First Citizens Bank, a $12 billion asset regional bank in Raleigh, NC, began a rebranding campaign last month that included direct mail, print and radio.
“We're taking the branding campaign and integrating it into everything we do,” said Emily Andrews, First Citizens' advertising manager. “When we say branding, we don't just do image advertising. All of our ads will have a product focus.”
The 104-year old bank, which serves customers in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia, introduced a new slogan, “Do something amazing” as part of the effort. The slogan will be seen on all of its advertising, promotions and banking product literature.
The direct mail portion of the campaign involved three postcards that were mailed Feb. 19, Feb. 25 and March 4 to 50,000 names in the three states. The names included current customers and prospects. First Citizens would not say what the split was. The postcards included the same theme as the print ads.
“We're not expecting a tremendous response from this,” Andrews said. “We did not incorporate a special offer in this mailing. Our main goal was to raise awareness.”
Before launching the campaign, First Citizens contracted Raleigh-based research firm McKinney & Silver to conduct consumer research about the bank and gauge their relationship with it.
“When we listened to customers talk about their relationships with First Citizens, we realized how strong their bond is with the company,” said David Baldwin, executive creative director at McKinney & Silver. “The 'Do something amazing' ad campaign focuses on possibilities, wishes and dreams, inspiring people to act and to call on First Citizens to help them do so.”
Andrews said the bank is planning a mailing later this year based around its home equity services and a program to introduce new homeowners to the bank's services.
