As part of our Finance & Utilities Focus, we ask, in the age of ‘nowhereness,’ where the concept of community can mean little, what brand messages building societies are relying on to win over savers and borrowers.
Since the 18th century, UK building societies have been roundly recognized as pillars of trust and community in what is an often untrusted financial landscape. Standing apart from the major high street banking brands, building societies have long offered a friendlier, more personal service deeply rooted in local community and mutuality.
But as younger consumers demand increasingly digital experiences that aren’t always rooted in location, real-world geographies or face-to-face interactions, the question of how the humble building society markets its products and services is becoming increasingly complex. Most Brits of a certain generation are familiar with their local building society – as a boy, mine was the Derbyshire – and they understand how societies differ from the big bank that …