Turn branding into an account-opening offer

One of your financial institution’s executives comes to your marketing department and says to you, “I want you to announce the anniversary we have coming up.” Your first thought is, “Great, another way to waste the marketing budget.”

It could be an anniversary or some other branding-style announcement. What can you do to make this non-marketing message a good use of your effort and money?

First, let me show you an example of how a straight branding promotion raises a “so what” feeling from readers. It’s typical of what can come out of a conversation like the one above.

This bank used a postcard (shown front and back) to announce its logo change and 100 years in business. The 100th anniversary is certainly something to be proud of, especially in the current financial climate. But why use valuable marketing resources and funds on a promotion that people will quickly forget and that won’t open any new accounts?