The banking industry's collective image has taken some hits as of late. The credit crunch has dealt it a tough hand, but the truth is that customer loyalty was dipping even before the crisis got underway. 

The J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Retail Banking Satisfaction Study found that just 35 percent of customers are highly committed to their banks. This compares with 37 percent in 2008 and 41 percent in 2007. While we can't blame the credit crisis alone, it's fair to say that recent events have not helped. As the numbers decline, you end up with more customers willing to switch banks.   

Some banks are bent on repairing their reputations with new image campaigns. The New York Times notes that several institutions have launched new campaigns, and the collective theme seems to be "Can't we all just move on?"  

Wells Fargo, for example has just launched a new campaign with Wachovia. The campaign offers glimpses of customers facing big milestones with financial goals. The theme: "With You When." 

A recent Bank of America spot was called "Keep Moving Forward," which featured lots of doors opening. Citigroup launched some "Citi View" ads in December. Smaller banks are certainly getting in on the action. The ones that avoided the subprime debacle have a natural pitch it would seem. 

Despite this new advertising, you get the feeling that it's going to be a hard sell, especially given that satisfaction and customer esteem has been in decline for years. In a sense, all it takes is one bad experience with fees, a rude teller or a bad mortgage experience, to sour someone on a brand. And it would be hard to underestimate the amount of reputational capital that was burned up as the credit crises crested. It was a PR nightmare. 

Some note that it took years for banks to regain the trust of customers after the Depression and other periods of major turmoil. 

The whole industry knows this, and the savvy banks understand that they have an opportunity here. The stakes are certainly high. One expert tells Marketing Daily that "moving just 5 percent of customers from low and moderate levels of commitment to high commitment can mean additional deposit growth of more than 2 percentage points higher than average." 

So there will be winners and losers. At the big bank level, you can't really afford to not enter the fray. This is where advertising legends are born. - Jim