Francis Peene on bnp-paribas-fortis Rebranding Case
1. BNP Paribas Fortis : 1 year later
Case study: Rebranding of brands
Francis Peene
June 9, 2010
2. The difficult and uncertain period
2008 2009
Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May
27 28 4 5 20
Top meeting weekends
05/10: 1st agreement on take-
over by BNP Paribas and
dismantling Fortis
Uncertainty
•Fortis juridical arrests and appeals
•Turbulent shareholders meetings
Take-over by BNP Paribas is official
•BNP Paribas buys 74.93% of Fortis Bank Belgium and 16% of
BGL, in exchange for BNP Paribas shares
•Fortis Bank buys 25% + 1 share of AG Insurance (Fortis
Insurance Belgium), pays cash
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3. Who is BNP Paribas?
83 countries
202.300 employees
13 Mio. clients
Strong Ratings:
European Leader Standard & Poor’s (AA+)
and Fitch Rating (AA-)
Nominated by Global
Top 10 banks Finance magazine :
worldwide “1 of the safest banks in the
world”
Retail Banking
Asset MGT & Private Bk,
Corporate & Investment Bk
& Insurance
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4. The brands BNP Paribas and BNP Paribas Fortis
Origin of the brand BNP Paribas
Reassure Weak Strong
Seduce Strong Weak
Reputation • Capital Markets UK/US • Retail Frankrijk
• Private Banking / Asset • Retail Afrika
Management Europe • Corporate Banking
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5. The brands BNP Paribas and BNP Paribas Fortis
The brand BNP Paribas
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6. The brands BNP Paribas and BNP Paribas Fortis
Group’s Brand Architecture
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7. The brands BNP Paribas and BNP Paribas Fortis
One of the best known international banks in our retail markets
What are all the foreign banks and financial institutions you know of, even if only by
name? (14 key markets for BNP Paribas, mainly in Europe)
Number of countries in which the bank is mentioned spontaneously in the top 3
of foreign banks (by retail customers) …
1 …Deutsche Bank was mentioned 6 times
1 …BNP Paribas was mentioned 6 times
3 …Citibank was mentioned 5 times
3 …Société Générale was mentioned 5 times
5 …Barclays was mentioned 4 times
6 …HSBC was mentioned 3 times
6 …Raiffensen Bank was mentioned 3 times
8 …ING was mentioned 2 times
9 …Santander was mentioned once
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8. The brands BNP Paribas and BNP Paribas Fortis
BNP Paribas brand identity
Creativity Human/responsible
Values Ambition Anti-conformist Attitude
Commitment Optimistic/positive
Responsiveness Open-minded
Not herd instinct
The bank for a changing world
Born in Paris Committed
in 2000
Doesn’t talk like
Hybrid merchant bank other banks
Heritage + retail banking Behavior
A global company Global perspective
early in its history but sensitive to local
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9. The brands BNP Paribas and BNP Paribas Fortis
Market research, key in supporting choice for new brand name
2008 2009
Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May
5 8 30
Top meeting weekends
05/10: 1st agreement on take-
over by BNP Paribas and
dismantling Fortis
First feedback from clients Uncertainty
concerning the take-over by BNP •Fortis juridical arrests and appeals
Paribas •Turbulent shareholders meetings
Testing if hybrid brand works Take-over by BNP Paribas is official
for Belgium •BNP Paribas buys 74.93% of Fortis Bank Belgium
and 16% of BGL, in exchange for BNP Paribas
shares
•Fortis Bank buys 25% + 1 share of AG Insurance
Decision new brand name
(Fortis Insurance Belgium), pays cash
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10. The brands BNP Paribas and BNP Paribas Fortis
Who is BNP Paribas Fortis?
± 30% Market Share 17.300 employees
Shareholders: Strong credit ratings:
BNP Paribas (74,93%) Standard & Poor’s (AA)
Belgian State (25%) Fitch Rating (AA-)
Other (0,07%) Moody’s (A1)
3,6 Mio. Retail clients Client Trust
Challenge to regain client trust
Market positions in Belgium:
n°1 deposits
n°1 consumer credits
Leader in Private Banking
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11. The brands BNP Paribas and BNP Paribas Fortis
Introduction of the brand BNP Paribas Fortis
Weakness Crisis Foreign Bank
1st bank in Belgium
Strength Solidity
(bank-insurance)
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12. Introduction of the brand BNP Paribas Fortis
A hybrid brand with
the best of :
+
=
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13. The brands BNP Paribas and BNP Paribas Fortis
Testing if hybrid brand works for Belgium
The ‘BNP Paribas’ brand obtains higher ratings than ‘Fortis bank’ on ‘A bank
offering trust’ and ‘can survive the financial crisis’ and ‘A bank for everyone’. The
co-branding also scores better than Fortis Bank on the last two elements.
A B C
Fortis Bank BNP Paribas (Fortis) (BNP Paribas)
(n=300) (n=300) (n=401)
Can survive the financial
20 2.3 29 A 2.7 26 A 2.6
crisis
A bank offering
21 2.5 27 2.8 22 2.6
perspectives
A bank offering trust 24 2.5 32 A 2.8 29 2.6
Handles in the interest of
26 2.6 30 2.8 26 2.7
its customers
No unnecessary risks to 2.1 2.5
14 16 17 2.3
gain more profit
A bank for everyone 44 3.2 52 3.4 52 3.4
A A
A bank for prosperous
27 2.8 25 2.8 27 2.8
citizens
A humane bank 32 2.8 31 2.9 31 2.9
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Base: Total rep sample (n=1001) Green: significant difference (95% CL); White: directional difference (90% CL) in % top 2
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17. Evolution of the communication
The Private Bank universe
Private
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18. Evolution of the communication
First Results: Spontaneous use of brand name
100%
80%
61% 58% 64%
60%
40%
18%
19% 19%
20%
20% 24%
17%
0%
Totaal Klant Geen klant
Study conducted October 2009
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19. We asked our customers what they expect from an ideal bank
The ideal bank for our clients
Competent staff, knowing Transparent products
their products very well Knowing what you get
Not commercially pushy, not Safe and guaranteed
only going for bonuses Core values: Clearly
-Transparency knowing/understanding the
Topmanagement honest and risks
truly engaged - Honesty
- No nonsense New products, innovations
Client service,
no hard-selling
- Competence
- Acting
A person of confidence,
- Real client- and
Stability of the staff Open, informative,
service oriented transparent and respectful
Active, with initiative communication
(not only talking)
Honest and competent Checked and advised by
topmanagement, long term external, neutral finance Controlled by the state,
thinking specialists with guarantees
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20. We asked our employees what they expect from an ideal bank
The ideal bank for our employees
A bank that listens to his Simple products, not too
customers complex
Core values:
A bank wanting to build long Transparent on conditions
term relationships with his and risks
customers -Real client and
service oriented
Client service,
no hard-selling
-Transparancy
-Honesty
Good advise and offering -Ethical/social Open, informative,
solutions transparent and respectful
communication
Putting the interest of the
clients before the interest of
the bank
Be there for the client and be
accessible (banking at a Good price/quality
Ethical and social
distance, flexible opening hours)
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22. Evolution of the communication
1ste External BNP Paribas Fortis campaign: “1 miljard euro”
1ste big campaign was not a corporate campaign,
but a proof of our promise to be a partner
Anticipates on the Credit Crunch
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