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6 | The Lion King
Cover Story
industry dominance. The White is
a symbol of purity, brightness and
bespeaks our clarity of focus,
integrity and professionalism.
All these world class innovative
combinations must be lived as
culture and reflect in our every
day activity for the customers
and the environment we operate
to feel.
The totality of UBA as a global
brand as depicted by our
shared values and symbols is
summarized in the bank’s vision
and mission. The vision to be
the undisputed leading and
dominant financial services insti-
tution in Africa is the reflection of
a vibrant brand. The UBA brand
is a brand with potentials for
continuous wider acceptance.
It represents the uniqueness and
the spirit of the entrepreneurship
in the African people.
The mission to be a role model for
African businesses by creating
superior value for all our stake-
holders is built on the values of
Integrity and Resilience. Through
integrity, the bank has built
relationships with increasing
numbers of customers in different
geographical locations. It is the
openness in dealing with custom-
ers and regulators that have
enabled the bank to overcome
limitations in frontier expansion.
The resilience showed over the
years is the result of continual
breaking of new grounds through
innovation and investment in
technology.
The pillars of UBA as Africa’s
global bank are the shared
values of Humility, Empathy,
Integrity and Resilience support-
ed by the symbols- the mustard
seed, the red and white colour.
The brand is the totality of the
bank’s behaviours, systems and
symbols as perceived by the
outside world, including those
that relate with us. The brand is
the foundation for the success-
ful implementation of future
projects, and business exploits.
Thus, the basis for the Project
ALPHA is the existing brand. UBA
as Africa’s global bank is a living
and breathing entity that must be
nurtured to adapt and respond
to changes.
How then do we as internal
stakeholders live and exude
the tenets of Brand UBA to influ-
ence other stakeholders? There
is no gainsaying, we are all the
Ambassadors of the global
brand.
THE BRAND AMBASSADOR
Every activity or job role within an
organization has underpinning
influence on the brand. It is either
a role is promoting or eroding the
equity of the brand. The brand is
portrayed as good if majority of
persons understand and promote
the brand. As internal stakehold-
ers, we are all at duty call to
promote the brand and influence
outsiders to join in the brand
promotion.
Know the Brand
The first rule to living is knowl-
edge. The knowledge of your
brand will enable you to know
how to use the brand maximally.
We should all understand the
bank’s vision and mission. Apply
the shared values in our daily lives
and more importantly, is seeing
the brand essence in our process-
es, products and policies. How is
your specific role contributing to
the improvement of Brand UBA?
We must think, live and work in
terms of value addition to the
bank. Living the brand is translat-
ing the brand values into one’s
daily activities. By this, all staff will
be employee-evangelists for the
bank and the brand.
Sell the Brand
At every point of contact with our
stakeholders, we must demon-
strate knowledge of the bank
and communicate the brand’s
strengths to customers. This is
irrespective of our roles. All staff
must sell Africa’s global bank at
every opportunity. This is one of
the characteristics of engaged
employees.
Lead the Brand
Leadership is at all levels. Leading
is about influence and not
positional. We are all to take the
lead in deliberately enhancing
the brand. All our decisions must
be tested for its impacts on the
brand built over the years. Is
your daily business and process
decision eroding or enhancing
the brand?
SUSTAINING BRAND UBA AS
AFRICA’S GLOBAL BRAND
The brand is alive. It is a brand we
must enhance and sustain. The
responsibility for living the brand
cuts across all stakeholders.
The sustainability of the brand
must be our obsession. We must
deliberately:
• maintain our brand identity,
brand personality and images
across the market we operate
in. we must balance stand-
ardization with customiza-
tion relevant to the specific
cultures of the countries we
have presence;
• identify more with our custom-
ers. This reinforces the accept-
ance of Africa’s global bank
by the customers;
• do things (policies, products
and process) in obsession
for the satisfaction of our
customers;
• create a distinct work environ-
ment that aligns with the
brand. It is our internal percep-
tion that reflects as our brand
perception to the outside
world; and
• induct new entrants into our
workforce with our brand
ideology.
In conclusion, the staff is the
brand ambassador of the bank.
Our decisions, processes and
daily living must reflect our
shared values and be transposed
into the bank’s culture. It is our
culture that gives meaning to
the bank’s image and the level
of acceptance of Brand UBA as
Africa’s global bank. We should
be guided by the word of Walter
Bagehot- “An ambassador is
not simply an agent; he is also a
spectacle”.