The recent events surrounding Credit Suisse serve as a reminder of the importance of branding and reputation for a company, Florin Baeriswyl writes in an essay for finews.first.

This article has been published on finews.first, a forum for authors specializing in economic and financial topics.

A brand represents the identity of a company and plays a vital role in creating a lasting impression on the customers. A strong brand can create multiple values for a company's business by generating trust, loyalty, and finally reputation.

Many leaders view branding as just another aspect of marketing, income, or profit. However, branding is more than that; it's about creating a culture within the organization. When the culture of a company is healthy, it leads to motivation, identification, and long-term success.

«Branding is like gardening»

Alfred Escher, the founder of modern Switzerland, established Credit Suisse in 1856 along with other notable companies such as Swiss Re, Swiss Life, University ETH Zurich and Swiss Railway. The bank earned global recognition for its stability, excellence, and expertise in international wealth management and corporate banking. However, the bank's shift towards high-risk investment banking in pursuit of profits resulted in a loss of its traditional values and identity. In less than a decade, Credit Suisse suffered numerous scandals and incurred significant losses, causing a decline in its once-great reputation. The loss of trust from its clients ultimately led to the bank's downfall.

Branding is like gardening; if the roots are healthy, then the flowers or trees will blossom. In business terms, cultivating a culture in a company leads to motivation, identification, and long-term success. The three principles of a brand – truth, quality, and consistency – lead to trust. If customers trust a brand, they will commit and buy products or services from that brand.

The world of finance is constantly evolving and changing, with mergers and acquisitions being a common occurrence. One such merger is now the integration of Credit Suisse into UBS. This is a significant event in the finance industry, and it is important to ensure that the integration is done smoothly, with minimal disruption to existing clients and operations.

«It is vital to clearly define the changes that will be made»

One of the critical factors to consider during the integration is maintaining the trust that existing employees, clients and stakeholders have in the brand. Credit Suisse had its own unique culture and also positive ways of doing things, which may differ from UBS. To ensure a smooth transition, it is essential to adopt a careful approach that adapts the existing strong and successful UBS brand culture while building a new culture based on what already exists.

A crucial step in the integration process is to fully understand what it means to adapt the existing brand culture. It is vital to clearly define the changes that will be made so that it is understandable for existing and new team members, as well as customers and the audience. Communication will play a vital role in this process, as team members will need to be informed of the changes that will take place, and why they are necessary.

«It is essential to remember that a brand never belongs to a person or a company»

One way to approach integration is to view it as adopting a child into a family. Just as it is necessary to nurture, educate, and explain the culture to build a new setup, the same principles apply to the integration process. In this case, it is crucial to educate team members on the values and culture of UBS, while also respecting the positive aspects of past CS culture, e.g in Switzerland as the «Bank of Entrepreneurs», that Credit Suisse brings to the table.

It is essential to remember that a brand never belongs to a person or a company. Brand reputation is what people say about it when a person is not in the room. Therefore, companies need to create a strong and true brand image that resonates with employees as well as customers and creates a lasting impression.

«There is an opportunity to build the combined values to create a forward-thinking brand architecture»

Building something can take a significant amount of time and effort, but it can be destroyed much more quickly. The same goes for brands, which can take years or even decades to establish but can be damaged or destroyed in just a few days.

Currently, there is an opportunity to build the combined values of UBS and CS to create a forward-thinking brand architecture. For a branding expert, this raises an intriguing question: must different businesses be built on the same roots, or can they be distinguished from one another? It's an essential consideration when building a successful and resilient ‹new› brand that can withstand the tests of time and change.

Based on almost 40 years of experience in brand strategy and design, Florin Baeriswyl is a serial entrepreneur and consultant for international brands and institutions. In 1987 he founded «dai Zurich», a design agency providing corporate design services in Zurich, London and Shanghai. Because of his early involvement in China, he quickly became a recognized expert in enterprises' strategic development between East-West. Subsequently, he was appointed by the Beijing-based DeTao Group for the Fudan/SIVA University and DeTao Masters Academy. He also launched the Institute for Swiss International Branding (ISIB), providing students with the possibility of combining their academic knowledge with real-life case studies deriving from the Chinese industry and Government. Finally, he opened «Studio Baeriswyl» in Shanghai, offering corporate brand consulting and educational services.

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