Rebranding Wall Street Part Two

Rebranding Wall Street Part 2

In my last post I talked about the need for Wall Street firms to rebrand themselves and what they had to do to internally to begin the process. Compared to the suggestions that I made for that part, the external changes are going to be a cakewalk.

So, here are my thoughts on what Wall Street firms can do in an external rebranding effort.

Step One: When Your Executives Give Interviews, Hire Some PR People To Prevent The Following

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Goldman Sachs Does God's Work
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Seriously, what were the Goldman Sachs communications people thinking?  It doesn't matter if the comments were taken out of the context, which they were in this case. (Read the full interview here.)

Of course, Blankfein did not do everything wrong.  In explaining the purpose of an investment bank he states the following, "We help companies to grow by helping them to raise capital. Companies that grow create wealth. This, in turn, allows people to have jobs that create more growth and more wealth. It’s a virtuous cycle."

It's okay to speak with candor, but you have to be careful.  In the end, people are not going to hear that investment banks grow the economy.  They are going to hear that the execs think they are doing "God's work" and they will assume the worst about the people at the helm of the economy.

Step Two: Make (New) Ads

Yup, that's right they need to make new ads, or ads for the first time.  Ads that say, "We help companies to grow by helping them to raise capital. Companies that grow create wealth. This, in turn, allows people to have jobs that create more growth and more wealth."

Although, I wonder about the word "wealth."  Seeing that most Americans lack wealth, it might be good to use a word like "opportunity."  While Bank of America is currently trying to make themselves "The Bank of Opportunity," it's a good word and there are plenty of other synonyms that can be used to convey the same notion.

Step Three: The Big Media Buy

A big media buy is not about getting more clients or growing the business.  This is purely about defining the term "investment bank" to the American public, which is a great opportunity.  Why?  Because, in reality, there is not a definition outside a finance class that a person takes in college.  This economic meltdown is making the average citizen curious; thus, most of them turn on their televisions or their computers to figure out who these investment bankers really are in relation to their own lives.  Right now, a big media buy, can steer the opinions of a larger group of people than any other period in history (in regards to the idea of an investment bank).

As I said in the first post on rebranding Wall Street, the internal branding efforts are going to be more difficult.  The external portion is really as easy I just described.  Obviously, each communication strategy will need the careful handling of professionals, but now is the time to act.