Can a bank advertising campaign really make one smile? Community Bank System's certainly tries. Its cheerful collection of print ads features photos of attractive, grinning Americans and tries to tickle the funny bone. And these characters aren't just smiling-they're having a good time. Now that's a charming ad campaign, though, granted, it's the Mayberry RFD kind of appeal that may not be everyone's cup of tea.
"The feeling you get when you eat chocolate. Now available in a bank," notes one ad, the one most favored by employees, whose copy is illustrated with a photo of a 30-something blonde showing off her pearly whites. In smaller type, the copy says: "There's something special about banking with Community Bank. Something ... nice. Maybe it's the fact that our employees are your friends-folks who live in your community, know your name, and actually want to know how it's going when they ask, 'How's it going?' Maybe it's the fact that we offer all the services of a big bank, but don't act all stuffy like one. Or maybe it's just the fact that there always seems to be a branch convenient to wherever it is you're going. So if you're looking for a better way to bank, stop in today. And Bank Happy."
"It was absolutely the right thing for us," notes Hal Wentworth, the bank's director of sales and marketing. "We really wanted to find something different, something that was unbank-like and, if you look at those headlines and the disclosures, there's humor built in." Since the average bank customer is 56 years old, the bank wanted to attract a younger clientele. "We really wanted a campaign that was going to fit in nicely to track younger people and a market strategy that aimed at both younger people and women," he says.
Wentworth says the bank weighed seven options, asking the opinions of customers and employees, before choosing the "Bank Happy" selection. "This one embodied the brand essence more than any of the others," recalls Wentworth. "Judging by the tremendous response ... it's going to be a complete success."
Designed by Mark Russell and Associates of Syracuse, NY, the campaign is Community Bank's first in eight years, and went live in April after five months of production. The campaign includes black-and-white ads, designed to appear in the many community newspapers that serve the bank's territories, as well as color versions. There's also a brief radio spot. A branding ad, featured in more than 50 publications, will be followed by print executions featuring new products and services for residential and small-business customers. Outdoor, online, radio, and television extensions of "Bank Happy" will appear throughout the year.
"I can't remember a campaign that has gotten so much positive feedback, not only from clients, but customers," says Tom Merrick, chief creative officer, of Mark Russell and Associates. "It's just relevant. It makes sense to everybody. It hits a chord. We designed a campaign where we wanted to take the suspicion, the pretense out, and make it honest and friendly and approachable. If we're going to say we have a wonderful rate on a home-equity loans, we can say, 'super-competitive rates on home-equity loans' or we could say 'The home called and wants you to buy something nice.' That catches consumers off guard. They don't expect to be talked to that way. It's like a friend is talking to them. To get that level of friendliness from a bank is unusual." With 130 branches throughout upstate New York (as Community Bank) and northeastern Pennsylvania (as First Liberty Bank & Trust), the bank boasts more than $4.5 billion in assets.
One innovative move the campaign specialized in was the "mice" print at the bottom of the page, the fine-print copy that most people skip. In the "Chocolate" ad, the fine print says, "If you're reading this, you're probably thinking there's some kind of catch. Something that requires us to write more about it in the fine print. But there isn't. Oh sure, we could go on and on about ourselves. Like how we're committed to serving rural areas. And how most of our people have been working with us for years. And how all of our loan decisions are made locally by folks you've probably cheered with at soccer or baseball games. But we won't. Instead, we'll just tell you that when we say 'Bank Happy,' we mean it. We don't want you to 'Bank Reasonably Contentedly' or 'Bank Kinda Sorta Pleased.' We want you to Bank Happy. And we'll do whatever it takes to make that happen."
The main criticism from George Van Fleet, president at Chicago-based LE Direct, is that the campaign is "very whitebread. The thing that comes across is there's no diversity. They may consider putting more in, for the sake of not insulting anymore people these days." He has a point: Not a single person of color is represented. "It's a light attempt to make it interesting and different from what you see everyday. But it needs to be toned down," he says. "It's a little too flip."
Maybe. But when's the last time that verbal back flips didn't make one smile?
