ABA Bank Marketing articles from April 2003

ABA Bank Marketing archives from April 2003

Citizens & Northern Bank. (Bankers).(promotes Michelle Karas to vice president)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Michelle Karas, CFMP, marketing director for Citizens & Northern Bank, Wellsboro, Pa., has been promoted to vice president. She had served as assistant vice president. Karas joined C&N in 1998 as marketing coordinator. A graduate of Bloomsburg...

Akron (Ohio) Region of FirstMerit Corp. (Bankers).(bank appoints Robert P. Brecht as president of Souther Division)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Robert P. Brecht has been appointed president of the Southern Division and CEO of the Akron (Ohio) Region of FirstMerit Corp. He will be responsible for corporate sales, marketing and real estate management The Southern Region consists of...

Colonial Bank's Southwest Florida Region. (Bankers).(Colonial Bank hires Michael Esper as executive vice president)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... A former bank marketer, Michael Esper has been named as executive vice president and head of retail banking for Colonial Bank's Southwest Florida Region. He is responsible for overseeing the development and growth of the current and future...

The Bank Marketing Association. (Service Providers).(Richard M. Rosenberg joins board of directors at Exigen Group)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Richard M. Rosenberg, past president of the Bank Marketing Association (predecessor to the ABA Marketing Network) and former chairman and chief executive office of BankAmerica Corp., has joined Exigen's board of directors. Based in San...

Wausau Financial Systems. (Service Providers).(bestows title of president to chief operating officer John Koci)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... John Koci, chief operating officer of Wausau Financial Systems, Mosinee, Wisc., has assumed the additional title of president. Bob Weirauch will assume the role of chairman and chief executive officer. Wausau Financial Systems is a provider of...

WordCom. (Service Providers).(hires John Scoble as representative for Southern states)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... John Scoble has joined WordCom as a representatives in seven states in the South and Southwest. WordCom, which has its headquarters in Ellington, Conn., is a direct marketing company that specializes in helping financial institutions. Scoble is...

Progeny Marketing Innovation. (Service Providers).(American Bankers Insurance Association appoints Dan Tarantin to board of directors)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Dan Tarantin, president and CEO of Progeny Marketing Innovations, Nashville, Tenn., has been appointed to the board of directors of the American Bankers Insurance Association (ABIA), Washington, D.C., for the 2003-2004 term.

DMW. (Alliances).(forms strategic alliance with Evergreen Direct)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... DMW, a full-service direct marketing agency with offices in Wayne, Pa., has formalized a strategic partnership with Evergreen Direct, a Vermont-based agency that specializes in reaching the mature and senior markets.

The BISYS Group Inc. (Alliances).(purchases Select Insurance Marketing Corp.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... The BISYS Group Inc. of New York has acquired the Washington-based Select Insurance Marketing Corporation (SIMCO), an insurance brokerage firm specializing in the wholesale distribution of long-term care insurance.

Spatial Insights Inc. (Alliances).(creates alliance with Pinebrush Technologies Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Spatial Insights Inc., Falls Church, Va., has formed an alliance with Pinebush Technologies Inc., Albany, N.Y. A geographic information services company, Spatial Insights will act as a value-added reseller and master distributor for Pinebush.

The Coast Guard Federal Credit Union. (Mergers).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... The Coast Guard Federal Credit Union has merged with the Pentagon Federal Credit Union in Alexandria, Va., adding 3,500 members to Pentagon Federal, which is the third largest credit union in the nation.

Bank of Florida. (New Names).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Citizens National Bank of Southwest Florida, Naples, sister institution to Fort Lauderdale's Bank of Florida, will change its name to Bank of Florida, NA. Both banks are subsidiaries of BancShares of Florida Inc. There are plans for additional...

Proven Direct. (New Names).(Postal Solutions changes name to Proven Direct)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Postal Solutions, a marketing production firm based in Menomonee Falls, Wisc., has changed its name to Proven Direct, which the company says better represents the diversity of its business, which includes variable imaging, online marketing,...

Overdraft program well worth the effort, if run responsibly. (View Point: Advertisement).
April 1, 2003... AN INTERESTING DEBATE HAS EMERGED OVER WHETHER BANKS AND THRIFTS ARE SAINTS OR SINNERS WHEN IT COMES TO OVERDRAFT PRIVILEGES. The payment of NSF checks is not a new concept. Historically, banks have always provided selective overdraft...

Helping your customers to manage their credit. (Marketing News).
April 1, 2003... Showing customers how to devise credit-management strategies that could save money is an effective marketing strategy to strengthen relationships. "Bankers need to be more than moneylenders," says Rick Wemmers, president of Bank Marketing...

Consumers pay more bills online, but the check habit persists. (Marketing News).(new survey results from TowerGroup)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... While consumer use of electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) is on the rise, paper checks remain a hard habit for most Americans to break, according to a new survey by TowerGroup, Needham, Mass. The research and advisory services...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
April 1, 2003... Oops! We Forgot to Give Credit Where Credit Was Due In a recent issue, we ran scripts from two Chase radio commercials ("Tune In to Better Radio Ads," ABA Bank Marketing, January/February 2003). We inadvertently neglected to mention...

10 rules for cleaner customer data. (Marketing News).
April 1, 2003... Has your bank ever sent out a cross-sell letter addressed to "The Perpetual Trust Family"? Or with the recipient's Social Security number printed on an address line? If so, you understand the importance of clean data to the effective...

A community event your bank mights be interested in sponsoring. (Marketing News).(banks can sponsor Operation KidSafe events to fingerprint, photograph children)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... What: Operation KidSafe, a program to assist police in the recovery of missing children by taking a digital photograph and set of digital fingerprints of children in the community. Background: Over 3,000 children are reported missing each...

Use technology--don't let it use you. (Rewarding Employees).
April 1, 2003... Whereas today's office technology can make us more efficient, it also tends to have an alienating effect, creating more distance in work relationships. Employees are spending more "face time" interfacing with their computer than they are in...

Elephants, ponies and cats. (Marketing Solutions).(customer relationship management systems)
April 1, 2003... "I knew a man who grabbed a cat by the tail and learned 40 percent mare about cats than the man who didn't." Mark Twain The Elephant. There is almost always an elephant in the conference room. In almost any of our client conversations...

Inner branding. .(financial institutions need to focus on staff when brand-building)(Cover Story)
April 1, 2003... When building a brand, most banks concentrate on external communication to the customer-or potential customer. But there's another vital audience: the institution's own employees. Without their buy-in and commitment, no program will endure. ...

Turn employees into brand ambassadors. (Feature).
April 1, 2003... The best way to differentiate your bank is through your people. Converting your workers into enthusiastic brand advocates gives you a competitive edge and upgrades customer service. Here are suggestions for making it happen. Bank employees...

Brand new. (Feature).(Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce grows online bank effort by partnering with supermarket chain Loblaw Inc.)
April 1, 2003... It's possible to expand a brand in innovative and unexpected ways. Here's the revealing tale of how Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), Toronto, moved into online banking by positioning the service under the house brand of a major...

How to write a sensational sales letter: what's more important; what you say? Or how you say it? The answer is that presentation and style are just as vital as text itself. (Fundamentals).
April 1, 2003... Writing a great sales letter is more than putting smart words on a page. It is also understanding the audience, physically structuring the piece and using effective writing techniques to grab--and maintain--the reader's attention. Years...

Use testing to improve response. (Direct Mail Essentials).
April 1, 2003... There are few guarantees in marketing, but it's a sure thing that testing in direct mail will produce better response--as well as bank profits. Testing isn't difficult, but it requires planning and discipline because, in the rush to "get the...

Information that every marketer needs. (Customer Satisfaction).
April 1, 2003... We live in a world of information overload. One of the challenges facing marketing executives is turning all the available data into actionable intelligence. This is even more true as our clients turn to the ever-expanding army of self-service...

The instant, no hassle direct mail campaign. (New Products).(Sourcebook 4 from PSB)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Wouldn't it be nice if you could develop a direct mail campaign "by the book?" Let's say you need to promote a product for seniors. The first thing you do is open the "book" to the section on "Senior Programs." You look through a series of...

Customers, we have taken over your car radio. (New Products).(WeatherFone radio transmitter)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... What a waste! Umpteen cars at the drive-through window and no way to reach them with the bank's marketing messages. Until now, that is. Inforadio is a low-power radio transmitter that broadcasts FM messages over a limited area of about 300...

Cell Insure. (Product File).(Trilegiant Loyalty Solutions cell phone insurance)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Cell Insure. As long as banks can sell insurance and people use cell phones, it makes sense for banks to sell insurance to protect cell phones. Cell Insure from Trilegiant Loyalty Solutions of Norwalk, Conn., offers banks a product to protect...

Spatial Insights Inc. (Product File).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Spatial Insights Inc., Falls Church, Va., is offering a Web-based hosted service for online proximity analysis. The service allows clients to fully integrate the proximity analysis application seamlessly within their website. In addition to the...

Constellation Customer Profile. (Product File).(Conclusive Strategies)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... A customer profiling product called Constellation Customer Profile is being offered by Conclusive Strategies of Dripping Spring, Texas. The product summarizes the key demographic and lifestyle characteristics of one or more groups of customers...

Transaction information. (Product File).(Gilson and Associates' Check Mine)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... A software tool that allows financial institutions to understand and leverage untapped transaction information already contained in their current payment streams has been introduced by Glison & Associates, Atlanta. The system, called Check...

Unlimited Referral Marketing System. (Product File).(training video)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... A new video-based training program teaches financial sales professionals how to generate a steady stream of high-quality clients through referrals. The program is called the "Unlimited Referral Marketing System" and is available through...

Livermore Research. (Product File).("The Blitz Continues" report)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Livermore Research is offering a 162-page overview of all major credit card issuers' e-mail strategies. Entitled "The Blitz Continues," the report chronicles the rise of email as the cardholder communication channel of the future. ...

BenchMark Consulting. (Product File).(mortgage consulting practice)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... A mortgage consulting practice has been started by BenchMark Consulting, Atlanta, a financial-services management consultant. The practice offers solutions in business process and continuous improvement that will reduce cost, increase revenue...

DemandMore Projects. (Product File).(MarketSoft Corp.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... DemandMore Projects is a centralized project management software that helps marketer executives automate time-consuming tasks and gain real-time visibility into marketing budgets. The software, from MarketSoft, oversees all marketing planning,...

Market Advantage Software Inc. (Product File).(SegmentSolve software)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... The market segmentation software, SegmentSolve, has been released by Market Advantage Software Inc. to retail buyers. The software combines the three classical steps of segmentation (cluster or segment development, segment selection and segment...

Quick answers about customer satisfaction. (New Products).(Barry Leeds and Associates Inc.'s BankerPro.Net solution)
April 1, 2003... The problem: Your bank has some high-value that it wants to retain. The institution, however, has no way to measure--regularly and in real time-the satisfaction of this targeted group following specific bank transactions. Now, a proposed...

Using credit scores with your database. (Database Marketing).
April 1, 2003... Bankers and customers sometimes think differently about the same things! For instance, a loan is a liability for the customer--but it's an asset for the bank. However, the customer's loan could become a liability for the bank if the customer...

The 2003 Advertising Awards Competition: call for entries. (ABA Resources).(American Bankers Association)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Banks in the asset category of $250 million to $1 billion will have an added opportunity for recognition in the 2003 ABA Marketing Network Advertising Awards Competition. The Marketing Network has announced that there will be two new...

2003 Strategic Marketing Colloquium scheduled for May 31-June 1. (ABA Resources).(American Bankers Association)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Lance Kessler, president of Lance Kessler & Associates, Mechanicsburg, Pa., will once again serve as facilitator for the ABA Marketing Network Strategic Marketing Colloquium, which will be held in Boulder, Colo. The Spring 2003 session will be...

Ninety-nine more marketers designated as CFMPs. (ABA Resources).(Certified Financial Marketing Professionals )
April 1, 2003... Ninety-nine more marketers have been designated as Certified Financial Marketing Professionals (CFMPs). This brings to a total of 176 the number of CFMP designations given by the Institute of Certified Bankers (ICB) to those marketers who, on...

Services Directory.(Directory)
April 1, 2003... This Services Directory contains listings of firms and organizations that serve the financial services community. ABA Bank Marketing does not endorse or make recommendations in regard to tire companies supplying their services. for further...