Idea bank.

Reader's Guide:

Our "Idea Bank" showcases recent examples of advertising and other marketing products from financial institutions of all sizes and locations in the United States. Browse through this set, on to spark your creativity for your marketing efforts. Included in each issue are some of the winners of the most recent Advertising Awards Competition sponsored by the ABA Marketing Network. The names of advertising or communications agencies are included where appropriate.

Annual Report

BEST OF THE BEST AWARD

ABAMN 2004 AD Awards Contest

Summary Annual Report

Institution: Alliance Bancshares California, Culver City, Calif.

Assets: $300 million, four locations

Agency: Strata-Media Inc., Orange, Calif.

The agency was instructed "to think outside of the box," and to consider different standards, including innovative size and paper, as compared to past annual reports.

"I wanted it to be viewed as a 'coffee table book,' something our clients and shareholders would not want to throw away as soon as they reviewed the marketing pages," says Monique Johnson, director of marketing and communications at Alliance Bank.

At the time the bank was expanding into two new communities in Southern California. The goals were to "wow" the prospects, show that the bank was professional, strong and eager to take on new business.

Direct Mail Series

BEST OF THE BEST AWARD

ABAMN 2004 AD Awards Contest

Congratulations!

Institution: The MassMutual Trust Co., FSB, Hartford, Conn.

Assets: $250 million (under administration)

This campaign was created in-house. "Create a uniform visual 'look' and keep the theme consistent," is the advice to other marketers from Bill Dougherty of the financial institution, which specializes in trust and fiduciary services. The campaign purpose was to drive sales of fiduciary services through the company's financial representatives. The campaign ran for about seven months.

Annual Report

2003 Annual Report

Institution: National Commerce Financial Corp., Memphis, Tenn.

Assets: $22 billion

Agency: Perdue Creative, Memphis, Tenn

NCF's goal was to communicate with positive enthusiasm how recent changes in leadership had created not a whole new company, but rather a return to the "legacy NCF" of earlier years.

Multimedia

Judges Special Branding Award

BEST OF THE BEST AWARD

ABAMN 2004 AD Awards Contest

No Fences

Institution: PlainsCapital Bank, Dallas, Texas

Assets: $2.2 billion; 30 locations

Agency: Hybrid Inc., Dallas, Texas

The bank, as well as other companies under the PlainsCapital Corporation umbrella, had recently been renamed and given new logos. The "No Fences" campaign had two marketing goals: first, to generate name recognition; second, to create an image and theme line that tied all companies together under one brand.

The "No Fences" campaign utilized a distinctive open plains and blue skies look that was indicative of the bank's West Texas heritage while illustrating the institution's strategy of providing "financial services without the obstacles."

The bank first discussed big-picture goals with the agency, and then held a brainstorming session so that everyone on the agency and marketing teams understood the initial strategy. Because the strategy was new and the situation complex, marketing communicated frequently with agency teams (daily phone calls, two to three weekly meetings). Eventually the process created a new collateral system, website, print advertising, radio and outdoors ads.

The role of the marketer in a rebranding effort is "to act as an internal consultant and salesperson who offers a 'vision' of the rebranding to the company," says Carol Towne, executive vice president and director of marketing for the institution. "The vision is in reality a top-down strategy based on the marketer's thorough understanding of the company strategy and culture and taking into consideration the company history as well as the current competitive environment."

Annual Report

Certificate of Excellence

AWARD

ABAMN 2004 AD Awards Contest

2003 Annual Report

Institution: The Palmetto Bank, Laurens, S.C.

Assets: $900 million, 30 locations

Agency: Gibbons Peck Marketing Communication, Greenville, S.C

Banks should seize every opportunity to market to shareholders and customers--and the annual report is no exception, according to Ana Miles, the bank's vice president of marketing.

"Even though an annual report is required to be a very technical piece, we've taken advantage of this important communication vehicle and turned it into a yearly review that shareholders, customers, community members and prospects utilize and look forward to receiving each year."

Print Single

Certificate of Excellence

AWARD

ABAMN 2004 AD Awards Contest

Institution: The Palmetto Bank, Laurens, S.C.

Assets: $900 million, 30 locations

Agency: Jackson Dawson Communications, regional office in Greenville, S.C.

Because of a merger involving two large competitors in the market area, The Palmetto Bank launched a print ad campaign promoting its stability and commitment to community banking and personal service.

The campaign was planned for a two-week period when the two merged banks were going through an awkward transition process. This was a time of confusion for the customers of the merged banks because they were not able to access their funds for several days while the two banks consolidated accounts, resources and services.

The agency and the bank decided to "go the extra mile" with the newspaper print ad by making it larger than normal to ensure that it got the readers' attention and had impact.

RECEIVE RECOGNITION FOR YOUR CREATIVE WORK

Have you produced outstanding marketing materials that deserve peer recognition?

One of the best ways to achieve that acknowledgment is to submit entries to the annual Advertising Awards Competition sponsored by the ABA Marketing Network.

Each year a panel awards prizes in the categories of television, radio, print, outdoor, website/e-commerce, direct mail public relations, annual reports and multimedia.

Financial institutions in each of four asset categories are eligible to receive awards. Both financial institutions and their advertising agencies can submit materials.

In 2005, winners will be presented at the ABA Marketing Conference, Sept. 7-9, 2005, in South Beach, Fla.

For more information about the competition, contact Barbara Payne at the ABA Marketing Network. 1120 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20036-3971. Toll-free telephone: (800) BANKERS, extension 5283. Fax: [phone]. E-mail: [e-mail].