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The brief: to design an
innovative branch concept for National Bank of Greece’s (NBG)
sub-brand, i-bank. The bank’s target: to attract and acquire new
customers, challenge perceptions of the NBG brand and utilise the
latest digital technologies and communication methods. Douglas
Blakey reports.
The country is
crippled with debt woes, but its largest lender, National Bank of
Greece (NBG) has set aside worries afflicting the local banking
sector to roll out one of the most innovative technology-savvy
concept branches. Dubbed i-bank stores, the branches showcase NBG’s
electronic services and offer “e-banking’s true physical form”.
That description, however, barely does the project
justice.
NBG’s brief to UK-based
design consultancy allen international was far-reaching.
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By GlobalDataThe consultancy’s chairman
Michael Allen said the concept involved the creation of a virtual
‘Digital Gateway’ to the brand via the interior architecture and
modules.
At the entrance to the space,
a 360-degree portal combines LED back-illuminated graphics and
projects images to welcome customers. A striking architectural
split was created between the left and right sides of the branch to
guide and draw the customer deep into the space.
This serves to highlight the
functional contrast between the digital services on the right and
the personal consultation/auditorium areas on the left of the
i-store.
On the right side, digital
touch points are built into a seamless black glass wall to guide
the customer in from the entrance portal. An extended-hours,
self-service zone at the front of the space was designed to give
customers access to internet pods and self-service ATMs and
automated cash/payment terminals.
The internet pods offer
private booths for up to two persons to access or be trained in the
use of the integrated phone/video/internet terminals.
A textured wall on the left
side of the branch creates openings for the self service terminals
as well as access to the private consultation room and
‘i-ampitheatre’ where a variety of finance and technology related
seminars are run.
Finally, the back of the
branch offers the ‘i-lounge’ garden area designed to offer a calm
zone for customers to relax – part of the bank’s strive to attract
branch visits.
While Greek lenders are not
immune from the ongoing Greek economic crisis, the country’s
leading banks – NBG, Piraeus, Alpha and Eurobank – are weathering
the post-Lehman period better than many of its international
peers.
NBG has remained profitable
and is successfully slashing operating costs; in the first quarter,
personnel and general expenses decreased by 7% and 13%
respectively.
NBG has maintained its market
share of time deposits at 15.4% and increased its share of savings
deposits to 34.2%.
It also continues to post
strong results from its Turkish subsidiary, Finansbank, with first
quarter profit before tax increasing by 28% to €151m
($215.5m).
RBI spoke to Michael
Allen, chairman of allen international, and Nelly
Tzakou-Lambropoulou, general manager group head of operations &
Global Transaction Services, NBG, about the i-bank
project.
RBI: What was
the thinking behind NBG’s investment in i-bank? What was the bank
looking to achieve?
Nelly
Tzakou-Lambropoulou (NT-L): NBG has been the traditional
bank of the Greek family for 170 years – it is the market leader
with a strong brand name.
NBG always had a strong
positioning in electronic channels, having launched the first
mobile banking service on the iPhone and other smart mobile devices
in 2009. We were among the first to introduce internet banking in
Greece and the first to introduce the ATM.
Now with the ‘i-bank’ brand,
NBG is looking to enhance its positioning by bringing a
customer-centric philosophy around ‘i-bank services’, not just
‘channels’.
It is a way to upgrade
customer perceptions of the overall brand image of NBG, as ‘i-bank’
creates associations with concepts such as ‘innovation’,
‘intelligence’ and ‘interactivity’.
RBI: What was
the brief to the bank’s design partners?
Michael Allen,
chairman of allen international: NBG came to us with the
challenge of designing a space where i-banking is for everyone, not
just the technically-savvy.
Our extensive knowledge of
the customer experience and patented Attract, Build Capture Digital
solution was the backbone of ensuring NBG takes itself and its
customers into the future of banking.
The i-bank is a
technologically innovative, ecologically responsible, and customer
friendly space that changes peoples’ perception of a
bank.
NT-L: We
decided to introduce a unique concept store which will bring i-bank
experience to life – taking a bold step beyond the launch of the
‘i-bank’ branding umbrella – in essence becoming a live brand
communicator.
It was briefed as a
brick-and-click, self-service branch, which will operate as a
showroom and a service gate to all i-bank electronic channels
(e-banking, phone banking, mobile banking, direct debits, ATMs),
while at the same time will provide a space to learn and
relax.
This concept takes two forms:
a flagship ‘i-bank store’ which is more like a multi-purpose venue
with an amphitheatre for events and a lounge and a satellite (we
call it the ‘i-bank corner’), which is more compact and is
service-oriented.
Both have the same
look-and-feel with extensive digital elements.
RBI: How many
outlets are we talking about for the i-bank
brand?
NT-L: Two
flagship i-bank stores – one in Athens opened in February 2011
inside the largest shopping mall in Greece and another will open in
Thessaloniki in late 2011.
A satellite ‘i-bank corner’
opened in another shopping mall in Thessaloniki in April. Based on
the results of the flagship stores, the concept will
evolve.
RBI: How does
i-bank differentiate the bank in the market?
NT-L:
The i-bank store brings a human and more interactive form of
‘communication’ with our clients. They offer a completely new
experience of what constitutes a bank. We may test the new video
call feature of our contact centre, for example, but we also have
the amphitheatre for knowledge sharing.
It is used to organise
various events with themes spanning from technology (smart phones,
virtual reality, and internet) to financials (business planning,
money in easy terms).
So i-bank store is about
design, but also about content, beyond banking. In fact, i-bank
store is part of other initiatives, all interrelated.
One is the ‘i-bank Innovation
and Technology Competition’ in cooperation with Greek universities
where innovative business ideas are awarded; another one is
‘Deixtous’ (“show ‘em” in Greek), a campaign for closing the
digital divide, where the young generation teaches older age groups
basic internet skills.
‘Deixtous’ is the socially
responsible element of the ‘i-bank’ brand. So when we say ‘beyond
banking’, we can prove it with specific actions.
RBI: Is i-bank
meeting the bank’s expectations? Exceeding
them?
NT-L:
Although it is a bit early to draw conclusions, we are quite
thrilled by the positive remarks and the footfall we have
experienced, especially in the first flagship i-bank
store.
The location inside a
shopping mall was key to this success. We had a fresh and impactful
short launch campaign, both above and below the line.
Even passers-by get a strong
visual impact from the open-front gate of i-bank store. It is a
common observation that the whole initiative stands out above
competition and territory.
Following an intense period
of design, it took only 82 days to construct the first flagship
store.
Finally, our branch staff
feel proud that NBG brought such an innovation to the Greek market
, ahead of our competitors.
The most important aspect is
that our customers have embraced the new brand, based on our latest
survey, as the ‘i-bank’ brand awareness has significantly increased
this year.
RBI: On
segmentation: what is the NBG thinking on the type of customers who
are being won over to i-bank?
NT-L: NBG
has more than nine million deposit accounts in a country of 11m
inhabitants.
Offering a complete and
modern proposition with i-bank services is crucial. We have seen
that our revamped i-bank services are progressively adopted by the
existing clientele of all ages.
As an indicator, i-bank
internet banking has experienced double-digit growth during 2010 by
all measures. With i-bank and i-bank stores, the young generation
is coming in and testing NBG.
Our sample data from the i-bank store club show that more
than 50% are up to 35 years old and almost half are not NBG
customers.
