Tanja Bom - ABN AMRO

In banking, growth is never just about campaigns. It is shaped by reputation, regulation, trust and public opinions. For Tanja Bom, Head of Marketing Communications at ABN AMRO, brand growth starts with one clear metric, brand consideration, but achieving it requires much more than communication. It demands emotional creativity, disciplined data use, organisational alignment and, above all, living up to what you promise. In this conversation, she reflects on the realities of growing a brand in one of the most opinionized categories in the market.

Brand Consideration as the North Star

When asked what growth means in her role, Tanja answers without hesitation: “Brand consideration.” She is clear that brand and business are inseparable. “I strongly believe that brand and business go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other. Long-term brand building combined with short-term sales, and optimally balancing the two.” At ABN AMRO, brand consideration is measured consistently across campaigns through brand tracking and effectiveness research.

The biggest barrier to improving brand consideration is not media pressure or competition, but reputation. “If you’re negatively in the news, that has a direct negative effect.” The impact is visible. Over recent years, as negative exposure decreased, the brand began to recover: “In recent years, we’ve been less negatively in the news, and you can see that brand consideration is now slightly increasing again.”

Trust, in this category, is not a layer added through marketing. It is structural. And that trust must be supported by behaviour, not just communication. “You can say A, but if your behaviour reflects B, that damages trust. You must 'walk the talk’.”

“I strongly believe that brand and business go hand in hand — you can’t have one without the other. Long-term brand building combined with short-term sales, and optimally balancing the two.”

Visibility and Emotional Creativity

Beyond reputation, visibility is the most important driver of brand consideration. Yet visibility today looks different from it did in the past. “There was a time when we had hundreds of branches visible in the streets. That’s no longer the case.” With reduced physical presence and a fragmented media landscape, maintaining mental availability requires deliberate effort. “So, visibility in a broad sense is one of the key drivers of brand consideration.”

However, visibility alone does not create impact. Tanja is clear about where the real difference lies: “I strongly believe in a powerful creative idea.” She challenges the assumption that rational messaging drives results: “If you touch people’s hearts, you reach their minds. I don’t believe you go from head to heart; I believe you go from heart to head.”

Media can amplify, but creativity determines whether something truly resonates. “Visibility can be quantified. The qualitative difference is made through creativity.” Her own background in advertising reinforces that belief. When asked how she divides focus between media and creativity, she admits:

“At the start of the process, it’s maybe 70% creativity and 30% media. Later it becomes more 50/50.” Media multiplies; creativity defines the magnitude of impact.

“If you touch people’s hearts, you reach their minds. I don’t believe you go from head to heart; I believe you go from heart to head.”

Protecting the Long Term While Delivering Today

The tension between short-term results and long-term brand building is familiar in most organisations. Tanja acknowledges that commercial pressure exists, but she does not feel it undermines brand investment at ABN AMRO.

Three years ago, the bank introduced a renewed brand positioning. “We made very clear internally how important the brand is. Since then, we have invested in a new positioning, new identity, new visual style, a new campaign structure, and brand experience initiatives across customer journeys and internal communication.”

She believes the balance is currently right. “At the moment, I feel the balance between long-term brand building and short-term sales is in equilibrium.” Importantly, brand building extends beyond campaigns. ABN AMRO identified around 50 key life events where banking becomes highly relevant, such as opening a first account or taking out a mortgage. “We focus on ensuring those customer journeys are fully on-brand.”

Even seemingly functional touchpoints are opportunities for brand reinforcement. “Mortgage documentation is legally necessary but emotionally overwhelming. We’re working on improving those touchpoints so that even in those moments, customers feel they belong with our brand. Brand building also happens in those experiences.”

“We’re working on improving important touchpoints so that even in those big life moments, customers feel they belong with our brand. Brand building also happens in those experiences.”

Data, AI and Organisational Capability

ABN AMRO is firmly data-driven. Campaign briefings are built on historical data and clear objectives. Pre-testing, quantitative and qualitative research, and even neuromarketing are integrated into the process. “I strongly believe we should never cut research budgets, because it helps us make better decisions, especially in the upper funnel where you can’t easily adjust mid-campaign.”

Lower in the funnel, optimisation is more tactical. “If something really doesn’t work, we switch it off and reallocate budget.” At the same time, she recognises that data does not replace judgement, particularly in long-term brand building.

The same nuance applies to AI. While AI plays a growing role in lower-funnel execution and efficiency, creative leadership remains human. “We still work with agencies, and I believe in human-developed creative ideas. At this point, the human layer is still essential to make work feel authentic.”

As a bank, legal and compliance requirements also shape the pace of adoption. “We’re currently not allowed to use AI-generated visuals externally.”

Internally, expertise is increasingly shifting in-house, particularly around data. “On certain domains, we now have more expertise internally than some external partners.”

“I strongly believe we should never cut research budgets, because it helps us make better decisions, especially in the upper funnel where you can’t easily adjust mid-campaign.”

Growth Requires Discipline

Throughout the conversation, one theme remains consistent: growth in banking is not about quick wins. It is about disciplined alignment; between reputation and behaviour, between creativity and visibility, between data and conviction, and between short-term pressure and long-term brand investment.

Tanja returns to the same principle that guides her approach: “Long-term brand building combined with short-term sales, and optimally balancing the two.” In a category defined by trust, brand growth is not loud. It is deliberate. It is consistent. And it is built on delivering what you promise: every single day.