The bank that has long used an easy chair as its signature image is looking for a little wow factor.
Toronto-Dominion Bank, TD-T which holds the registered trademarks on WOW and WOW! in the United States, is trying to trademark the upper-case word WOW in Canada.
Its burgeoning trademark collection illustrates just how important TD believes the unique, and slightly wacky, culture of its U.S. business is. And just how much TD hopes to emulate parts of it in Canada.
The culture stems from New Jersey-based Commerce Bancorp, which had already applied for the U.S. trademarks when it was swallowed by TD in an $8.5-billion (U.S.) takeover more than two years ago. TD went on to register the trademarks and filed an application in Canada. (It generally takes more than a year to register a trademark here).
The word wow is emblematic of the qualities that attracted TD to Commerce Bank, which caught its suitor's eye with a peppy, customer-focused style.
Commerce Bank's employees have long been taught to “surprise and delight” customers, luring them in with free lollipops, dog biscuits, coin sorting and smiles. Employees rarely say no to any customer request without a manager's approval.
The basic idea: Wow the customer. The bank's training institute houses a WOW! department whose task is to ensure TD's 24,000 U.S. employees enjoy themselves.
