| Bow Mills Bank and Trust is a chartered commercial bank that was founded in 1989. After nearly 20 years of delivering high quality, professional service at its three branches in the greater Concord, New Hampshire area, the bank merged with Merrimack County Savings Bank on May 1, 2007. At the time of the merger, Bow Mills had $124 million in assets and a trust and investment business with more than $55 million in assets. The friendly, community atmosphere, convenient personal and business banking services, and competitive consumer, commercial, and mortgage loans that Bow Mills provided have been strengthened through the merger.
As part of The Merrimack, Bow Mills customers continue to enjoy banking at the original Bow Mills locations in Bow, Concord, and Contoocook, as well as the other Merrimack branches in the greater Concord area. The merger has resulted in expanded services and conveniences for customers, and the bank's growth is enabling The Merrimack to become more involved in community causes through the Merrimack County Savings Bank Foundation.
The Challenge:
Bow Mills required a new marketing campaign to increase community awareness about its services and expand its roster of members and commercial clients. The bank also needed assistance designing its annual report in a way that communicated its expertise and professionalism, while also offering graphic appeal and understandable copy to shareholders.
The bank partnered with Millennium to create both a marketing campaign and annual report that would set it apart from its competition and resonate with current and prospective members and clients.
Evaluation & Research Conducted:
Millennium initiated its work with Bow Mills by outlining and analyzing the bank's services, strengths, competition, and market opportunities. The research also focused on how the bank compared to other community banks across the United States. The results showed that the bank's outstanding service and success in cultivating positive customer relationships provided it a strong advantage over its competition. Additionally, the research revealed that the use of a variety of marketing mediums to message to customers and prospects consistently resulted in the bank's growth. This critical information helped inform Millennium's creative and strategic approach to Bow Mills' marketing campaign and annual report challenge.
The Solution:
Millennium created a new brand message for Bow Mills around its community connections and reputation for delivering excellent customer service. It developed the tagline, "Real People. Real Banking.®" to communicate the value Bow Mills places on the people it serves and employs. From this tagline, Millennium launched a testimonial advertising campaign via local print, radio, and television outlets, including the Concord Monitor, Bow Times, WTPL, Comcast Cable, and Nassau stations. The ads featured bank managers and employees of the commercial, trust, retail, and mortgage banking departments explaining their personal reasons for working at Bow Mills. The campaign eventually expanded to include actual Bow Mills members and clients, who shared their positive customer experiences.
Millennium supported its testimonial campaign with a variety of solutions, including direct mail initiatives that increased deposits by over $1 million. These included promotional incentive offers that rewarded new checking account customers with free gifts, including winter blankets or beach chairs. Additionally, Millennium developed branded collateral materials – including a streamlined and eye-catching annual report – and trade show booth graphics. It also strategized and managed the bank's community sponsorships.
Bow Mills' partnership with Millennium was hugely successful. The Real People. Real Banking.® slogan and campaign resonated with the public and attracted a large influx of new retail and commercial customers. Additionally, the integrated advertising strategy increased public awareness of the bank and raised its community profile. Millennium's approach assisted Bow Mills in significantly expanding its market share and increasing its asset portfolio. As a result, Bow Mills retained Millennium's services for management of its annual integrated marketing campaign.
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