The Commercial Bank of Ceylon was the highest-ranked private bank in the inaugural ‘Best Sri Lankan Brands 2017’ ranking announced recently by Interbrand, and was placed fourth overall among the country’s top brands.

Interbrand assigned a value of Rs.20.33 billion to the Commercial Bank brand.

Explaining the methodology of the valuation, Interbrand said: “There are three key components in all of our valuations: An analysis of the financial performance of the branded products or services, of the role the brand plays in the purchase decision, and the competitive strength of the brand. These are preceded by a decision on segmentation and at the end of the process are brought together to enable the financial value of the brand to be calculated.” One of the most active and vibrant brands in Sri Lanka, Commercial Bank’s brand building efforts maintain a healthy balance between its corporate and product communications and ground level customer engagement events. In addition to traditional media, the bank is very active in social and digital media and customer engagement events, at national and regional level. The bank also has a large number of Sri Lankan migrant customers overseas and continuously engages with them through various events and consumer promotions.

The bank stated that it places heavy emphasis on strategy when formulating marketing plans and brand building activities. Commercial Bank maintains a constant watch over its brand performance and measures it both qualitatively and quantitatively. Parameters such as brand equity and top of mind recall are periodically monitored through research and the key takeouts are taken into account when communications are developed.  This strategic approach has helped the brand to evolve through the years and become one of the strongest brands in the country.

Referring to Commercial Bank of Ceylon, the Interbrand report said: “Commercial Bank has built a portfolio of solutions for specific customer segments and product needs, including new e-banking products as consumers increasingly move online. Innovation and customer experience have been fundamental drivers of the bank’s recent growth.