Nobody ever invested because of an ad, so what’s going on?

The latest Nielsen numbers show that financial services lead in brand ad spending. We can understand a mortgage rate promotion for house buyers but image based advertising? We’ve all seen those nice fuzzy feeling ads that show how banks are helping people “make sense” of their money. Why are banks spending $34.5 billion on this kind of advertising? And what is it doing for them?

Do clichéd images of confused people generate confidence and trust in a bank? Simply reminding consumers of what they need from a bank doesn’t build meaningful relationships. At the least, consumers expect competitive rates and excellent customer-service.  Consumers already want to do better with their money. Instead, they need to hear how you can be doing better with their money and ultimately, why they would trust you with their money. Before spending money on look alike advertising, financial services firms should consider how they can build trust while differentiating themselves.

There are brand police everywhere. Even though this ad pokes fun at the obvious hypocrisy of Ally bank, there is something to say for being forthright and honest.  When your corporate claim is doing the right thing eventually you’re going to be outed so you might as well out yourself.