Brand Metrics: Consumer Awareness of and Attitudes towards Brands in UK Financial Services

Table of Contents

0.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Branding influences choice of financial services provider for two out of every three consumers
• Visa, Lloyds TSB, Barclaycard, the AA and Halifax are the most well-recognised brands overall
• … although the results vary when analysed by gender, age group and annual household income
• More recently-established brands score highly for modernity and ability to excite
• … while more traditional names score highly for consumer perceptions of trustworthiness
• … albeit the brands of on-line aggregators are associated closely with value for money
• Trustworthiness and commitment to ethical or socially responsible values are closely correlated
• Among brands created since 1998, MORETH>N possesses the greatest implied effectiveness
• Across all brands, Direct Line achieves the highest score for reported effectiveness in practice
• … and a number of other brands appear to be significantly more effective in practice than in theory
• The effectiveness of the MINT brand is skewed sharply towards females and younger customers
• Barclays has made progress in reversing aspects of its brand that were formerly weak
• The most effective brands tend to possess a well-balanced set of attributes
• … while others are undone by poor consumer perception in certain areas
• … and others still face a more general challenge to transform their image in the eyes of cons
• The brands of the leading on-line aggregators of financial services are increasingly effective
• Brands are created through a range of variables in addition to advertising
• … which signifies that multiple steps may be required in order to improve brand effectiveness

1.0 INTRODUCTION

• Research rationale
• Five key reasons underpin the production of the new Brand Metrics research
• Brand is a significant factor in choice of financial provider for two in every three consumers
• What are the characteristics of an effective financial services brand?
• Finaccord has identified nine criteria that combine to determine brand effectiveness
• Research sample
• Research mechanics
• Nine groups of consumers, averaging over 500 in size, have each evaluated ten brands
• … with an array of new brands having been included in the latest research program
• Research structure
• Analytical differences
• Finaccord
• Other UK consumer research publications
• UK affinity and partnership marketing publications
• IPT / Tpoll

2.0 BRAND RANKINGS

• Introduction
• Nine criteria are used to determine the effectiveness of financial brands
• … with positive average scores recorded for each other than ability to excite
• Trustworthiness and ability to offer value for money are deemed most important by consumers
• Awareness
• Overall sample
• Visa is the brand with the highest level of consumer awareness in the UK
• … with other credit card marques and major high street banks also scoring highly
• Among brands created in the last decade, MORETH>N is now the most widely recognised
• Analysis of results by gender
• Among female respondents, Lloyds TSB is the brand achieving the highest recognition rate
• … although comparethemarket.com is the brand with the greatest outright female bias
• Analysis of results by age group
• Only Barclaycard and Lloyds TSB feature in the top five among respondents in both age groups
• comparethemarket.com, MINT and Privilege are all heavily oriented to younger consumers
• Analysis of results by annual household income
• Among respondents with a lower annual household income, Halifax manages the highest score
• Most brands achieve stronger recognition among those with higher annual household income
• Strength
• Visa and MasterCard occupy the top two positions in terms of consumer perception of strength
• Northern Rock' s difficulties have resulted in extremely negative perception of its brand
• Accessibility
• In terms of consumer perception of accessibility, the AA achieves the strongest score
• Relative to its awareness rating, comparethemarket.com achieves a high score for accessibility
• Modernity
• Virgin Money and Sheilas' Wheels are viewed by consumers as the most modern brands
• … with Direct Line rated as the most modern among brands with at least a decade of longevity
• There is no apparent correlation between brand modernity and overall awareness
• Ability to excite
• Most financial services brands are perceived by consumers as being either quite or very dull
• … although Sheilas' Wheels is the brand arousing the most excitement among consumers
• Brands that are perceived to be modern are also those most likely to excite consumers
• Trustworthiness
• The AA and the RAC are identifiable as the most trusted financial brands in the UK
• … with MasterCard, Nationwide and the Co-operative Bank also scoring highly for this factor
• Brands associated with lending products must work harder to earn the trust of consumers
• Value for money
• The Nationwide brand comprehensively outflanks its high street banking rivals for this factor
• … and it is significant that the brands of on-line aggregators occupy four of the top ten positions
• Brands that are closely associated with credit cards face particular difficulties in this arena
• Combining trust with the perception of offering value for money is a key branding objective
• Commitment to ethical or socially responsible values
• The Co-operative Bank remains closely associated with ethical and socially responsible values
• Several other high street banking brands score more highly than might have been anticipated
• Trustworthiness and perceived commitment to ethical or socially responsible concerns are linked
• Likeability
• Likeability appears largely to be an amalgam of the other factors considered
• … which means that brands with a well-balanced set of attributes emerge as the most liked
• Implied brand effectiveness
• Implied effectiveness is highest for the AA, Nationwide, RAC, Direct Line and Visa brands
• … with MORETH>N and Confused.com scoring most highly among recently established brands
• Reported brand effectiveness
• Overall sample
• In terms of its reported effectiveness, Direct Line beats its rivals into pole position
• The moneysupermarket.com brand is far more effective in practice than in theory
• … while the Abbey brand is the least effective in practice relative to its theoretical strength
• Analysis of results by gender
• Four brands rank among the top five by reported effectiveness among both males and females
• The MINT brand generates a particularly high score for reported effectiveness among females
• Analysis of results by age group
• The Nationwide brand achieves the highest reported effectiveness among the over-45 group
• MoneyExpert and moneysupermarket.com are effective at different ends of the age spectrum
• Analysis of results by annual household income
• Four brands feature within the top five for both of the annual household income groups
• The First Direct brand is particularly effective in the eyes of those earning in excess of £25,000

3.0 TIME SERIES COMPARISONS

• Introduction
• Selected comparisons can be made between the latest results and those from the 2006 survey
• A handful of brands have experienced a substantial increase in their overall recognition rate
• … with a number of others identifiable as having improved significantly their imp. effectiveness

4.0 BRAND PROFILES

• Introduction
• 4.1 AA
• 4.2 Abbey
• 4.3 Admiral
• 4.4 AEGON
• 4.5 AIG
• 4.6 Alliance & Leicester
• 4.7 Allianz
• 4.8 American Express
• 4.9 AWD Moneyextra
• 4.10 AXA
• 4.11 AXA PPP
• 4.12 AXA Sun Life
• 4.13 Bank of Scotland
• 4.14 Barclaycard
• 4.15 Barclays
• 4.16 Beneficial Finance
• 4.17 Black Horse
• 4.18 Bradford & Bingley
• 4.19 Britannia
• 4.20 BUPA
• 4.21 C&G
• 4.22 Cahoot
• 4.23 Capital One
• 4.24 Churchill
• 4.25 CIS Co-operative Insurance
• 4.26 Citi
• 4.27 CitiFinancial
• 4.28 Clerical Medical
• 4.29 Clydesdale Bank
• 4.30 Co-operative Bank
• 4.31 comparethemarket.com
• 4.32 Confused.com
• 4.33 Cornhill Direct
• 4.34 Diners Club
• 4.35 Direct Line
• 4.36 Egg
• 4.37 Endsleigh
• 4.38 engage Mutual Assurance
• 4.39 esure.com
• 4.40 First Alternative
• 4.41 First Direct
• 4.42 FIRSTPLUS
• 4.43 Fool.co.uk
• 4.44 Friends Provident
• 4.45 GE Money
• 4.46 Goldfish
• 4.47 Green Flag
• 4.48 Halifax
• 4.49 Hastings Direct
• 4.50 Hiscox
• 4.51 Homeserve
• 4.52 HSBC
• 4.53 ING Direct
• 4.54 Intelligent Finance
• 4.55 Legal & General
• 4.56 Lloyds TSB
• 4.57 LV =
• 4.58 MasterCard
• 4.59 MBNA
• 4.60 MINT
• 4.61 Moneyback Bank
• 4.62 MoneyExpert
• 4.63 moneysupermarket.com
• 4.64 MORETH>N
• 4.65 Nationwide
• 4.66 NatWest
• 4.67 NFU Mutual
• 4.68 Northern Rock
• 4.69 Norwich Union
• 4.70 ns&i
• 4.71 Privilege
• 4.72 Prudential
• 4.73 PruHealth
• 4.74 RAC
• 4.75 RBS
• 4.76 Royal London
• 4.77 Saga
• 4.78 Scottish Life
• 4.79 Scottish Widows
• 4.80 Sheilas' Wheels
• 4.81 Skandia
• 4.82 smile
• 4.83 Standard Life
• 4.84 swiftcover.com
• 4.85 uSwitch.com
• 4.86 Virgin Money
• 4.87 Visa
• 4.88 Wesleyan
• 4.89 Yorkshire Bank
• 4.90 Zurich

GRAPHICS / TABLES

• Importance of brand to consumers in choice of financial services provider
• Key attributes for a successful brand in financial services
• Sample breakdown by age group, household income band and geographical location
• Composition of the nine brand groupings
• Comparison of aggregate strength of financial services brands for key brand effectiveness factors
• Importance to consumers of key brand effectiveness factors when choosing a financial services brand
• Ranking of brands by overall consumer awareness
• Ranking of brands by overall consumer awareness (continued)
• Ranking of brands by overall consumer awareness among male respondents
• Ranking of brands by overall consumer awareness among male respondents (continued)
• Ranking of brands by overall consumer awareness among female respondents
• Ranking of brands by overall consumer awareness among female respondents (continued)
• Comparison of overall consumer awareness among male and female respondents
• Ranking of brands by overall consumer awareness among younger respondents
• Ranking of brands by overall consumer awareness among younger respondents (continued)
• Ranking of brands by overall consumer awareness among older respondents
• Ranking of brands by overall consumer awareness among older respondents (continued)
• Comparison of overall consumer awareness among younger and older respondents
• Ranking of brands by overall consumer awareness among respondents with a lower household income
• Ranking of brands by overall consumer awareness among respondents with a lower household income (cont.)
• Ranking of brands by overall consumer awareness among respondents with a higher household income
• Ranking of brands by overall consumer awareness among respondents with a higher household income (cont.)
• Comparison of overall consumer awareness among resps. with higher and lower annual household incomes
• Ranking of brands by consumer perception of strength
• Ranking of brands by consumer perception of strength (continued)
• Correlation between overall consumer awareness and consumer perception of strength
• Ranking of brands by consumer perception of accessibility
• Ranking of brands by consumer perception of accessibility (continued)
• Correlation between overall consumer awareness and consumer perception of accessibility
• Ranking of brands by consumer perception of modernity
• Ranking of brands by consumer perception of modernity (continued)
• Correlation between overall consumer awareness and consumer perception of modernity
• Ranking of brands by consumer perception of ability to excite
• Ranking of brands by consumer perception of ability to excite (continued)
• Correlation between consumer perception of modernity and consumer perception of ability to excite
• Ranking of brands by consumer perception of trustworthiness
• Ranking of brands by consumer perception of trustworthiness (continued)
• Correlation between overall consumer awareness and consumer perception of trustworthiness
• Ranking of brands by consumer perception of value for money
• Ranking of brands by consumer perception of value for money (continued)
• Correlation between consumer perception of trustworthiness and consumer perception of value for money
• Ranking of brands by consumer perception of commitment to ethical or socially responsible values
• Ranking of brands by consumer perception of commitment to ethical or socially responsible values (continued)
• Correlation between cons. perc. of trust. and cons. perc. of commitment to ethical or socially resp. values
• Ranking of brands by consumer perception of likeability
• Ranking of brands by consumer perception of likeability (continued)
• Ranking of brands by implied brand effectiveness
• Ranking of brands by implied brand effectiveness (continued)
• Ranking of brands by reported effectiveness among all respondents
• Ranking of brands by reported effectiveness among all respondents (continued)
• Comparison of brand rankings for implied effectiveness and reported effectiveness
• Ranking of brands by reported effectiveness among male respondents
• Ranking of brands by reported effectiveness among male respondents (continued)
• Ranking of brands by reported effectiveness among female respondents
• Ranking of brands by reported effectiveness among female respondents (continued)
• Comparison of reported effectiveness among male and female respondents
• Ranking of brands by reported effectiveness among younger respondents
• Ranking of brands by reported effectiveness among younger respondents (continued)
• Ranking of brands by reported effectiveness among older respondents
• Ranking of brands by reported effectiveness among older respondents (continued)
• Comparison of reported effectiveness among younger and older respondents
• Ranking of brands by reported effectiveness among respondents with a lower household income
• Ranking of brands by reported effectiveness among respondents with a lower household income (continued)
• Ranking of brands by reported effectiveness among respondents with a higher household income
• Ranking of brands by reported effectiveness among respondents with a higher household income (continued)
• Comparison of reported effectiveness among respondents with higher and lower annual household incomes
• Time series comparison of scores for overall consumer awareness
• Time series comparison of scores for overall consumer awareness (continued)
• Time series comparison of scores for consumer perception of strength
• Time series comparison of scores for consumer perception of accessibility
• Time series comparison of scores for consumer perception of modernity
• Time series comparison of scores for consumer perception of ability to excite
• Time series comparison of scores for consumer perception of trustworthiness
• Time series comparison of scores for consumer perception of ability to offer value for money
• Time series comparison of scores for cons. perception of commitment to ethical or socially responsible values
• Time series comparison of scores for consumer perception of likeability
• Time series comparison of scores for implied brand effectiveness
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the AA brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Abbey brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Admiral brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the AEGON brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the AIG brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Alliance & Leicester brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Allianz brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the American Express brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the AWD Moneyextra brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the AXA brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the AXA PPP brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the AXA Sun Life brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Bank of Scotland brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Barclaycard brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Barclays brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Beneficial Finance brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Black Horse brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Bradford & Bingley brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Britannia brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the BUPA brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the C&G brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Cahoot brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Capital One brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Churchill brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the CIS Co-operative Insurance brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Citi brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the CitiFinancial brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Clerical Medical brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Clydesdale Bank brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Co-operative Bank brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the comparethemarket.com brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Confused.com brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Cornhill Direct brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Diners Club brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Direct Line brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Egg brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Endsleigh brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the engage Mutual Assurance brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the esure.com brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the First Alternative brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the First Direct brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the FIRSTPLUS brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Fool.co.uk brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Friends Provident brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the GE Money brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Goldfish brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Green Flag brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Halifax brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Hastings Direct brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Hiscox brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Homeserve brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the HSBC brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the ING Direct brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Intelligent Finance brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Legal & General brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Lloyds TSB brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the LV = brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the MasterCard brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the MBNA brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the MINT brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Moneyback Bank brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the MoneyExpert brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the moneysupermarket.com brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the MORETH>N brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Nationwide brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the NatWest brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the NFU Mutual brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Northern Rock brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Norwich Union brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the ns&i brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Privilege brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Prudential brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the PruHealth brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the RAC brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the RBS brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Royal London brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Saga brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Scottish Life brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Scottish Widows brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Sheilas' Wheels brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Skandia brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the smile brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Standard Life brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the swiftcover.com brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the uSwitch.com brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Virgin Money brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Visa brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Wesleyan brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Yorkshire Bank brand
• Summary of consumer awareness of and attitudes towards the Zurich brand