Independent Banker - December 2022 - 65

settling for less than being number
one, " she explains. " We take the word
'first' seriously around here, and we've
centered on putting first things first.
Everything we've created, written and
done has our personality of being an
approachably charismatic, simply
smart, dynamic brand. "
SimplyBank's Owen also
understands that a bold name
requires equally bold customer
commitments. " The challenge was to
have our products team make sure
the products and processes were as
simple as possible, " he says. " It's a
high bar, which we recognized up
front, and it's been a challenge at
times, but we're getting there. Our
goal is to offer big bank resources and
services in a community bank. "
Having a strong leadership
commitment to the change makes
everything easier, says Alex Green,
directing marketing, communications
officer at SimplyBank. " This can't be a
half-hearted process, so your leaders
need to be on board, " he says. " It
requires everyone to ask themselves
hard questions and sometimes discover
hard answers. The right leadership
needs to be on the forefront, and they
need to give the process time. "
" We're going to continue to be a
bank where customers can expect
us to know their name, " Stuewe
says, " but we're going to emphasize
that our customers don't need to
choose between friendly, professional
in-person service and the easy selfservice
they want 24 hours a day.
We're going to be the bank for the
generations that want banking to feel
familiar and for the generations that
want banking to integrate easily into
their routines anytime, anywhere. "
Moving forward
As great as your community bank's
new name might be, keep in mind
that everything you do should be
an opportunity for continuous
improvement, including branding. " We
ASSOCIATIONS ARE CHANGING, TOO
It's not just banks that are taking a fresh look at the meaning
and mission behind their names. The Independent Community
Bankers of Minnesota (ICBM), an ICBA state affiliate that
was organized in 1962, has a mission to provide community
banks with the resources and advocacy they need to remain
independent, grow their banks and benefit their communities.
As the association considered initiatives to make its work
more visible to the general public, it knew there was a
branding problem. A Google search of " ICBM " led to pages
of data on intercontinental ballistic missiles. The association
needed a new identifier that would allow it to speak to
the public, convey a better sense of what it does as an
organization and be found more easily during web searches.
The association's leadership chose the new name BankIn
Minnesota, which is not only a more descriptive title but also a
call to action for state residents to make local banks a priority
for their businesses.
" It all goes back to the 'why,' " says Jim Amundson, president
and CEO of BankIn Minnesota. " You need to make sure you
stay clear on your reason for changing, and you need to
encourage feedback from your stakeholders and key decision
makers. " For Amundson and his team, the rebranding work
was an effort that began in late 2020 and culminated with an
announcement at the association's 2022 convention.
" Now, when I tell even non-industry people what our name
is, they can remember it and understand what we're trying to
accomplish, " he says.
While Amundson's community banking association is one of
the first nationwide to go through a significant name change,
he wonders if it may have started a trend. " We've heard from
others with some initial interest who want to know more about
how we did it, " he says.
rolled out our new name in 2018, and
then we tweaked it in 2021, " Green
says. " We didn't do a full rebrand or
wholesale changes, but we updated
the tagline and added some new
elements. The world changes, your
community changes, and you can't
be afraid to change with them. We're
very conscious that we're a community
bank, and we're proud of it. We've been
around 132 years, and our intention is
to be a strong, independent bank for
the next 132 years. "
For many leaders, a refreshed name
is viewed as an opportunity to build
on the legacy of a valued institution.
independentbanker.org Q 59
http://www.independentbanker.org
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