Union Bank of India (UBI) has budgeted Rs 75 crore in the current fiscal towards advertising its newly changed identity as well as the logo across the country. The replacement of billboards and hoardings will additionally cost Rs 12 crore to the bank. UBI’s advertising budget in the last fiscal was Rs 32 crore. Sources close to the bank?s advertising agency, Mudra, said that it has been paid around Rs 2 crore towards designing the new UBI logo.
UBI is the third state-owned bank to have opted for a re-branding exercise in recent times, the other two being Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank.
UBI has no plans to appoint an icon as its brand ambassador, as a part of its revamping exercise.
On January 23, 2008, FE had reported UBI’s plan to undergo a brand makeover to woo the NextGen population. The bank has changed its logo for the second time in its history, as the first revamping of its logo-design happened in the year 1964. The other co-partners to UBI?s current re-branding exercise include Infosys, Boston Consulting Group and Chicago based Kellogs School of Management. Chairman and MD of UBI, MV Nair said that his bank has got the headroom to raise Rs 3,500 crore over a period of time. UBI is planning to raise capital worth Rs 1,000 crore within a month’s time. Of these perpetual bonds will amount to Rs 200 crore, upper tier capital Rs 300 crore and Rs 500 crore will be raised through lower tier II route.
UBI has plans to open 500 branches across the country in the current fiscal.Plans are afoot to open branches in 10 overseas locations including Sydney, London, Canada and Indonesia.Commenting on UBI’s proposed merger with Bank of India (BOI), a senior UBI executive said that his bank is also scouting the possibility for getting merged with other state-owned banks before taking a final decision on the UBI-BOI consolidation.?We are primarily looking at a technology oriented bank for the merger, since UBI currently operates on 100% core banking platform,? he said.