Branding in UK banks and building societies: a relationship approach

Branding in financial services has not really achieved the differentiation that providers of these services have been seeking. Banks and building societies (B&BS) have also invested heavily in the building of relationships, which may form a stronger basis for branding. The purpose of this paper is to propose an alternative approach to branding, based on relationships. In-depth interviews were conducted with managers charged with customer relationships in a selection of UK high street banks and building societies to elicit the range of relationships that have the potential for branding initiatives. From the findings emerges a number of stakeholders who are then plotted into the brand environment of B&BS. This study develops an empirically derived approach to branding based stakeholder relationships and hence already embedded in the B&BS strategy.