National Bank to Launch New Image Campaign for 2000-2002

After reflecting at length on the transformations affecting the banking industry as a whole and on the attendant needs of various groups of consumers and clients, the National Bank today unveiled a new 3-year campaign entitled "Vous serez plus à l'aise" aimed at promoting the Bank's corporate image.

• The theme chosen is designed to position the National Bank as a welcoming institution committed to being available for its clients. This theme reflects the Bank's long-standing tradition of always being close to people, its clients and the communities it serves. The National Bank is simply re-emphasizing this fact, especially as the ways in which clients carry out their banking transactions are rapidly changing. For instance, more than 80% of routine banking transactions at the National Bank are now completed electronically (i.e. via banking machine, telephone or the Internet). While electronic transactions meet clients' needs in terms of efficiency and flexibility, the National Bank nevertheless believes that it has an obligation, in today's environment, to continually improve upon the quality of its relations with clients by emphasizing and developing its advisory services. In short, the purpose of this theme is to show that the National Bank respects its clients and takes a personalized approach to serving them.
  
  
• The image campaign will start on October 19 in the main French-language print and electronic media in Quebec (the campaign will appear in English-language media starting this winter). The objectives of this campaign, which is geared to Quebeckers aged 35 to 54, include positioning the Bank's corporate image vis-à-vis this target market according to the parameters described above. This will be complemented, at various times of the year, by promotions involving specific products or groups of products to reach particular sub-groups of the target clientele. The strength of this campaign is that clients and consumers will be able to recognize the National Bank as an institution where clients can be sure of finding all the financial products and services they need under one roof.

In addition to the work invested in positioning its corporate image, the Bank has also focussed its efforts on developing the expertise of its employees through a training program set up in 1997, which enables employees to earn a diploma or graduate degree from the Université du Québec à Montréal or Nipissing University. A total of 4,600 employees are currently enrolled in this program. This expertise is an additional guarantee of the quality advice that the National Bank can offer all its clients.

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