Wouldn’t it be nice if a bank’s marketing just cut out the noise?
That’s exactly what American Bank Center did at the start of 2020 with their multi-pronged digital marketing campaign. Delivering straight-up messaging “without all the filler,” their signature no-nonsense style informed everything they did, starting with strategy and carrying all the way through social media and banner, radio and digital ads. With creative that’s witty and fun, American’s personality-driven campaign stands out and apart from their peers in the market, leaning in on their roll-up-your-sleeves-and-do-it signature style.
Here’s look at their smart strategy.
Goals: Partnering with Adrenaline, American tasked the agency to create a campaign that is an evolution from previous concepts, while keeping the spirit of the brand intact. With a strong digital campaign, American wanted to keep the bank top-of-mind for consumers and place emphasis on their robust suite of products and services that go beyond traditional banking’s offering. Net account openings year-over-year would be the campaign’s benchmark for success.
Audience: American’s primary audience is the people and businesses of North Dakota – from cities to towns to rural communities. Culturally, the brand identifies as more Western with a focus on the independent-minded pioneer spirit. The audience is divided between those who skew a little older and more traditional and a younger generation that is grounded and practical, but more innovation-focused. To strike a balance between these two seemingly disparate audiences, marketing campaign creative would have to cut through the clutter and find a way to effectively speak to them both with charm and wit.
Results: The campaign resulted in noteworthy increases in web website traffic, including nearly 50% rise in new users thousands of new leads in the first quarter alone. But where the rubber really meets the road is in the net account openings. According to American: “Year-to-date, we are realizing significant increases in net accounts as of July 31 – nearly quadrupling the same quarterly account openings during the same time last year. Keep in mind this is during an unprecedented global pandemic that closed all of our lobbies for over two months! We’ve more than doubled net accounts year-over-year despite the pandemic. The major change? Our shift to a more digital marketing strategy.”
Interested in amping your bank’s marketing strategy during COVID and beyond? Download a playbook from Believe in Banking. For financial institutions needing advice and expertise about nourishing and fortifying core customer relationships through customized marketing campaigns, contact us at info@adrenalinex.com.
Adrenaline is an experience design agency that creates and implements end-to-end branded experiences through creative and environmental design. We enhance our clients’ customer experiences across digital and physical channels, from their branding and advertising to design and technology in their spaces. After transforming an organization’s brand, Adrenaline extends it across all touchpoints — from employees to the market to in-store environments.
