?”

Talk about a consumer “wow” experience. This young bartender, an important part of the brand experience for her employer, not only remembered my name but used it in her introduction and provided an experience with that franchise to which I’m not really accustomed. She definitely made an impression on me and earned future business.

The important point here is that she owned the brand. She was the brand. She represented the brand. She, as the brand cultural element, was far more important than any collateral (menus, flyers, etc.) the restaurant could have provided. While this is a non-financial services example, it clearly illustrates the importance of culture over collateral.

Your brand is the most important asset your credit union has, even though it probably isn’t reflected on any accounting spreadsheet. To advance your brand in an authentic, meaningful and future-focused way, everyone at your credit union must understand that the brand is far more cultural than collateral.

Taylor Wells is communications director at On the Mark Strategies. He is also a lead faculty member at CUES School of Strategic Marketing™ I and II, taking place this July in Seattle.