Blog

Is small the new big? Triodos Bank thinks so with its brand of conscious capitalism

I received an email yesterday morning that began with an apology.

“Happy New Year,” the director of business development for a Scottsdale, Az investment bank, opened. “I apologize for the informal means of communication, but thought I’d reach out to you.”

He went on to blah, blah, blah about the guidance they offer in capital raises, debt/equity financing, recaps and M & As. He inadvertently commoditized his service by failing to cajole me with a good story. About how their company can make ME better. About a brand ideal that is bigger than their uninspired service offering.

And he said he was sorry for the whole shebang in his opening line. That Freudian slip was avoidable if he had just taken the time and care to understand what their service offering really does for people.

For him, and for all of you who are trapped in low resolution features & benefits marketing, I offer you Triodos Bank. Watch this short piece, “Small. The New Big,” and see how Triodos Bank empowers the individual customer to rise above their station in life and make a real difference one deposit at a time.

Thank you Roel Welsing, head of marketing at Triodos Bank, for responding to my article about the dying brand of green marketing with a brand story about a financial institution with a platform of sustainability to promote healthy longevity of your customers and your organization. Triodos, in my opinion, is an outstanding example of conscious capitalism at work.

Many other commoditized financial institutions can learn a thing or two from your brand ideal and its global impact.

I especially love the last line of your story: “Follow your heart. Use your head.” No apology necessary.