Branding is big business, but a brand isn’t solely made up of what you say about yourself: in part, it’s also made up of the things that people say about your business when you’re not in the room. It’s more than a logo or a strapline – it’s the thoughts and feelings it creates when people hear your name.

For us, at Ulster Bank, that means making a difference for our customers, our colleagues and our communities, and we see our work in continuing to build trust as a key pillar to our business success and to our brand.

It’s about being more than being a bank: it’s about being an active citizen and showing our local communities that they are integral to our brand message and then delivering on our commitments to them. It’s how we are continuing to show that our bank is a trustworthy and sustainable business, underpinned by strong values.

We are doing that by building collaborative partnerships that deliver impact: by working with brands, organisations and people who share our values and ambitions and who can provide practical insights to help local communities.

That means putting in place products and services that provide opportunity, by using our branch network across Northern Ireland to host interesting and informative events, and working with customers and communities to demonstrate that we offer much more than just finance.  To make a positive difference, we need to think differently about how we have achieved this in the past and to start looking ahead to what we can provide in the future. It’s about being innovative and open to change. By being open to change across the bank, we better prepare our people and products to help customers manage changes in their circumstances.

We want branches to be the hub of their communities, so we have opened up our spaces to support entrepreneurs, community groups, charities and artists. In the North West, we’ve offered #DERRYcreatives use of our premises for open, collaborative meetings, where those involved in the arts and creative sectors can gather, work together and organise activities to grow their creative practices and connect to the local community. We have sustained banking services in towns across Northern Ireland by introducing a ‘Bank on Wheels’, which stops at 10 towns and villages across the region each week, bringing the bank to the community.

We want people to be at the heart of communities, so we support them to give their time, money and skills to the charitable and community causes that matter most to them. Each year, for every £250 our employees fundraise, or every 80 hours of volunteering for their chosen charity they give, they can apply for a matching Community Cashback award, payable to their local charity. We encourage employees to volunteer through our ‘Give a Day’ initiative, which offers every employee a minimum of one day’s leave per year to support a charity or community organisation of their choice. Earlier this year, our branch employees demonstrated their support for Cash for Kids during our One Week in June charity drive, raising £171,422 to help the fight against children’s cancer.

And we see our business as protecting our communities, which is why we deliver scam-awareness events, supported by Trading Standards, in branches right across Northern Ireland. We also appointed a dedicated Community Protection Manager, so we could ensure we better safeguard our customers and help them avoid becoming victims of financial harm. We want to be a trusted voice in our communities and to help our customers achieve their financial goals.

We have centred our values on doing the right thing for our customers and communities because, by making a meaningful difference in these areas, we demonstrate that help for each other is help for what matters.

Contact details:

For more information, contact Gillian Orr, Business Community Partner, Ulster Bank

Email: gillian.orr@ulsterbank.com, Tel: 028 90276024