ABA Bank Marketing articles from January 2007

ABA Bank Marketing archives from January 2007

Show me the money! Show me the art gallery!(Marketing News)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Here's a new way to drive traffic into the bank lobby: Open an art gallery in the branch. That's what the Park Avenue Bank in Manhattan (assets: $290 million) did recently when it opened a new branch--the bank's third--on (where else?) Park...

Cambridge Savings Bank knows how to toss around the dough.(Marketing News)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Cambridge Savings Bank (CSB), Cambridge, Mass., ran this print campaign (right) recently to increase awareness of its commercial services among potential business customers. Although the bank offers a full range of business banking products, it...

Bank creates a new 'Energy Savings Account' in response to market conditions.(Marketing News)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Sometimes it's possible for a community bank to create a new limited-time product rapidly in response to market conditions. An example is the "Energy Savings Account" created at Jewett City Savings Bank, Jewett City, Conn. (assets: $176...

E-mail click-through rates in the financial industry surpass those for retail.(Marketing News)(Survey)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... A recent survey of e-mail marketing rates in 13 industries during the first six months of 2006 reveals that the financial services industry has an average click-through rate of 11 percent, according to metrics compiled by Harte-Hanks,...

Biometric identification.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Biometric Identification: Zions First National Bank in Utah recently became the first bank in the nation to offer finger scanning as a technique to identify customers for check-cashing security and other purposes. Customers were given the...

Customers-only credit cards.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Customers-Only Credit Cards: Some larger banks are offering special credit cards only to their existing customers, featuring lower fees, fewer penalties and attractive rewards. Among the banks that are going this route: Wachovia, Commerce Bank...

Small-business accounts.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Small-Business Accounts: One in 10 small-business owners have switched principal banks in the last three years, according to a National Small-Business Poll released recently by the National Federation of Independent Business Research...

Pannos Marketing, Bedford, N.H., has announced a merger with Winzeler Group of Manchester, N.H., according to President Jim Pannos.(Service Providers)
January 1, 2007... Pannos Marketing, Bedford, N.H., has announced a merger with Winzeler Group of Manchester, N.H., according to President Jim Pannos. Each company has a long history in the communications industry in the Northeast. The new company will carry the...

New York Community Bancorp Inc., Westbury, N.Y., holding company for New York Community Bank and New York Commercial Bank, has announced a merger with PennFed Financial Services Inc., the holding company for Penn Federal Savings Bank, West Orange, N.J.(Mergers & Acquisitions)
January 1, 2007... New York Community Bancorp Inc., Westbury, N.Y., holding company for New York Community Bank and New York Commercial Bank, has announced a merger with PennFed Financial Services Inc., the holding company for Penn Federal Savings Bank, West...

Health savings accounts.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS: The number of banks offering health savings accounts (HSAs) has tripled to 1,100 since the end of 2005, according to media reports. Banks are also offering a wider variety of investment options for the account holders....

Correction.(Marketing News)(Correction notice)
January 1, 2007... In last month's article entitled "Customers Who Spread the 'Word'" (ABA Bank Marketing magazine, December 2006), Susan Savarese, marketing research manager at City National Bank was incorrectly identified as being located in Cleveland. The...

Get creative!(Letter Doctor)
January 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] This issue's piece comes in from the John Caples International Awards, who are looking for entries to their annual direct marketing competition. This piece is so outstanding in its packaging and creative approach,...

MetaBank name change.(ABAMN 2006 Financial Marketing Awards: Runner-Up: Brand Campaign; Assets of $500 million to $1 billion)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Institution: MetaBank, Storm Lake, Iowa Assets: $705.5 million In 2005, the bank consolidated 17 branch locations and four bank names spread acoss five markets under one new brand--MetaBank. There were...

Print campaign.(ABAMN 2006 Financial Marketing Awards: Winner: Humor; Assets of under $500 Million)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Institution: Port Washington State Bank, Port Washington, Wisc. Assets: $268 million Agency: Boelter + Lincoln, Milwaukee, Wisc. The bank and the agency decided to pursue an amusing approach to the...

No one takes better care of your clams.(ABAMN 2006 Financial Marketing Awards: Entry: Brand Campaign; Assets of under $500 million)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Institution: The First National Bank of Ipswich (FNBI), Ipswich, Mass. Assets: $398 million; 11 locations This bank is located on the coastal community of Ipswich, which is world famous for the Ipswich...

Joint checking.(ABAMN 2006 Financial Marketing Awards: Entry: Humor; Assets over $1 Billion)(Umpqua Holdings Corp.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Institution: Umpqua Bank, Roseburg, Ore. Assets: $6.6 billion This 2005 campaign had two objectives: to create a buzz about the bank in key markets, using traditional and nontraditional media; and to target...

Portfolio retention.(ABAMN 2006 Financial Marketing Awards: Entry: Customer Retention Marketing; Assets of over $1 Billion)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Institution: NovaStar Financial Inc. Agency: Salva O'Renick, Kansas City, Mo. The strategy of this postcard campaign was to energize the mortgage company's customer base and to make the base feel good about...

Betsimpsier campaign.(ABAMN 2006 Financial Marketing Awards: Entry: Customer Acquisition Marketing; Assets over $1 Billion)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Institution: MB Financial Bank, Rosemont, Ill. Assets: $5.5 billion Last year, the bank launched a campaign called "Betsimpsier (bet-simp'-see-er) banking. This made up word was based on the bank's promise...

Receive recognition for your creative work.(Idea Bank)
January 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 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 ABA Financial Marketing Awards sponsored by the...

Aliases and other forms of deception.(Marketing Solutions)(Column)
January 1, 2007... Well, that's it. I have had enough. I am going to change my name. I am sick and tired of people who have known me for a long time expecting that my previous words and deeds should somehow imply who I am and what I stand for. My old name is just...

The search for ROI: a hot new area for marketers to invest budget dollars is search engine marketing. The problem: how do you know whether you are spending your money wisely?(Online Marketing)(Cover story)
January 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Search engine marketing (SEM) is one of the newest and most effective methods of marketing to customers online. In the past, marketers reached prospects mainly through mass media outlets such as newspapers and radio....

Deja vu all over again: the financial services industry is expected to evolve fast and furiously in 2007, but some of the big marketing challenges--like rising interest rates--are familiar issues recycled from years past.(Trends)
January 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Fasten your seat belts. The trend in bank marketing this year will be a fast-paced "back to the future" scenario. As the saying goes... the more things change, the more things stay the same. This is certainly going...

Selling? I hate it! A lot of CEOs want growth, but are repulsed by the idea of achieving it through a sales culture. What they don't realize is that effective sales training is the smart choice: a sensible way to achieve growth, with measurable ROI--and without the risk and expense of alternative strategies.(Sales)
January 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A major culture change is required for most community banks when it comes to selling. Bankers have long had the mind-set that banking is a business built when prospects come to the institution and request the service...

A Cinderella story: how marketing, among other things, helped a fading bank to reposition itself, enhance its image and rejuvenate the brand.(Turnarounds)
January 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Back in the 1980. University Bank had fallen on hard times. The neighborhood in which it was located--known as Frogtown in St. Paul, Minn.--was going through an extended economic slump. The former bank management...

How collectible coins stack up: a well-constructed coin program can not only generate noninterest income, but also build brand awareness, drive lobby traffic, retain customers and create cross-sell opportunities.(Fundamentals: Coin Merchandising)
January 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Them are literally 139 million reasons to consider implementing a gift-coin program. That's the number of Americans collecting coins today, according to the U.S. Mint, Nearly one person in every household has been...

Improve response by going 'three dimensional'.(Direct Mail Essentials)
January 1, 2007... Nearly every direct mail advertisement ever mailed has been printed on paper. But sometimes it pays to be different, and that's especially true in direct mail marketing. Direct mail campaigns come in a variety of formats--standard business...

Banks can now offer a variety of stored value cards in a retail setting.(New Products)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... West Coast Bank, Bellevue, Wash., has become one of the first banks in the country to offer customers the Coinstar line of gift card, prepaid wireless, cash card and phone card products. The bank says that the stored valued card offerings...

Too sweet? Try sugar-free candy for your lobby bowl.(New Products)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Maybe your bank has an image as being a friendly place--and you reinforce this image by offering bowls of candy for customers in the lobby. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Your health-conscious customers might not be too happy about this...

Banks can differentiate themselves by supporting financial literacy programs for children, grades one to five.(Product File)
January 1, 2007... Banks can differentiate themselves by supporting financial literacy programs for children, grades one to five. Money Savvy Generation, Chicago, develops innovative products that empower kids to take control of their financial lives. The...

Interpreter service helps limited-English consumers communicate with banks.(New Products)(Language Services International Inc.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Potential customers who don't speak English can telephone your bank and communicate through an interpreter provided by a service called Your World, Your Language. The provider, Language Line Services, San Francisco, says that the service is a...

Promotional drawings and contests: what is allowable?(Marketing Compliance)
January 1, 2007... In the search for new and creative ideas to attract business, you may have had someone come up with the idea to conduct a drawing or contest. Opening a new deposit account of loan would entitle the customer to be entered into a drawing for a...

4.28 rave reviews for last year's ABA Marketing Conference.(MARKETING edge)
January 1, 2007... Marketers who last September attended the ABA Marketing Conference in Chicago gave exceptional high marks to the event, according to a post-conference e-mail survey. Attendees rated their overall satisfaction with the conference at 4.28 on...

Pass the bay seasoning! The ABA Marketing Conference goes to Baltimore.(MARKETING edge)(Conference news)
January 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] We don't mean to crab. But it's time to start thinking about the 2007 ABA Marketing Conference in Baltimore. If you don't start planning now, you will miss out on your opportunity to taste some authentic Maryland...

New technology featured at ABA Community Bankers' Conference, Feb. 18-21.(MARKETING edge)(Conference news)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... New banking technology--from remote deposit to biometrics--will be among the topics discussed at the ABA National Conference for Community Bankers, which will be held Feb 18-21 at the Desert Springs J.S. Marriott Resort & Spa, Palm Desert,...

2007 ABAMN calendar.(MARKETING edge)(Conference news)(Brief article)(Calendar)
January 1, 2007... June 23-28 2007 ABA School of Bank Marketing and Management Northwestern University, Evanston, III. At this one-of-a-kind school, learn techniques and strategies to promote new products, learn marketing principles and management...

Services directory.(Directory)
January 1, 2007... 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 the companies supplying their services. For further...

Continuing education quiz.
January 1, 2007... ABA Bank Marketing provides continuing education credit to members who hold the CFMP designation. The following quiz reflects the content of this magazine. The quiz has been pre-approved by the ICB for 1.0 hour of continuing education credit....