Massachusetts-based Avidia Bank is making innovative use of social media in conjunction with a branch transformation programme and outreach to the local community. Carrie Anne Cormier, Avidia’s digital banking strategist and innovation leader, explains all to Robin Arnfield
A $1.2bn mutual community bank, Avidia was formed in 2007 from the merger of Hudson Savings Bank and Westborough Bank, both of which were founded in 1869.
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Flagship branch
Avidia has carried out an integrated digital transformation and community engagement programme at its flagship 17 Pope Street financial centre in Hudson, Massachusetts, which opened in February 2017.
The Pope Street branch, which was renovated following its purchase from Citizens Bank in 2016, combines retail, commercial, and investment banking, mortgage lending, and community events like farmers’ markets. It also includes a community room, which is available for local events by community partners and non-profit organisations.
Digital banking strategist and innovation leader CarrieAnne Cormier says: “Our three-year plan calls for us to do the same digital transformation at all our branches that we did at Pope Street.
“But, before we actually transform our branch spaces, we are bringing our community emphasis and focus into our branch culture at our other branches.”
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By GlobalDataIn July 2017, Avidia, which currently has nine branches, will open a new branch with the same design as Pope Street’s. It is working with digital design firm The Element Group on its branch redesign programme.
Display screens
At the Pope Street branch, Avidia’s social media feeds are displayed on digital screens. “One of these display screens is a touchscreen so customers can navigate the display, and engage with the bank both physically and digitally,” says Cormier.
“Other banks have told me that they tried touchscreens, but no one uses them. The reason is that what they put up is basically just a product finder.
“We’ve tried to make our touchscreen more engaging. Everyone likes to feel like they are an insider, so our touchscreen shows what is happening at Avidia behind the scenes. People can see new initiatives and projects that are coming up and community volunteer events that we’re doing.
“We’re not doing ‘tech’ branches just to do it,” explains Cormier. “We’re really reinventing our spaces to blend our digital presence and our physical presence. We very much integrate social media into everything we do and feed it into our in-branch digital displays.
“For example, we bring feeds like 17popest.hscampaigns.com into the touchscreen at the Pope Street branch. Also, any time someone uses the #17PopeSt hashtag, this pulls into a feed that we moderate.”
“In the Pope Street branch, we’ve built a social thought bubble wall, where people can come and take pictures and share. Usually, we tie this sort of activity to a contest or giveaway.
“We’ve also done some fun events, like live screen-printing of T-shirts in the Pope Street branch, and will be launching a farmers’ market there starting in June 2017.”
Brand identity
Cormier adds: “I’ve talked to a lot of banks which are doing their branch transformations now, and none of them seem to know their brand identity or have a clear goal.
“A lot of banks are trying to redesign their branches, but just want to do what’s popular without any clear goal or brand. I think we have a solid brand, which helps us support our redesign.”
Cormier says that, over the last eight years, Avidia has experienced a decrease of about 40,000 teller transactions at its branches, year on year.
“Sure, digital technology plays a huge role in the downturn in transactions, but the other part is just the state of retail banking in general,” she says.
“Branches are ugly and remind me of going to the post office, or of retail stores that are outdated and have lots of empty shelves. No one wants to come into a retail store – or in our case a branch – more than once or twice a year if it always looks the same or if they can get the entire experience online. So we’re redesigning our branches, and providing interesting and engaging activities in them, to make people want to come in.”
The Pope Street branch offers iPads for use by customers, says Cormier. “We’re testing Amazon Alexa in the Pope Street branch so customers can see what we are working on with our developer app. They can try out these new services on the iPads.”
Cardless ATM access
Avidia was one of the pioneers of cardless ATM access in the US. In August 2015, it launched Cardless Cash mobile ATM access technology from FIS and its partner Paydiant – now owned by PayPal – in 2015 on its mobile banking app.
In March 2017, IDG Enterprise named Avidia as one of 50 US recipients of its 2017 Digital Edge award for its promotion of the launch of its Cardless Cash initiative using multiple social media platforms.
Leading up to the launch, Avidia Bank promoted Cardless Cash on social media through images, live-stream demonstrations and employees’ experiences of the feature during testing.
“When we launched our Cardless Cash service, instead of trying to talk to customers about the service or hand out a leaflet, we wore T-shirts saying ‘no card no problem’ on the front and a picture of a phone with our app on the back,” says Cormier. “The clients all wanted to talk about the T-shirts.”
Avidia Smarties
To promote the bank, Avidia has a team of tech-savvy and social media-friendly Avidia Smarties, who act as brand ambassadors.
“A Smartie takes pride in the job that he or she does for the bank and the communities that Avidia Bank belongs to,” the bank says.
“They are knowledgeable about bank products and services and industry trends, and love how banking is evolving at a rapid pace. “Each Smartie is put through an interview process and is chosen based on personality, social media experience.
“You will find Avidia Smarties at community events around the Central Massachusetts area. The community is an integral part of the success of Avidia Bank, and the Avidia Smarties want to support it in any way possible.”
The Smarties team attend and tweet from local events, hold Instagram contests and wear Avidia Smarties bright orange T-shirts. They also conduct product promotions and ‘Smartie Swarms’, where they descend en masse on a local business to bring it to the public’s attention.
“Avidia staff will check in at different businesses and post pictures of our lunch or experience at that business on our digital screens,” says Cormier. “Local businesses love this, as it is additional marketing for them.”
Analyst views
Ron Shevlin, director of research at US-based Cornerstone Advisors, says: “Countless community banks and credit unions complain about the relatively high average age of their customers or members, and say they want to attract younger customers.
“But what do many do about it? Not a whole lot. Kudos to Avidia for committing to – and executing – a strategy that uses social media to create a brand image and proposition that appeals to younger consumers. Plenty of banks would have run a campaign and moved on; Avidia has demonstrated a commitment to using social media.”
“Avidia represents the way forward in two respects,” says retail banking delivery channel consultant David Cavell.
“We’re in an omnichannel/multichannel world, and Avidia is taking an active interest in digital including social media.
“Also, Avidia is looking at its branches for the sake of the branch channel in its own right and its relationship with the community,” Cavell continues.
“I believe community engagement is the way forward for the branch, and Avidia branches are becoming a community hub.”
According to Cavell, there are at least 100 different tactics that banks can deploy at a community-focused branch.
“Every bank or credit union needs a playlist of tactics to enhance the community value of its branches,” he says.
“Some are very lightweight, like giving out T-shirts, and others are heavier weight, like arranging events such as farmers’ markets or art shows in the branch. These events add value and provide another reason for people to go to their branch. This is particularly the case with attracting millennials to the branch.
“Every time someone says the branch is dead, someone else says it’s actually not dead and is in good shape,” Cavell continues.
“The key finding of JD Power’s US 2017 Retail Banking Customer Satisfaction Survey is the rise of the omnichannel banking consumer, and the fact that overall satisfaction rates among US customers visiting branches in the last 12 months were higher than those who only used digital channels.
“The JD Power survey stacks up with other surveys that show that, in the overall channel mix, branches are still relevant.”
Brand quality
“Community banks win as they build their brand quality every time they run something in the branch relating to the community,” explains Cavell.
“This demonstrates that they are a community bank, and it’s proven worldwide that a lot of consumers will buy into the idea of banking with their local bank. Also, in the US, credit union member numbers have been rising steadily.
“I don’t think that across the banking industry there is a good appreciation of what brand means,” says Cavell. “It isn’t just image and it isn’t corporate livery. A bank’s brand is represented by a set of core intrinsic values and attitudes that customers develop an emotional connection with and buy into.”
Joseph Walent, associate director, customer interaction advisory service, at Mercator Advisory Group continues: “Forward-thinking community banks like Avidia are trying to see how they can fit into their customers’ lives and bring the community back into their branches.
“They can provide an advisory role to their customer by providing events such as seminars on mortgages and house-buying for first-time buyers, for example.”
“Community banks can go digital, but then they are in same playing field as the big banks,” says Celent banking analyst Stephen Greer. “Their selling point is face-to-face interaction in the community.”
