AbstractsBusiness Management & Administration

Branding has been used for many years to differentiate products and verify quality. Although the notion of branding has become more complicated over the centuries, the idea of ownership nevertheless continuous to lie at the heart of the brand. For far too long, banks seemed indifferent to building and maintaining a strong brand. But the stakes are getting higher to differentiate from the crowd and the success of some banks in building brand equity will transfer indistinct players to commodity status. The challenge for banks is to position themselves more strongly in the mirid of the consumer, in terms of awareness, relevance, quality and, most importantly, competitive differentiation. Banks need to establish brand strength by measuring and then managing these dimensions. The main purpose of the study is to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date overview on branding especially in the retail banking market. This study firstly examines the literature on branding in general and then focuses more specifically on branding in banking institutions. It then considers brand equity and the sources of brand equity comprising brand awareness, brand loyal, perceived quality and brand associations. The empirical study conducted centres around the awareness of the different brands in the retail banking market and what the consumer perceptions of these brands are. More specifically the research looks at commitment levels of users, including the potential for future growth and where such growth is likely to come from. The results showed that the South African banking industry has remained relatively consistent during 1998 and 1999. The only notable exception is ABSA, which has significantly improved its position and, along with Standard Bank, currently maintains the strongest position in the market...