Vikram Krishna, Head – Group Marketing and Branding, Emirates NBD
Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region, announced today that it ranked highest among banks in the Middle East in a Brand Simplicity Index published by Siegel+Gale, the global strategic branding firm, known for its "Simple is Smart" mantra.
Emirates NBD’s overall position in the Index increased by fifty per cent compared to last year. In 50th position, the bank came ahead of international heavy weights such as Nike and Avis. The study stated that “among the non-Islamic retail banks surveyed, Emirates NBD was the top performer and was the most simple brand overall. The bank got points for clear statements, concise communications, efficient transactions and its abundance of physical locations.”
“This is a tremendous distinction for Emirates NBD, and is a reflection of our core brand philosophy,” Said Vikram Krishna, Head – Group Marketing and Branding, Emirates NBD. “Since launching the brand in 2009, we have strived to integrate simplicity into every aspect of our communications with our customers, as well as internally with our staff. With a large multi-cultural customer base of one million plus, we have to communicate our products and services to people of multiple nationalities. I believe our Truth and Reality campaign was a major part of this achievement.”
The bank’s prominent “Truth and Reality” campaign was launched in 2010 to support its customer-centric positioning of an “Enriched banking Experience.” The overall concept of this award-winning campaign was to highlight that the customer experience matters most. The concept used simple graphics and text to communicate its products and services to its audiences with a large scale indoor and outdoor campaign. The process also involved the launch of Emirates NBD’s new English and Arabic next-generation website with interactive, user-friendly interface.
Emirates NBD’s overall strategy has propelled the brand to the 130th most valued banking brand in the world, growing US$300 million to touch US$1.25 billion.
“Over the past few years our industry has faced a trust deficit on an unprecedented scale,” said Krishna. “Simplicity in how we communicate has been an effective tool for us in strengthening our relationships with our customers as well as attracting new ones. Banking need not be complicated and this recognition clearly shows that our efforts in creating simple and easy to understand messages have paid off.”
In 2011, the bank won five international awards for marketing and branding excellence. Among those it was named as “Asia’s Best Brand,” at the 2nd CMO Asia Awards for Excellence in Branding and Marketing. At the World Brand Congress 2011, Emirates NBD also established its place among leading brands such as LG, DHL Express, Star and many more, when it received “The Global Award for Brand Leadership in Banking and Financial Services” and it’s “Truth and Reality” campaign received “The Award for the Best Marketing Campaign of the Year.”
This latest recognition was the result of an online survey carried out by Siegel+Gale between August and September, 2011, of over 6,000 respondents in seven countries. More than 1,000 of those were based in the Middle East. The aim was to gather perceptions on simplicity and the impact industries and brands have on people’s lives in relation to simplicity.
