It will take hard work, respectful dialogue and tough changes for banks to move beyond growing public outrage over their culpability for our current economic woes. 

Meanwhile, as I stand daydreaming in the ATM line at my local bank, I’m struck by the simple things banks could do to make a better banking experience:

• Make it a more human experience. IDEO worked with Spanish bank BBVA for 2 years to redesign the ATM experience and interface. The resulting work is included in the Museum of Modern Art’s amazing show, “Talk to Me.” 
• Make people laugh for a change! What if a bank installed something like Coca-Cola’s Happiness Machine in the place of one of their ATMs? 
• How about rewarding smiles? Unilver created a smile-activated ice cream machine. How mind-blowing would it be if banks gave people a reason to smile at the ATM?
• And what about making it easy for people to be good? PSFK reports on a new ecoATM that accepts old mobile phones and gives consumers the option of taking on-the-spot cash or making a donation to charity. What if banks installed one of these alongside their regular ATMs?  

Can you imagine people kissing bank ATMs like they did Coke’s delightful vending machines?  

The Ad Age cover story on Coca-Cola’s 125th anniversary includes a fascinating interview with Phil Mooney, VP of “heritage communications”—responsible for leveraging Coke’s vast archive as the huge brand asset it is.

There are some great lessons to be gleaned from Coke’s archive that all brands should heed:

Lesson #1: Make a commitment to your brand.

Coca-Cola has topped Interbrand’s Best Global Brands list for over a decade. That achievement reflects a commitment to making the brand the core of the business from the earliest days—reflected not only in perhaps the world’s first million-dollar advertising budget (in 1912) but also the direct involvement of company leadership in marketing strategy. 

Lesson #2: Don’t be afraid of ceding control to consumers.

Early on, the brand spent time and energy telling consumers not to call them “Coke,” a nickname invented by consumers but resisted by Coca-Cola. The brand chose to embrace consumers’ shortened name—and the positive impact on the brand should be a lesson to those marketers today that are overly resistant to consumer brand input.

Lesson #3: Create experiences that fit into consumers’ lives.

Early Coke “ads” were trays, calendars, posters, pocket mirrors—things that were relevant and welcome as part of consumers’ daily lives. Today’s brand apps that make life easier or richer, that delight consumers just for the sake of it, play a similar role.

Lesson #4: Embrace change.

Coke’s archive reveals prescient moves across the media of the 20th century, from print to broadcast, and an openness to change that is reflected some terrific recent experiences that defy neat definitions, from the 2010 World Cup K’naan “Wavin Flag” anthem to the “happiness machine.”