Trust is the proverbial bad penny for financial services. Pages of analysis have been devoted to rebuilding it. Has any of it made a difference? By understanding trust more deeply trust can be rebuilt.

Richard Madden, Chief Strategy Officer at Kitcatt Nohr Digitas, has been reading my book and shares his thoughts on brand and business trust in his regular Marketing Week column.

“All institutions, but especially financial services ignore a lack of trust at their peril. There is often a dichotomy between what companies say they are about and what they actually do – their actions and their words are different. Organisations need to be more forensic about their activities, the impact of their actions and how they are perceived.”

Watch Steve Jobs delivering an Apple presentation to witness a brand completely in control of the development and evolution of their narrative. Don’t fall into the short-sighted trap of focusing on one campaign at a time, especially when the pressure is to acquire new customers or drive volume. Any new communication must be seen within the context of past and future promises.

My from the 3rd CMO Conference in Zurich on the challenges for marketing as we move from shareholders to stakeholders. The pressures to change the marketing model are huge and this is both a threat and an opportunity for marketing.

Vodafone have got rid of the CMO position replacing it with a Chief Commercial Officer. Is this the start of a trend or just a one off and what does it mean for the Vodafone brand and marketing in general?

My presentation at the 3rd Annual CMO Conference in Zurich later this month will be on - Leadership in Marketing: from shareholder value to stakeholder value

What is the Future of Marketing? Marketing is on a collision course with the future. Our current marketing paradigm is inextricably linked to the driving of consumption and the creation of habits of consumption. Economic growth has been the single minded outcome upon which we have built our brands, our marketing models and our rasion d'etre. But unabated growth cannot continue. My hunch is that the future of marketing is not merely, or even, a "more consumer focused / digital / growth oriented / sustainable" (delete as appropriate) future but a complete reversal of the current paradigm.

I'm a Natwest customer of long standing, around 30 years in fact, ever since I took out my first bank account. Together with their stable mate, RBS, they have launched to much fanfare of posters and advertising their "Customer Charter - 14 commitments to make them Britain's most helpful bank". Yesterday in a comedy of errors I spent 25 minutes in a Natwest branch in London. So let's see whether my experience and those of my fellow customers matches up to their commitments:

Yesterday I followed Lord Currie's keynote speech at the Reputation in Financial Services Conference 2010, in London, with some reflections on Trust in Financial Services.

This week Natwest and Royal Bank of Scotland rolled out their Customer Charter and lots of marketing in support. Full page ads in papers up and down the country. According to these adverts they are now making 14 commitments to help them become "Britain's most helpful bank".

Malcolm McLaren was the marketing genius that propelled the punk movement into the spotlight and amplified its effect on our society and consciousness. He did such a good job that even now we all still hold a visceral understanding of the feelings and motivations behind the punk movement.So how do you Punk your brand?