Becky Saeger had to reinvent the Charles Schwab brand in order to ward off an onslaught of discount shops, high end competitors and the effects of the early 2000s market downturn. Her presentation outlined how she went about re-building one of the strongest brands in America.
The brand was founded as juxtaposition to the Wall Street brokerage firm and achieved great success through the 70s, 80s and 90s. However, by the time the new millennium rolled around, the perception of the industry was tanking due to corporate scandals and there was very little innovation in the category. The consumer did not perceive any differentiation among the key brands in the space. As Schwab extended beyond its core individual investor focus and added more incremental fees and complex services, the brand suffered and this was reflected in the stock price and consumer attrition.
In July 2004, Charles Schwab came back as CEO. The two primary objectives were to refocus the business and commit themselves to their clients. They dramatically cut programs and sold companies that did not serve the core individual investor. This enabled the company to cut $375M in costs in 1 year.
With respect to Marketing, Schwab had to align their agencies and key partners around the brand, efficient execution and accountability of marketing. The marketing department had to prove to the rest of the company, via ROI measurement tools, that marketing is a place to invest vs. cut expenses.
Becky showed us dozens of ad clips among the major players and it was clear that there was no differentiation.
Research revealed that they should focus on the core of their brand vs. “chasing the next shiny object”. The founder of the company, Charles Schwab, represented several positive attributes: Trust, Approachability, etc.
So the group came up with a new campaign, “Talk to Chuck”. After 3 months in test market, they found that they were moving the needle on every key attribute. It is an emotional and empathetic platform that yields great flexibility in its application across various consumer touch points.
It led to a breakthrough broadcast advertising campaign, internal training documents that are focused on empathetic interaction with individual investors.
Brand scores and sales are up dramatically behind the new campaign. However, Becky’s team continues to research consumer insights and hone their messaging. She showed us five commercials, some of them new. Some of them were so reflective of the consumer situation that it sounded like something I would say to my wife. I bet they pulled the copy straight from consumers.
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