Douglas Blakey talks to Frank Pedersen, Jyske Bank’s
communication and marketing director, about the Danish bank’s
second Differences programme. At the cutting edge of modern branch
design, the bank is making strong use of the latest technology and
marketing ideas to communicate better with its
customers.
Denmark’s second-largest independent bank, Jyske Bank, has
sought to distinguish itself in its domestic retail banking market
– most notably against rival Danske Bank – with a highly creative,
design-led distribution strategy.
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In particular, its 119-branch network has been turned into spaces
more akin to shops and other retailing outlets, a place the bank
says will draw customers in. The bank’s Differences programme,
which ran from 1996 until 2006, has been succeeded by what the bank
terms Differences 2nd Generation, complete with extensive use of
touchscreen video screens and branch redesigns with new open-plan
layouts.
According to Frank Pedersen, the bank’s communication and marketing
director, it is premature to say whether the branch investment last
year is yet paying off, but he told RBI: “The million
dollar question here is what would have happened if we had not made
the investment.”
Record new customers
The bank’s third-quarter report for 2007 revealed that Jyske had
added a net 15,000 additional new retail customers since the
introduction of Differences 2nd Generation in the autumn of 2006.
“This inflow constitutes a new record,” said the bank.
Jyske’s café-style shops or branches now feature a host at its
AskBar; each branch positions its coffee bar near the front window,
inviting passers-by to pop in instead of rushing past. The bank
refers to meeting rooms where customers can talk with branch staff
as ‘games rooms’ and branches also feature play areas for
children.
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By GlobalData“When we introduced Differences Generation 1 back in 1996, we
wanted to create a full product line in boxes, but we did not at
that time have the necessary product and IT development resources
available. We learned a lot from the retail sector. We have
conducted several field studies in retail in the US and, among
others, we were inspired by Apple as well as US bookseller Barnes
& Noble,” said Pedersen.
When customers enter a Jyske Bank branch, they have immediate
access to large video screens that display product information at
every branch window and coffee bar. The bank installed product
displays equipped with video screens, allowing customers to scan
products and instantly receive video presentations.
Transforming products into packages
Jyske also blazed something of a trail in retail banking by
transforming its products into physical packages, which can be
picked up in a box from shelves. Each bank product (loans, saving
accounts, etc.) comes in a colourful box roughly the size of a
cereal box. To watch a presentation, customers simply choose a
service of interest, and scan the box’s bar code on a unit located
next to the display.
Pedersen is particularly fond of the bank’s in-branch video
display. “Our digital signage project has been elected the best
digital signage project in Europe. This is due to the fact that we
run carefully selected content on the different screens for our
products, sometimes interrupted by print news or local weather
reports,” Pedersen said.
Jyske has also used video to distribute company information to its
overseas employees based in Gibraltar, Switzerland, Holland, Spain,
Germany, France, the UK and Poland. The bank created a hosted
weekly video news magazine for employees via the company’s internal
website.
In contrast to a number of banks whose executives will discuss
future marketing plans or product innovation, Pedersen is silent.
“I know some other banks publish their plans on this well in
advance, but in retail people shake their heads in surprise and so
do we,” he said.
Jyske is also silent about its corporate social responsibility
activities. “We are careful not to brag about this. When we donate
money, we do it anonymously,” Pedersen said.
On 18 October, Jyske reported pre-tax profits of DKK1.76 billion
($348 million) for the first nine months of the year, a drop of 14
percent, primarily from unrealised losses on credit bonds. But the
bank upgraded its full year expectations for core earnings to
DKK2.3 billion to DKK2.5 billion from DKK2.1 billion to DKK2.3
billion.
