Kicking A Dying Brand, Ya Basta!

Anyone who has been following my Twitter activity, blog posts, Facebook, and YouTube over the past couple of weeks is fully aware that I am not a "brand advocate" of Bank of America. Over 4000 people have viewed my YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6hy4PBo4tE) and posted a remarkably high quantity of negative comments towards the bank. In addition, USA Today interviewed me in regards to my Bank of America Walkout efforts, and through Twitter I reached well over another 50k people. I am also experiencing a growing interest my T-shirts that feature the new logo I created for Bank of America. 

So what does all of this mean? To me personally it has been an empowering experience that, as a consumer, I no longer have to allow a group of thieves hiding behind a red, white, and blue logo to have their "way" in my financial life--except of course for the tax burden they will eventually impose upon us all. The internet has empowered me, in just two weeks time, to share and spread the word with others that we should tell Bank of America we have had enough. We do have a choice! Will my efforts cause BOA to shut their doors? No, not by any means. They are successfully destroying themselves from the inside-out-- slowly bleeding from their deplorable customer relationships, misappropriation of funds, and unscrupulous practices. Just read the press on any given day of the week to affirm this.

As a brand strategist what does all this mean to me? As I tell all my clients, either walk-the-walk with your brand or get into another line of business. In this era of brand transparency, a brand that took decades to build can be destroyed overnight as customers share their experiences at the speed-of-light. And if a brand does not live up to it's promise, if a brand cheats customers, if a brand brings the wrath of the public and press upon itself... it's curtains! I would guess by now that Bank of America is spending a small fortune with their advertising and PR firms to "sway" the online conversations so that they might be more positive. I would also guess that BOA is spending dearly on their SEM/PPC efforts too hoping the multitudes, who do not read the press and live in caves, will somehow be conducting unbranded banking searches and "happen upon" Bank of America as a viable option. 

My advice to BOA would be simple, follow Tylenol's example of accountability and responsibility in their 1980s near-brand-disaster-turn-success. Come clean, get honest real fast. Stop stealing and start delivering. Be the first of the big banks to change everything and start loving your customers again. 

In closing, let's all watch closely and see what happens. Consumers will decide...as they do with all brands. And yes, I still have lots of T-shirts!

Comments

[Rob]

My wife and I will be closing are account soon. Whether all the banks do this or not is not the point. Bank of America is a predatory lender, and should be stopped.

[Don]

Take your money out of banks and into local credit unions. I actually earn a small amount of interest on my checking balance, and I get ATM charges refunded to me.

[SEO Firm]

This is interesting. I probably don't watch enough news to know what's going on in the banking world, but I've had Bank of America for a couple of years now, and it may be that I'm just one of the lucky ones that get attention, or maybe my boa bank is the best customer service boa bank there is, but I have always had a positive feeling about them. They remember my name and where I'm from, what sport I play and they have always helped me out in the best way possible when I needed it. But like i said, I live in my own little bubble so I don't really know what other people have experienced.