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3 reasons for FI co-branding

August 23, 2012 by Thomas Hailey — Director of Business Development, CORD Financial Services

If you have anything like the average bank or credit union, you understand the challenge of increasing branch awareness and reach cost effectively. The Financial Brand's 2012 Bank & Credit Union Marketing Survey reports that bank and credit union executives cite a "lack of marketing investment" as a top challenge. Inability or failure to meet this challenge ultimately reduces an organiza­tion's opportunity for success.

The survey also found that marketers for FIs face these top three challenges when it comes to marketing:

• Accurately measuring the results of marketing efforts during a time of constrained budgets and limited human resources;
• Expanding share of wallet through cross-selling, especially with credit products;
• Changing the media mix used for integrated customer communication, with greater emphasis on less familiar online and social media channels.

ATM co-branding can help FIs combat these primary challenges and overcome the financial obstacles to cost-effective advertising, achieving increased branch awareness and reach.

Operating and marketing a fleet of ATMs is especially difficult when it is not core to your business. This is where IADs can help FIs reap bigger profits from their ATM program through co-branding. There are three reasons why a co-branding approach can be a win for an FI:

1: It expands your FI's reach

In a co-branding opportunity, the FI pays a monthly fee to the IAD for placing the bank's graphics on the ATM, and offers asurcharge-free use for accountholders. For the FI, co-branding is a cost-effective way to reach consumers in their community and credibly expand branch reach beyond local markets.

2: It lowers ATM advertisement and capital costs

In an average bank co-branding agreement, an IAD will charge $200 to $400 per month for the co-branding package. For an ATM with 1,000 users per month, this equates to less than half a cent per user, a very compet­itive advertising rate. The FI also doesn't have to make the capital investment in deploying ATMs; they can simply brand existing machines in their market area.

3: It enhances the customer experience

Branding ele­ments such as wraps and video toppers give consumers confidence in the security of an ATM in what may be an unfamiliar merchant location. ATMs branded with a bank's identity immediately generate a higher level of assurance among consumers, who generally hold banks in high regard.

The bottom line for FIs: ATMs represent a cost-effective advertising channel and lend themselves to more promotional flexibility than other mediums. But the expertise, time and cost of running a highly efficient ATM program are oftentimes more effectively managed through a co-branding relationship.

— authored by Andrea Osgood

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