BusinessReport.com

In a comforting tone, a radio anouncer says:

“Remember what your bicycle meant to you as a kid? Simplicity and more freedom to go your own way. At Regions, we think it’s what banking should give you, too. Because with the right bank by your side, the road ahead is wide open. Regions. It’s time to expect more.”

With the cheery ringing of a bicycle bell, the commercial ends, and the “new” Regions Bank steps forward in Louisiana.

Regions, which merged with AmSouth Bank last year, unveiled its new image in October with a rebranding campaign featuring a bicycle. But it’s not just any bike, it’s a spiffy, eye-catching piece of Americana—a bright green (Regions calls it “life green”) Cruiser with shiny chrome handles and fenders, large white-rimmed tires and a license plate that reads “XPCT MOR.”

“The mantra in the new Regions is it’s the perfect vehicle to get you through life and business … hence the simplified but reliable bike,” says Danny Montelaro, Regions’ South Louisiana Group president. “We heard from our clients that life is complicated, but banking shouldn’t be. With the rebranding, we’re showing banking with Regions is simple, reliable and uncomplicated.”

So far, Montelaro says their plan for a seamless transition appears to be working. Externally and internally, the new Regions Bank is blooming in full “life green.”

Getting the image and message right is important, particularly since mergers typically pose a risky time for banks, says Brad White, creative art director with Birmingham, Ala.-based Luckie & Co., which helped develop the campaign.

Customers can become jittery about changes or dealing with a bigger bank, inviting competitor banks to try to leverage the “We know you” card. Research shows people will leave a bank to relocate because they’re angry at their bank or because of a merger or acquisition.

“We heard a lot of talk about bank mergers and acquisitions, and a lot of four-letter words with how complicated they’ve become and how they’re really not interested in making things easier for people,” White says. “People have gotten to the point where they expect very little from their bank.”

Regions, which became a Fortune 500 Top 10 bank as a result of the merger, faces competitors with astronomical budgets. White says the bank’s strategy was to outsmart rather than outspend by asking consumers what they want in a bank and acting on it.

Rebranding became part of a much bigger plan developed to avoid repeating other banks’ mistakes with mergers, particularly those that cost them customers.

“The idea was to build a new culture and new approach to the market that was built on the strengths of both organizations to ensure both companies moved forward together,” says Scott Peters, Regions’ chief marketing officer.

Internal restructuring was matched with considerable consumer outreach aimed at identifying and proactively addressing consumer concerns and issues, as well as rebranding that focused on high-quality customer service.

Peters and White both say focus groups helped pinpoint their slogan —“It’s Time to Expect More”—as well as the need to improve customer service for easier banking.

“We wanted a brand that was very likeable,” White says. “You see it and you feel like you could hop on. There was an immediate magnetic attraction internally to the bike.”

Luckie & Co. brainstormed the concept as a metaphor for simplicity, reliability, being in control and enjoying the ride. There were several concepts on the table in the planning stages, but White says they kept coming back to the bike. At first, they nervously wondered if it was too simple, but people got it immediately.

Representing life, he says the bright green color represents Regions’ internal mission to make life better for its associates, customers and communities. The fresh imagery was all together fitting. “We are all together different than what we were yesterday in delivering a new banking experience,” Peters says.

Regions even changed its longstanding pyramid logo, replacing the cotton bloom inside of it with four rays of light that divide into five sections and represent the bank’s values: Put people first, do what is right, focus on clients, reach higher and enjoy life.

To enhance service and avoid technical issues in the conversion, the bank’s Louisiana associates spent more than 87,000 hours in training. Customers, particularly commercial ones, were contacted one-on-one to address potential issues with the conversion, and all customers were informed by mass and electronic mailings.

“It’s one thing to say you have a new brand, but it’s another to live the brand,” Montelaro says. “We spent a good bit of time and money in our associates to truly live the brand. I think that’s why folks are excited about it. They’re discovering it is easier to do business with our company than it was in a previous life.”

Kendal Matassa, Regions’ area marketing manager, says the bank will continue to operate in a community model despite becoming a bigger regional entity. In keeping with their mission to keep banking as easy as riding a bike, they will continue dealing with the associates they know in their communities.

Regions brought its “bike brigade” to downtown Baton Rouge earlier this month, inviting local officials to participate in a parade from its downtown office to a nearby YMCA, where 20 bikes were donated.

Montelaro reflects appreciatively on his five-year career with a bank that has operated with the philosophy if you’re not having fun go find something else to do, which he believes has laid a longstanding foundation for Regions’ success.

“It’s very refreshing to me to have all the marketing from the top of the house talking about that very same concept,” he says. “You need to have fun with what you’re doing. Life is too short.”