Ally: New Bank or Diet Pill for Women?
October 19, 2009
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKdIKP1arF0]
So GMAC decides to rebrand and move away from its association with General Motors and create a simple, straightforward online bank similar to ING Direct.
Great.
Their ad agency, BBH, creates hilarious commercials that couldn’t be more on point.
Perfect.
They name the new brand “Ally”, choose purple as the primary color, and go all minimalistic on us.
Wait, what?
Does GMAC not realize that their new brand identity is better suited for a diet pill or cleaning products targeted at women? That their minimilistic magazine ad designs miss very important concepts needed for an online bank called “trust” and “security”?
Rebranding a bank that lost nearly $700 million in Q1 2009 alone and is associated with a bankrupt automaker is a great idea. But at least come up with a better brand identity (besides the great tv commercials) that matches up with such an enormous undertaking and commendable new values.
When we rebranded to Grasshopper, it was for good reasons, too. “GotVMail” was hard to spell, hard to pronounce, and a little amateur looking, making it expensive to brand and preventing us from growing.
A rebrand should reposition a company for growth, give it new life, and enhance its position in the marketplace – not confuse its target audience.
What they got right:
- Simplified, streamlined brand
- Reduced number of banking products
- Fresh messaging
- Great TV commercials
What they could have done better:
- Better brand identity
- Better print ads
- Stronger, more trustworthy website
What do you think of the new Ally brand?
