Okay, GMAC (General Motors Acceptance Corporation) hasn’t been wholly owned by General Motors for years, so I understand that the headline is a little bit misleading. But when you have a brand, your audience’s perception is a big part of that equation. And when GM sold their ownership share of the financial arm in 2006, there was no name change. By keeping “General Motors” in their name, it stands to reason that people would get confused. And until recently, GMAC probably benefited from having that affiliation. But no more…
Since GM went belly-up – and let’s not forget the recent troubles banks are having – GMAC took a strategic move, and re-positioned their brand. I know I am a little bit biased, but good for them for putting those TARP funds to good use.
During this banking crisis, GMAC made a decision to become a “trusted partner” with their customers. They drew a line in the sand, and are making the lofty claim that they are “a bank that will always be open, accountable, and honest.” Yes, honest!
It is certainly refreshing to hear a bank make these kinds of promises. Ally has already launched a very fun marketing campaign that very clearly states they won’t “hide behind fine print” or “hold out” on you because “it’s the right thing to do.”
There is nothing wrong with setting the bar high. And I applaud Ally for having the courage to actually do right by their customers. If they can follow through with meeting their brand promise then they have an opportunity to really stand out in the banking brand landscape. After doing an unscientific brand survey on twitter, response to the service and new brand position has been favorable, especially when it comes to their promise about rates.
There have been some bumps in the road too, as seen on customer Ryan Finnie’s blog, where a rate switch caused him to question the brand by using their very own advertising. Or on the Suns Financial Diary blog, where their user experience with signing up for an account didn’t quite pan out to the friendly partnership they had hoped.
But regardless of these bumps, there is definitely something encouraging in both of these examples. Ally bank contacted each, and listened, if not to resolve the problem, but to help make all their customers’ banking experience better. And to me, that is definitely not banking as usual. The bank brand is still young, it will be interesting to see how they carry the brand forward.