How a new mobile branch evolves a next generation retail experience and serves as a brand billboard for opportunity-rich markets
For decades, Comerica Bank has embraced a customer-centric banking model – putting people first and meeting them where they are. With branches in seven of the 10 largest U.S. cities, the regional banking leader is there to serve all the financial needs of its customers. Whether through retail and commercial banking or wealth management, Comerica helps ensure customers and businesses are in a perfect position to prosper.
In the fall of 2020, the bank again partnered with Adrenaline to design, deliver and develop a kit-of-parts for their first mobile branch. This new branch on wheels is a significant step in evolving Comerica’s next generation retail experience in markets across the country. The mobile branch represents a different kind of brand beacon. As a rolling billboard, it provides the bank with ways to bring Comerica’s BankerConnect ITM to local communities that reach customers and prospects in a novel way.
goMERICA Branch
Originally designed for two separate functions, the final mobile branch design rolls up the Branch On Location and Brand On Tour capabilities into one mobile experience. The Branch On Location enables Comerica to deploy industry-leading service via their BankerConnect ITM. The Brand On Tour function is less about transactions and more focused on bringing the brand out into communities – supporting sporting sponsorships and hosting community or educational events.
This new hybrid approach incorporates two service points for typical branch activities – on the exterior with BankerConnect ITM for transactions and on the interior for light one-on-one consultations. Once completed, the goMERICA branch went on some Brand On Tour stops in Michigan markets and is now located on a stationary site adjacent to a Girls and Boys Club of America chapter in Naples, FL where it can be easily mobilized for any local events in the area if needed.
Designing Mobile Experiences
From a design perspective, the goal was to distinguish the mobile branch so it feels different than a typical retail location. The mobile branch is unique, so it draws people in, then delivers on an interactive, informative experience that’s consistent with the Comerica brand. Even through its compact size, the mobile branch still maintains powerful experience zones – Attract, Welcome, Engage, Transact, and Consultation – and features a small private consultation space, interior hospitality and back of house functionality.
After sourcing the vehicle through our network of partners, Adrenaline ensured the vehicle could be outfitted to specifications, especially an accessible ITM, and managed a complete revamp of the interior to achieve a more sophisticated execution. Incorporating everything in the standard kit-of-parts, this mobile unit has good representation of brand standards brought in from Comerica’s Prototype – including a wood look door, new flooring, finishes, furniture, brand colors, engaging digital screens, and an eye-catching vehicle wrap. These elements are a thread that runs from the static branch to the more moving mobile environment.
Branding taglines – including a “higher level of banking,” “higher level of service,” and “higher level of trust” – bring the Comerica brand to life on the mobile unit. BankerConnect reaffirms focus on service and brings attention to the ITM’s capabilities for customer convenience. Informational kiosks provide a sleek, moveable solution for events, and digital screens inform with customized content activated for different purposes with playlists for presentations, educational events, training, community outreach, promotions, and more. A popup tent and table tent rounds out the exterior experience with flexible configurations and easy access storage.
The goMERICA Mobile Branch provides a customized, turnkey and flexible solution for Comerica to create new connections as they move into opportunity-rich locations.
Defining Mobile Banking
This mobile branch provided significant learnings for Comerica as they develop a future plan for deployment and mobile branch usage down the road. For this application, Adrenaline provided a customized singular solution executed on a short timeline to solve for specific bank function and customer experience. But as the bank moves into new geographies within their national network, a market beacon opens up new opportunities. With multi-use functionality, this mobile branch can easily be activated as an important spoke in a hub-and-spoke model while a new branch is being built or an ITM is deployed to serve Comerica’s expanding community.
