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Akbank Striking gold in Turkey
Akbank is the largest privately owned bank in Turkey with a credit rating higher than the sovereign and a conservatism that once defined it as the least adventurous of all Turkish banks.
In 2002, after a terrible economic collapse, the country steadied itself and a consumer boom began that is now transforming Turkey. Financial services, the internet and mobile telephony have been at the heart of the action and Akbank has been the leader of the most aggressive market development in the banking sector.
We started working with Akbank in 2002 on a project to modernise its identity and create new product and service brands that would ramp up the bank’s in-branch marketing and re-dedicate staff towards five specific customer groups:- personal, small business, commercial, corporate and private.
The result has been successful and Akbank has increased sales efficiency by over 30%. The first new branch designs were introduced in 2003 and are being implemented at a rate of 150 branches per year - Akbank has around 650 in total.
Based on the re-organisation of the bank into its customer facing groups and through an internal change programme called New Horizons, Akbank went on in 2005 to work on new marketing and service concepts. They asked us to help
continue to develop and create these.
continue to develop and create these.
The new projects include a mortgage centre concept called ‘Big Red House’ which has positioned Akbank as the expert lender in a market that’s destined for substantial growth. We have also crafted the design of the exi26 student
branch concept that is going into banks in the
big universities.
Our most recent work has been Kredi Ekspres
- a fast and super friendly loan service for non-customers who don’t use regular banks but whose incomes are increasing, allowing them access to car loans, home loans and so on.
- a fast and super friendly loan service for non-customers who don’t use regular banks but whose incomes are increasing, allowing them access to car loans, home loans and so on.
All our work over this period started with the corporate identity, which enabled Akbank to become properly efficient and progressive. The anchor we created has held together numerous marketing initiatives, driving up the efficiency of the bank’s marketing spend and making it one of the most attractive ‘buys’
in recent times. Last year, Citigroup agreed a $3.1bn deal for a 20% stake in Akbank.
in recent times. Last year, Citigroup agreed a $3.1bn deal for a 20% stake in Akbank.