ABA Banking Journal - August 2007 - (Page 25)

COVER STORY Bangor Savings used local granite and images of actual Maine fishermen to help it ease into coastal Portland Evoking a sense I f you want to know one best-in-show trick for brand and branch design, begin with a sense of place. Doubt the value of this? Think of your house, apartment, or condo. What you love most about it are the sentimental, touches that make a home. This love of the singular, even quirky, extends to our communities and the businesses we frequent, even as America becomes a purple mountain majesty of malls, national franchises, and places afflicted with the litter of homogenizing factors. In fact, there is a certain strain of pushback on the generic— the beginning of a movement to counteract it. “A premium is placed on specificity, which is a key aspect of effective design. Increasingly banks feel about this the way retailers do,” says Lance Boge, principal, with Gensler, a New York-based architecture and design firm. “Creating a sense of place helps people to connect to the business because it somehow strikes a chord of recognition.” Yes, there are concepts like ethnic modern, ultra modern or of place eclectic to consider when designing a space, but Boge notes that what people “on the street” most respond to are specific material choices, which are related to place—or should be. By Lauren Bielski, senior editor Mirroring customers Connection counts. Others who we interviewed described this phenomenon as creating a physical environment “congruent with audience self-concept.” Joe Pine, co-founder of Strategic Horizons, LLP, says that it is also part of creating an effective retail experience. “If you don’t want to be a commodity,” says Pine, “you’ll need to avoid being generic. A generic place, even a decent looking generic place, sends a message to the customer, ‘we’re not sure who you are. We think you’re sort of generic, too’.” Of course, notes Pine, nobody wants to think of him- or herself in this way. In fact, people know this isn’t the case, no matter how he or she might be viewed in the abstract. Others who spoke with ABA BJ used the terms sterile, prefab, false, and unrooted to describe related concepts. Beyond this, a design with locality can be a good vehicle for www.ababj.com/subscribe.html ABA BANKING JOURNAL/AUGUST 2007 25 http://www.strategichorizons.com http://www.strategichorizons.com http://www.gensler.com http://www.ababj.com/subscribe.html

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ABA Banking Journal - August 2007

Contents Editor's Column The Unbankers Snapshot: Do Share Repurchases Signal More M&A Activity Sleight of Mind Goals Behind Proposed ABA/ACB Merger ABA Resources ABA Chairman's Position Should You Sell Those Nonperformers Pass the Aspirin Branch Design - Evoking a Sense of Place Two Banks Take the LEED Move Over, Buddy Service Feature: Bankers' Banks Directory Websites: What's State of the Art for Banks? Citi Mobile to Go Strong with iPhone? Date First, Marry Later Mailbox Banker's Mart To Advertise/Index of Advertisers The Economy

ABA Banking Journal - August 2007

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