Synopsis:

This case study focus on the best corporate communications practice of SME Bank in corporate branding strategy. SME Bank is a combination of two banks namely, Bank Pembangunan dan Infrastuktur Malaysia Berhad (BPIM) dan Bank Industri dan Teknologi Malaysia Berhad (BITM). The bank is dedicated to accelerate the growth of nation’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) serving as a one-stop financing and business development centre. The bank is wholly-owned by the Ministry of Finance Inc, and started its operation as Development Financial Institution (DFI) regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia and supervised by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) (SME Bank Group, 2017). The process was not only changed their name, but also includes rebranding exercise that include a new bank’s identity such as logo, corporate colour, mission, vision, corporate culture etc.), and communicating the new identity to the stakeholders.

The main activities of SME Bank are to provide financing as well as financial and business advisory services to Malaysian SMEs classification guidelines of the National SME Development Council. SME Bank underwent a rebranding exercise in 2012 with the aim to be a major market player in banking industry. After five years, a few questions arose with regard to the transition process, commitment (participation and engagement), effectiveness and challenges experienced by SME Bank. Any rebranding exercise will undergo certain duration of transition process which success depends on the smoothness of the process. Commitment from stakeholders especially employees will also determine the success of the exercise. Failure to participate and engage in the rebranding process will affect the expected result and prevent the achievement of the rebranding objective. How SME Bank address these issues and challenges will be portrayed in the effectiveness of the exercise as the bottom result, which is the main concern of this study.

In July 2013, SME Bank did a rebranding exercise and introduced a new brand identity. the rebranding exercise was part of second phase of five years transformation programme (SME Bank, 2017). With the new identity, SME Bank launched a new logo as it entered into second phase of its transformation programme. As compared to previous restructuring exercise, this rebranding aimed to strike a balance between self-sustainability and maximising performance through further expansion and market outreach had driven the implementation of the exercise. In addition, SME Bank incorporate a new business model which focuses on enhancing its financing ecosystem driven by the desired outcomes while enabling it to play a more meaningful role in the national economic transformation agenda. The exercise includes the introduction of a new set of vision and mission as well as core values of the bank. Therefore, this case study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of corporate rebranding in SME Bank since the rebranding took place. It also aims to assess whether SME Bank deliver their promise to provide excellent services from stakeholders perspective. For example, whether their new brand identity is in line with their brand image and reputation.