A new marketing campaign set about profiling the bank’s core business in Deposits and Investments, Travel Foreign Exchange, International Business Payments, as well as Fleet and Asset Finance.

The corporate image is competitively positioned as a niche, specialist bank. Bidvest Bank dispenses with peripheries to concentrate on the most important thing in banking – one's money. Hence the unequivocal pay-off line – “Your money, our business”.

The retail banking experience, however, was not quite fulfilling the image. The destination was still very much a foreign exchange bureau. Blast Brand Catalysts, partnering with commercial interior experts Blacksmith, set about developing the new generation branch for Bidvest Bank.

Careful attention was given to the operational backend, ensuring that the design configuration accommodated smooth, efficient workflow and client interaction. The individual client cubicles, while typical of a bureau, were retained and redesigned for improved client privacy and comfort. Though Bidvest Bank’s business has augmented beyond foreign exchange, branches remain intimately contained, in line with the international trend towards smaller, hi-tech outlets. The recently refurbished Sandton City branch attracts the attention of passers-by with a window touchscreen that puts the bank’s entire offering at the tip of your fingers.

Most importantly, the environment needed to convey a place of business expertise, rather than just a currency dispatch and transactional facility. Wooden textures and soft accent lighting create a classic contemporary look, with professional and commercial appeal. Says creative director for Blast, Angelo Beck, “Like any retail operation, your most important medium is your store or your branch. If the experience doesn’t make good on the promise, your marketing investment is ill spent. The new branch fits the bill. It looks like a place where money goes to do smart things.”

The prototype was executed in the Blue Route Centre in Cape Town. This distinctive, new look Bidvest Bank branch is now being rolled out in major centres throughout the country.

For more information, contact Blast Brand Catalysts on 011 341 0994 or visit www.blastbc.co.za.