It will be a while longer before you drive by a billboard emblazoned with “Banking without the BS*” ”“ but that”™s not to say there”™s any shortage of eye-catching bank signage these days.
In Fairfield County and elsewhere, more banks appear to be embracing a little shtick in advertising ”“ perhaps taking inspiration from Capital One Bank with its ongoing, over-the-top “what”™s in your wallet” campaign; TD Bank”™s campaign featuring Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa; or GE Capital ads that include a depiction of an executive jamming with the president of a guitar company.
It is a marked departure from the classic, steadfast image banks have sought to project and still do, including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and others ”“ a bank there for customers over the long haul, through thick and thin. Only in April, Phoenix Marketing International released a study suggesting banks fare best by convincing consumers they are companies one can trust.
As some are discovering, one can get that message across in a manner that grabs eyeballs. In the aftermath of the financial collapse of 2008, it was Bridgeport-based People”™s United Bank that plastered “168 Years. 0 bailouts” on a billboard overlooking Interstate 95 in Norwalk. Just south of that on I-95 this spring, commuters see a First County Bank billboard pegged to its new “tasty” ad campaign that at first glance has one wondering whether the advertiser is a bank, an eatery, or even a bank focused on restaurant loans. And under new CEO Christopher Maher, Patriot National Bank has reinvigorated its messaging with splashy photos and testimonials from the owners of Valbella Restaurant in Greenwich and Splash Car Wash, among others.
Creative Partners, which has offices in Stamford and Los Angeles, cooked up the “tasty” campaign for Stamford-based First County Bank, and the bank”™s chief marketing officer Karen Kelly said she did not have even a moment”™s hesitation for going ahead with the unusual campaign, which plays off food themes under ad slogans like “fresh banking” and “savory loans.”
“I loved it,” Kelly said. “I thought it was different. Food is very relevant ”“ it”™s fresh, unique. There”™s a lot of bank advertising, a lot of clutter ”¦ I wanted to make sure we had something that broke through the clutter.”
Sometimes it is the simplest message that is deemed the most effective ”“ in the case of Ridgefield-based Fairfield County Bank, it does not get much simpler than shoehorning into its logo, handwritten in red, the word “business,” making itself ”˜Fairfield County”™s Business Bank.”™”
Florida-based BankUnited runs a campaign as arresting as any ”“ proclaiming a “BS* Free Zone” in its branches, with the asterisk steering the reader to the words “BankSpeak” in small letters. In a roundabout way last month, the company bespoke potential plans to bring its message to Fairfield County, after its CEO agreed to a non-compete settlement with Capital One, barring any BankUnited beachhead in the tri-state area until 2013.
If or when BankUnited arrives, it may find itself in a formidable race on the marketing front with First County Bank and others.
“It has a lot of legs,” Kelly said of the Creative Partners campaign. “There”™s a lot we can do with it.”
