Novo Banco, the new BES, has started to have its old signage and in-branch publicity changed.
Today’s announcement released by Novo Banco stated that the change of identity will be progressive as there are 600 branches to be closed or re-branded.
The new Novo Banco boss, Eduardo Stock da Cunha, and his team want this name change to be done in parallel with other brand communication in the media and in-branch.
"In a significant change of scene and context it was necessary to develop a new brand, with new values and attributes, a new positioning and a new identity," read the statement which did not suggest how many branches are to be closed, the cost of the exercise and the financial implications should a new owner wish to change Novo Banco back to BES or assimilate the branches into an existing banking network.
The identity change and the adoption of the new logo which keeps the green colour is represented by a green butterfly. A widespread media campaign is being launched on radio, in print, on websites and in branches.
The ditching of the old, recognised, valuable and historic BES brand has been ordered for BES branches in all foreign markets where BES will be changed to Novo Banco with its butterfly, "beginning with Spain as early as next week."
The Novo Banco name was thought up over a weekend, after BES crashed, and the ‘good bank’ was created from the wreckage.
The guff issued by Novo Banco’s marketing team today includes ‘butterfly wings symbolising transformation and a capacity for renewal.’
Top brand expert Pedro Albuquerque of Albuquerque Atelier Designers says the new brand is unnecessary as notwithstanding toxic assets and corruption, the BES brand was not a toxic asset, quite the contrary, and it could easily haver risen above the Espirito Santo family which oversaw the bank's demise.
Ricardo Salgado is the toxic asset, not the valuable brand name which has taken generations to build up.
Albuquerque also points out that a new owner may well want to do something other than append a butterfly to what underneath is still BES.
To carry out this rebranding properly with new interiors, new fascias, new plastic cards, new paperwork, new digital media and new communications among other "touch points" will cost a fortune.
The BES brand will have had a value before the bank's collapse. It still has a value now, albeit it lower but still significant.
Whether this will be reflected in the Novo Banco accounts remains to be seen but seems certain is that little expert marketing advice brand analysis or brand valuation has been sought or commissioned.
