TRANSYLVANIA–With first-quarter financial reports around the corner, one bank is reporting record growth in not only new customer acquisition but employee recruitment as well. CEO Nancy Fellner attributes the rapid growth to a new marketing campaign that shines a spotlight on bank employees. However, when asked about the rapid growth, many analysts are quick to point out that, “The bank is full of freaking vampires! Of course, their people are the difference, they’re making more vampires every day!” Fellner denies any accusations of the bank feeding on customers and “turning them” into life-long customers. When asked to comment, current and new members of the bank had a variety of shocking responses such as: hissing, drooling uncontrollably, refusing to emerge from the shadows and in one case, shape-shifting into a bat to avoid our reporters.
In related news, F.I. marketing experts at Epicosity explain why using your bankers in your advertising is often not effective as you’d think.
Look, we get it. If you’re a financial institution, you’re proud of your people. And you should be. We’re not going to tell you it’s impossible to build a marketing plan or campaign featuring your bankers. It’s been done, and sometimes very successfully. But for every successful attempt, there are dozens of campaigns that didn’t cut through the clutter of all other bankers' faces on billboards.
One of the many reasons we often advise against using your employees in your marketing is that so many financial institutions are already doing it. We call those EveryBANKs – banks that market themselves like other banks because they believe it’s a successful formula. But if every bank is claiming that their people are better, the consumer will eventually conclude that nobody is better. Or worse, they won’t remember your brand at all because you blend in with every other bank.
Why not take the opportunity to zig when everyone else is zagging? Be a storyteller of your brand. Create unique, entertaining and memorable messaging that makes your audience feel something about your brand to help them understand why you’re different and better.
Or better yet, let our brand ambassador Nikki Doherty show you the path to get there.
It’s a journey, and we’ll be by your side every step of the way.
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