by Alicia Tan


Creativity is needed everywhere. It is pervasive and is highly emphasized in most lines of work. Now here’s the burning question, “Is there a need for creativity in the finance industry?” After all, when the word ‘finance’ is mentioned, you visualize a somewhat bespectacled man with a black leather briefcase and a PDA to organize his messages.

Not one bit creatively-inclined looking.

Stereotyping Creativity

But that is where we stereotype and our notions become misconceived. Some people associate creative designs with art. Creativity is supposedly ‘artsy fartsy’ or ‘avant garde’, meant only for a certain group of people who are artistically apt.

Let’s get this straight: Design, or creativity for that matter, is not art.

Creativity can be simply an unusual idea inspired from a mundane source. It doesn’t have to be dramatically splashed on a canvas but it is definitely essential in every line of work in this day and age. Creativity is what sets apart the good from the great and the norms from the quirky.

With clients becoming more intelligent and discerning these days, what can finance companies offer them which differentiates them from their competitors?

This is when creativity comes into play.

"In this (competitive) environment, the winners will be companies that can turn the challenges into opportunities to build stronger and more enduring customer relationships; sharpen process efficiency (and) unlock talent and creativity."

- PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)

Banks Showing Impressive Creative Efforts

The United Bank of Switzerland (UBS) recently opened a training centre in Singapore to groom 5,000 wealth managers. The campus is a research and innovation centre for the wealth management areas such as philanthropy. This is a clear example of how a bank needs to up their standards and the need for creativity even when it comes to dealing with client relationships. Competition is rife when all banks can offer similar or even better perks or interest rates to their clients, but what sets them apart is thinking up something different, working with their sales and marketing team to think of a product package which is ‘out of the box’ that reaches out to their target customers and making themselves known for doing so.

More public banks such as United Overseas Bank (UOB), Citibank, and Standard Charted are known for their creative advertising strategizing to reach out to their customers.

UOB has strongly campaigned for their black 'lady’s card’ — UOB Lady’s Card and UOB Lady’s Platinum Card, essentially a ladies' credit card which includes a plentiful amount of privileges appealing to women. This package offers women’s wellness and beauty privileges. This marketing strategy requires the study of women psyche, but of equal importance, it requires creativity to brand a package which is unique and caters to a niche target group of people.

The Power of Advertising

Advertising is a channel that shows the importance of creativity in maintaining a competitive edge amongst banks - the artery of marketing.

Each day, you see splashes of ads on newspapers from various banks, highlighting their new loyalty programs and benefits, with each bank trying to outdo one another. Citibank spent more than $300 million last year on advertising to focus more on consumer relations, using unique humor and charm to bring across their message.

Creativity Behind Closed Doors

Advertising may be an obvious front in which creativity is used by the finance industry, but how about the more oblivious forms of creativity that people may overlook? Let’s take an accounting or investment firm, you would think that creativity is non-existent, but this is untrue. Fundamentals like the strategies of writing an email, typography, spreadsheet layout, designing a professional yet memorable presentation, these all require a certain degree of creativity.

"Chase has been updating its existing branches and replacing the navy-and-red color scheme with the new, bright blue logo and innovative branch layout. It also has opened 74 new Tri-state branches in the last three years and extended its hours at most locations. In all, Chase has made substantial investments in the new branches, new ATMs and the refurbishment to support its continued commitment to being the best and most convenient bank in the Tri-state.

"We have doubled our presence over the last couple of years and just made New York City's most convenient bank even better and brighter," said Charlie Scharf, head of Retail Financial Services for Chase. "Now that our branches are under one computer system and brand, we can fully serve our customers both where they live and work.""

- from an excerpt of JPMorgan Chase's press release on 5 April 07, "Chase Gives New York Its Due: A New Blue Hue"

Scratching beneath the surface to tackle consumer emotions and behaviors, extensive research can be done to find out about the target clients and such, but what matters is the execution. How creative is it that your prospective clients will remember you apart from the thousands of firms out there? Are you able to offer them something so out-of-the-ordinary they would sign the contract without any hesitation?

What about other corporate industries like trade in the stock and foreign exchange market. It is uncommon to practice creative thinking whilst trading hence it could be a winning tactic to beat the next person if you can think of strategies that others are not able to conceive. Trading creatively could put you a step ahead of your peers who simple follow market trends.

Creativity Needed for that Extra Edge

Till today, some people might have a stereotypical notion towards finance industries: that creativity is not significantly needed nor used. However in retrospect, it is actually practised quite commonly by most who wish to differentiate themselves in order to gain a stronghold in the industry.

Whichever industry. All industries.




Alicia Tan
Writer
TAXI Design Network




..........................................................................................................

		Sugar Power is the curator of Lint Museum and has kindly contributed the above banner. Blood red and Tuberose both make her swoon. Going around the industry, as an illustrator for a long time, she has a vast experience of creating art for the corporate sector, advertising agencies, and, more recently, the film industry... Click on picture to read more about Sugar Power
Creative Switzerland Contributor

..........................................................................................................


© 2003- 2008 by TAXI Design Network. All rights reserved.