Creating the Visible Brand in a multi-channel world — web, retail, print and electronic media. We send these brand "bites" monthly to give you insights and tips on building value, uniqueness and loyalty for your brand. It's a focus that creates the brand connection to the right audience — to your customers.

In this issue:

1. WASHINGTON MUTUAL—WE'RE YOU, NOT THEM: Branding the Non-Bank Banking Experience When is a banker not a banker? Tapping into the public's pain about banks and bankers as a differentiating brand strategy.


2. BGDi: BRANDS AT WORK:
• Venture Capital Firm Allegis Capital Launches Website Targeting Entrepreneurs. BGDi helps position them as a leader in early stage funding for start-ups.
• Retailer Pet Food Express Opens Branded Flagship Store in S.F. BGDi helps this premier Bay Area pet food and supply chain build its brand image as the holistic pet food store.

WASHINGTON MUTUAL - WE'RE YOU, NOT THEM:
Branding the Non-Bank Banking Experience

Do you bank at Washington Mutual? Have you ever walked into one of their newer branches? You'll notice the same thing I did. There's no "them" over there behind the solid, defining, impenetrable wall of counters, and me over here. It's a redefined customer experience. You meet with the teller right out in the open lobby, and you "share" the computer and get to look right at your accounts. You see everything they see. You may even get to enter in data on your own account. Now, that's cool. They have defined a whole new customer relationship. WaMu is about being the non-bank.

How many of us have gone into a bank when we were initially establishing credit and evidence of our financial existence, and the teller said, "I have to go see the manager about this". WaMu has seen that this is a very "us" vs. "them" adversarial experience for new customers. It disconnected customers from a relationship of trust, which is so important when it comes to finance and money. This is why WaMu decided to move away from this negative customer experience and focus on being the "non-bank" — "we're here to serve the customer" — so let's do what other banks don't. It's a brand that's defined by the negatives of its industry.

This ingenious approach has spawned a memorable series of ads featuring stuffy, unbelieving bankers, who don't care about you unless you are wealthy, contrasted with WaMu, who cares about you. The whole focus is we are you, we get you. But, can WaMu deliver?

In the banking industry, or any other business category, if you promise something, you'd better define it not only in your advertising — which is the voice of the message — but also through a completely crafted customer experience.

In building a brand that stands out from the competition you have to define a brand promise that's unique and genuine, communicate it and then — consistently, fervently, and with passion — deliver on it throughout the organization. Only then will you get what brands all seek: loyalty.

BGDi: BRANDS AT WORK

Venture Capital Firm Allegis Capital Launches Web Site Targeting Entrepreneurs
Allegis Capital wanted to update and refine its website to better reflect its position as a major early-stage investor in Silicon Valley. They wanted to appeal to the entrepreneur looking for a partner to grow their business. BGDi president Steven Donaldson says, "We worked closely with Allegis to understand how they wanted to be perceived by early stage start-ups looking for a knowledgeable investment partner they could trust." BGDi developed a positioning statement — "Connect. Build. Grow." — that reflects the company's interconnected managerial support strategies and produced the new Web site, which presents the Allegis message in a contemporary visual interface.

Retailer Pet Food Express Opens Branded Flagship Store in S.F.
BGDi has completely reworked the retail brand for Pet Food Express to clearly differentiate it from the big box pet stores. The brand elements of color palette, fonts, and animal illustrations all reflect a distinct movement away from the mainstream chains and a focus on holistic and high quality pet foods. The most recent implementation of the Pet Food Express brand is the new flagship store in San Francisco on Market Street. BGDi president Steven Donaldson worked intensively with the owners of Pet Food Express to create a memorable retail environment, both inside and outside the store. BGDi designers Christine Lee and Aspa Gika created original illustrations for educational and product information signage throughout the store, and designed a high-impact street presence with branded signage and strong earth-tone brand colors on the building and awnings. Steven Donaldson said, "We're positioning Pet Food Express as the 'Whole Foods of the pet food world.' Pet Food Express is not all things cheap to everyone, but instead represents quality, healthy products for pet owners who care."