Branding in the Retail Banking Industry in Finland - How to attract and retain young consumers

摘要

AbstractResearch objectives – The financial industry has gone through serious turmoilworldwide during the recent years and in Finland the formerly national and regulatedindustry has witnessed the entrance of international players through mergers andacquisitions. The increased competition has required new ways of building competitiveadvantage, and the objectives of this thesis is to study how branding is used and whatpotential it could have in building competitive advantage, concentrating on youngconsumers and how branding could be used to attract, commit, and build brandrelationships with them.Research Method – The empirical research consists of qualitative and quantitativemethods. The qualitative part of the research is conducted through case study, whichexplores the three largest banks operating in Finland, Nordea, Sampo Bank, and OPPohjolaGroup. The quantitative part of the research is established through a survey,which explores the perception generation Y consumers have of the retail bank brandsoperating in Finland.Main Findings – The main findings indicate that branding is not taken advantage ofvery efficiently to attract and commit young consumers. The three banks under studyoffer young consumers similar benefits, which are based on direct functional benefits,mainly in the form of having the basic daily services free of charge. The youngconsumers have a positive image of the banks, and consider to be loyal customers, butshow lack of interest towards the banks and see them mainly as a necessary tool fortaking care of their daily banking, having as little personal contact with them aspossible. Their loyalty is based mainly on the lack of benefits for changing of theirbank, mainly due to the very similar benefits other banks have to offer.Keywords Branding, retail bank, generation Y consumers, marketing,