MBLM’s Report Finds PayPal, Fidelity and Chase are Top Three Most Intimate Financial Services Brands

MBLM, the Brand Intimacy Agency focused on strategy, design, creative and technology, announced today that the financial services industry ranked below average in creating and building intimate brand relationships. PayPal was the top most intimate brand in the industry, according to the agency’s extensive Brand Intimacy 2015 Report, and four out of the top 10 brands are retail banks.

Brand intimacy describes an essential relationship between a person and brand that transcends usage, purchase and loyalty. According to the report, intimate brands create enhanced business performance.

The remaining brands part of the top 10 are: Fidelity, Chase, Charles Schwab, Wells Fargo, Citi, GEICO, MetLife, American Express and Bank of America.

“Financial services brands generally suffer from mostly indistinguishable marketing,” stated Mario Natarelli, MBLM’s managing partner. “Companies in this category face the challenge that people want a relationship with their money more than the institutions managing it. Compounding the challenge, financial institutions now face more stringent regulations and skeptical consumers.”

Additional findings of the report include:

• Visa and MasterCard placed 11^th and 12^th, respectively
• Fidelity is the strongest brand in the category for those with an income of $100,000-$150,000 and also is the #1 brand for men
• Chase and Citi are relatively close competitors, with Chase having a slight edge, notably in relation to intensity of relationships customers have with the brand
• PayPal comes in a strong #1, suggesting consumers are looking for a relationship with a new kind of financial services brand. PayPal dominates across the strongest category archetype, enhancement, becoming better through the use of the brand—smarter, more capable and more connected

MBLM’s 2015 report contains one of the most comprehensive rankings of brands based on emotion, analyzing the responses of 6,000 consumers and 52,000 brand evaluations across nine industries in the U.S., Mexico and UAE. MBLM’s reports and interactive Brand Ranking Tool showcase the performance of almost 400 brands, revealing the characteristics and intensity of the consumer bonds.