What’s trending on social media?
By Johann van Zyl
The biggest news this month has to be the FNB rebrand. Love it or hate it, it certainly has divided social media, and the platforms are abuzz!
It all started weeks ago, with the bank itself teasing customers saying “changes were imminent” and would follow. FNB CEO, Jacques Celliers took to the stage not only to reveal the new logo but a strategic shift in direction for the bank - centred around advising its customers. In addition to this, a free fraud insurance product (Money Protect) for all of its customers, as well as a number of payment solutions from the bank aimed at simplifying customers’ lives. In Celliers own words, the “reveal was a journey of change and innovation”.
To soften the rebrand blow, FNB could have used Influencer Marketing to communicate the rebrand “tease”. Social media managers are responsible for implementing a consistent brand voice and delivering updates on product launches and feature releases across social networks. A successful influencer marketing strategy could have gone a long way to help FNB achieve their core objectives.
If you somehow missed it, here’s a summary:
- FNB is the bank that now has advice at the forefront. It is about giving customers advice about their finances, their family’s finances or the finances of their business. To achieve this, FNB has said it will be investing heavily to increase the number of its advisors to 5 000 over the next five years.
- The big reveal was the evolution/redesign of the logo. What we can see is that the design is digitally centred, still representing the acacia tree, but a much more digital version of it. The logo has also been flattened and simplified, again keeping with the trends we’ve seen in the tech space.People have had a lot to say, some brought humour into it, and some were not impressed at all:
- The bank finally took the time to ensure their website and app have some resemblance of belonging to the same brand. The rebranding should bring parity too.
- From a customer’s perspective, the biggest win came in the form of additional and enhanced payment options. These include:
- Instant Payments – A first-to-market instant payment solution allowing customers to digitally pay anyone via the FNB App using just a card number. The biggest benefit is that the recipient gets the money immediately irrespective of their bank.
- PayMe – This allows you to request a payment from any FNB Banked cell phone number. The payer can follow the prompts, and make an immediate payment request.
- ChatPay – Similar to the PayMe function, this allows a person to pay or request payment from any FNB customer using the FNB App’s chat function (no need to have the account number).
- Bill Payments – While we don’t like bills, they have to be paid, and with this, it is quick and easy to use. Any EasyPay or Pay@ bills such as medical bills, municipal rates, etc.
- Virtual Card – the creation of a Global Virtual Card, is simple to add to a third-party digital wallet such as Apple Pay, or Google Wallet, and can be used to make payments safely and securely.
- Speedee App – Businesses can now receive contactless payments easily and safely on their android smart devices. This is a great solution for the smaller businesses and service industry as there is no need for a separate POS device.
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When it comes to change, there will always be a divide. What are your thoughts? Are you getting used to it, don’t care about it, or are just excited about the new offerings?
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Johann van Zyl
Johann is currently a Director at Nfinity Influencer Division, and channels include theSalt, Webfluential, EchoCast, theIntern-ship and Nfluential. Johann spent 15 years in Brand Marketing as Head of Marketing: Prestige Brands as well as Head of Trade Marketing at Pernod Ricard South Africa.
