Oh to be a fly on the wall of the PR and Corporate Heads of major banks as the Australian banking industry faces a major corporate reputation, public relations and communications challenge.
Ironically, the current perceived ‘crisis of confidence’ and “PR problem’ facing the Australian Banking industry is based on criticisms against the banks that are largely ill-founded and mis-informed.
But that’s the real PR and communication issue. If large sections of the community have got the wrong-end-of-the-stick, after it was largely our strong banking sector got us through the GFC relatively unscathed, then what does that say about how well banks are understood?
The bottom line is it’s awfully difficult for banks to be liked. Let’s face it – they will never completely be.
But they need to be at least understood, and hopefully respected. Clearly they are some way away from the ideal.
So how do Australian banking industry leaders (one of whom – Cameron Clyne from NAB- has been saying for some months that the banks have to change and work harder to earn a good reputation) think they are going to turn this situation around?
And what advice are their PR and corporate communications people giving? Are they still sitting in their own corporate silos, wearing their own colours, still subservient to their bosses (and fighting a losing battle with their internal marketing and brand people)?
Or are they getting together as a group of PR and communications professionals, and combining their undoubted talents into addressing and solving the issue with the greater good of the industry in mind?
Having worked extensively over many years for a variety of industry groups, associations, peak bodies – call them what you will – it seems that the banking industry is facing a structural issue in its PR and communications that is far from uncommon within industries.
Simply stated it is struggling over the issue of brand v generic communication.
The heart of its problem is a real conflict and tension between the egos and individual brand ambitions of the individual banks who are busily trying to ‘get one over’ each other in the marketplace and the needs of the banking industry overall, and the stakeholders who shape its reputation, who want basic generic information and communication.
It’s not new. I’ve seen this brand versus industry argument play out at almost every industry group I’ve ever worked for.
It seems to me that the banking industry is, to use a cricket term, ‘playing down the wrong line’.
- It’s not about telling consumers and stakeholders how good the banks are; it’s about increasing understanding about what banks do and how they contribute.
- It won’t be solved by the combined might of the individual brands throwing more at advertising. The power of the brand is great for selling products. But when it comes winning hearts and minds in the community too much of it coming from brands can arguably create the opposite impression to that sought.
- This is not a media or political issue that will be addressed by becoming more active through the issuing of media releases (as suggested in article by The Australian). It’s about getting out and actually doing things that force people to look at the banking industry differently.
- The politicians may be the symptom but it’s the community that is the underlying cause. It’s consumer and community disquiet that is fuelling the pollies. Quell the fire with the consumers and the pollies won’t have enough oxygen to keep going!
- An industry under siege and attack needs to speak with one voice. However, the Australian Bankers Association, which has historically been more of a lobbying organisation, seems to be neither equipped nor mandated to carry out a wider and more generic stakeholder communication function.
In fact I can’t help but feel for Steven Muchenberg, who as head of the ABA has been handed a poison challis.
Effectively the banks are saying – “we’ll keep all the good stuff to the brands, thanks very much. But when the going get’s tough, and we want to keep our heads down, we want you to go out and defend us”.
Go to the ABA website and it appears more like a repository of facts and information about the banking industry – great as a defensive mechanism aimed at blunting the attacks from pollies, consumer groups and the like. But it does little to proactively promote the banks.
Individually, the banks are doing a lot to be good community citizens. However, the only way to find this out is by delving into the ‘about’ tabs of the web sites of the majors – CBA, Westpac, ANZ and NAB. Nowhere can I see is the totally of that effort being communicated.
Putting it crudely it seems as if the banks control the proactive PR and marketing stuff and the ABA is there as a backstop and to be the fall guy. Sorry – but that approach is ‘old style’.
To achieve a better corporate reputation the banking industry as a whole needs to be developing and implementing long-term outreach PR and communication programs that ‘connect’ and ultimately add-value to the Australian community.
However, in order to do this the industry would need to collectively agree – and if necessary self-regulate themselves – as to what PR and communication initiatives should be undertaken by brands, and at what point this devolves to the industry.
To do this it seems as if the banking industry has to rethink the purpose and role of the ABA.
It seems the ABA needs to become more than a lobby, research and industry data collection organisation. Rather it needs to become a more reputation management, PR and communications-driven industry association and given the necessary budgets to fulfill this function.
The RBA needs to create an umbrella for the banking industry. Under this let the brands do what they do best – sell products and services
Do this and maybe- just maybe – 10 years from now the banking industry might just find itself in a better place!
But as always the issue is whether those giving the PR and communications advice are thinking of the industry rather than the brand they represent. And whether the CEO’s are listening!
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