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November 13, 2008
A print ad obscures all the text with asterisks to highlight the banks’ encryption capabilities.
“We found we didn’t have a brand. People were generally confused about what it is we offer.”
– John Ikard, CEO/President
1st Bank in Denver is rolling out a new ad campaign this month with an emphasis on online security. The creative campaign, targeting younger consumers, includes television, print, outdoor and web ads on sites like Yahoo, Ask.com, and MySpace.
In an interview with Marketing Daily, Brian Jensen/VP, said, “We think when other banks are pulling back, we have a chance to stand out.”
“When is there a better time, when you’re a strong viable financial institution, a community bank, to differentiate yourself form the competition than today, when times are difficult?” said John Ikard, the CEO/President of FirstBank.
The bank has a link off its website to a “Stability, Strength & Safety” page with all the right messages. It’s a smart move.
The Denver-based bank has 11 branches and 29 ATMs.
Agency: TDA Advertising & Design in Boulder, Colorado.
Outdoor ads depict $20 dollar bills with the presidential images obscured.
This non-traditional outdoor ad is clever and creative.
Posters speak to a younger audience’s lack of financial knowledge and sophistication.
“We’ll help you understand your money.”
“Bunnies”
In this spot, a man lays in an imaginary field that smells of fresh-baked cookies and is full of bunnies. It’s a metaphor for the bank’s online banking experience.
“Shirtless”
Some banker rips the shirt off a guy’s back, then smacks the coffee out of his hands.
You can see a couple more TV spots in the series here.
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Previous related stories from The Financial Brand:
- SunTrust: “Live Solid. Bank Solid.”
- Beneficial Bank’s brand campaign is “Starting Now”
- Harris Bank says it’s ‘Here to Help’
- In Depth: Fort Worth Community promo campaigns
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Filed Under: Advertising, Case Studies, TV & Video
November 13th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Interesting read, but I’m submitting a quick correction
. Harry Smith is not the CEO/President of FirstBank Holding Company (www.efirstbank.com based in Lakewood, Colorado), who is the subject of the advertising campaign you’ve mentioned. Harry is with a different First Bank (www.therespowerinone.com based out of Northern Virginia). John Ikard is the CEO/President of FirstBank Holding Company. Needless to say, there are lots of unrelated First Banks across the country!
November 13th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Thanks for the correction weeblo. Much appreciated!
November 14th, 2008 at 8:15 am
I think the first print ad that you’ve shown here is horrible execution of a good idea. When I look at that headline, ALL that I can think of is that the bank gives you *nothing* but asterisks, meaning fine-print legalese. If you want the viewer to think those asterisks mean encryption, and not fine print, you must make it look like a web text entry box, therefore this ad is teh FAIL. What they got instead makes me want to avoid this bank like the plague. Similarly, the billboards obscuring national icons don’t say “security” in any way to me, and give a very negative feeling. The only good execution shown here is the drive-up tube on a street lamp pole. THAT one is brilliant.
November 14th, 2008 at 8:28 am
Thanks for the comment Morriss.
The asterisks ad is the first brand-building ad I’ve ever seen that didn’t use any copy. It’s like using greek (a typesetting term for placeholder copy).
There are a lot of different moods, messages and styles used in this campaign. The TV spots, print ads and billboards dwell on security, but all use different visual- and story-telling devices. The posters use graphs and talk about helping people “understand their money.”
December 26th, 2008 at 11:51 am
[...] Earlier this year, First Bank ran a campaign about “Secure Online Banking.” [...]