Wells Fargo: History, Brand Value, and Brand Strategies

Wells Fargo and Co. is an American multinational bank that provides banking, mortgages, loans, home loans, credit cards, and business loans. 

Wells Fargo offers the following types of banking – Internet banking, savings banking, and personal banking. 

The community banking section offers different services to retail clients and protects against fraud. It also provides budgetary solutions and services to customers and independent companies.

Wells Fargo History

Wells Fargo, one of the leaders in global banking, is based out of San Francisco, California. The brand was initially established by Henry Wells and William George Fargo, who had previously built up the American Express Organization. 

The initial days of Wells Fargo

In 1852, different investors met and decided to build Wells Fargo and Company to deal with the banking and express business provoked by the California Gold Rush.

In California, the brand took care of the buying, dealing, and transportation of gold dust, bullion, and specie and different products that moved from the West toward the East Coast by transport, crossing overland by means of the Isthmus of Panama.

The making of the brand

In 1905, Wells Fargo’s financial services were isolated from its express services and converged with the Nevada National Bank to form the Wells Fargo Nevada National Bank. In 1923, this bank converged with the Union Trust Company to form the Wells Fargo Bank and Union Trust Company.

This bank name was later changed to Wells Fargo Bank in 1954.

The rise

In 1960 it collaborated one more time with the goliath American Trust Company to form the Wells Fargo Bank American Trust Company.

In 1969, Wells Fargo and Company came into existence. It claimed all shares of Wells Fargo Bank, NA, as the bank was renamed. 

By the early 21st century, Wells Fargo Bank had established a huge number of retail branches in the USA and had already become one of the nation’s biggest banks. 

It offered services, including banking, home loans, protection, and monetary administration. The brand penetrated the global markets and opened up subsidiaries and branches all over.

Wells Fargo Brand Value

Wells Fargo was ranked among the top brands that dealt with financial services in a listing by Brand Money. It was ranked as one of the top brands on the Fortune 500 list. 

Wells Fargo ranked in the 9th position, and the brand had a worth of USD $ 44.1 billion in 2018.

It continued to maintain its performance in 2018 even though the bank has fallen into allegations regarding the 2.1 million fake bank account creation trouble that surfaced in September 2016. 

The bank had total assets worth USD $ 1.927 trillion, as per reports published in 2019. It was positioned ninth among banks and eleventh among money-related services organizations.

Wells Fargo brand value and its reason

Wells Fargo is the top U.S. bank by brand value, coming in the fifth spot. The bank fell two spots from a year ago positioning while at the same time losing 9% of its brand value.

Wells Fargo is one of four major banks in the US, which incorporates JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup. The bank has a large number of employees than any other bank in the USA. 

The number of employees working at the bank has remained generally stable, increasing to around 270 thousand. In 2015, the bank was positioned 36th on the rundown of the world’s biggest organizations based on the total number of employees. 

The market positioning

As of May 2018, Wells Fargo was probably the biggest bank in the world concerning market capitalization, trailed by JP Morgan Chase. At that point, when positioned by resources, various different banks performed better than Wells Fargo. 

However, compared with the ICBC, which currently positions number one in resources and market capitalization, Wells Fargo had far fewer workers. In 2018, Wells Fargo was the most significant financial brand around the world, with brand value adding up to USD $ 44.1 billion.

Wells Fargo Brand Strategies

1 . Product strategy of Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo gives a wide scope of financial services for individuals and small and large businesses. 

Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, reward and credit, retirement plans, shipper services, finance, and industry services to the government, automobile industry, and the list continues.

Internet banking manages monetary products and services for people and small businesses. They have incorporated automatic payments, Master cards, and small loans.

Wells Fargo also supports businesses and provides services like business banking, corporate banking, treasury, fraud protection, and land administration.

2 .  Price strategy of Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo focuses on their clients by utilizing client esteem-based estimation. The bank offers services that are advantageous, exceptionally secure, and adaptable. 

The bank’s current services are FDIC-approved, which helps the client to succeed monetarily. Wells Fargo additionally puts extra focus on specific products and services.

3 . Distribution strategy of Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo is a US-based financial organization that serves more than 70 million clients globally. 

• Wells Fargo serves global customers by offering products and services like retail benefits, treasury services, forex trade, business services, and emergency services.
• The bank was one of the first to offer internet banking, starting in 1989. Today, Wells Fargo serves about 18 million online clients.
• Online services have enabled users and clients to make transactions without the use of physical cash. The cash-free payment methods have come a long way, and internet banking has smoothened the transaction channels in a positive way.
• Online access has made Wells Fargo convey smooth services to its client around the globe.

4 . Advertising strategy of Wells Fargo

• Wells Fargo utilizes online social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
• Other than these, the bank utilizes TV promotions, bulletins, and print media to reach out the potential clients.
• The brand has used coordinated advertising efforts highlighting the stories which reverberate with clients by associating at an emotional level.
• Wells Fargo did a clever thing by utilizing hashtags to share its inspirational stories.
• Wells Fargo is building a client experience through innovation to make client life simple with smooth procedures.

5 . The Re-Established marketing strategy

Wells Fargo reported on May 7, 2018, that it had launched another marketing campaign called ‘Re-Established marketing,’ with the motto to restore its brand image after the controversy related to the bank. 

In a press release, Wells Fargo said the campaign, which was launched on May 6, 2018, would demonstrate how the new Wells Fargo would shift positively after a challenging period in the calendar. 

The campaign is a piece of Wells Fargo’s marketing system repositioning to re-establish its brand image. 

The new battle depends on the historical backdrop of accomplishment, just as organizations are embarrassed because they recognize their past issues.

Conclusion

Though Wells Fargo has been a victim of media controversy in recent years, it still has managed to be at the top levels. 

The bank offers its own business financial help through online websites and mobile applications. Wells Fargo has successfully established nearly 8700 retail branches and about 13000 ATMs in the US. The bank has 35 offices in other countries apart from the USA. 

In spite of the fact that Wells Fargo managed a significant embarrassment that has created a sense of doubt in the minds of a huge number of clients, it has a suitable chance to restore trust through the proper handling of the administration and create a sense of transparency within the organization.

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