Två sidor av samma mynt : Brand alliance bidrar till brand confusion i bankbranschen

Sammanfattning: Bergslagens Sparbank as well as other independent(fristående) sparbanker have discoveredthat some of their customers can not separate them from Swedbank. Some customers maythus believe that they are the same bank. This study seeks factors that may contribute to thisproblem, and measures that can counteract. We refer to this problem as brand confusion andmainly have our focus on factors derived from brand alliance, but also from the companyitself and the banking industry. We use a qualitative method where we collect empirical datafrom interviews with four sparbanker. Strategic differences between them, allow us to seehow different factors can contribute to and or counteract brand confusion. This study showsthat the graphic profile, that includes the common symbol and colors, may have great impactwhen it comes to sparbankerna. However, the messy business history that includes thecomplex partner relationship could also have a great impact. Finally, we would also like tomention the importance of how all involving parties in a brand alliance communicates this. Ifit does not come through loud and clear to the customer that there is a partnership, strongsimilarities and ambiguities may affect customers to believe two companies are one and underthe same brand.