firstunionbanksads

Article first appeared in Wall Street Journal, February 26, 1997.

on the web - http://www.brukoff.com/brand/articles/articles/firstUnion.html

last updated 12/05/1999

First Union Banks on Ads to Build Name

by Eleena De Lisser

What do Coca-Cola, Nike and Ford Motor have in common that banker First Union craves? A brand name. So it's setting out to try to create one.

The bank is expected to announce today a new image-advertising campaign that it says is the first step in building a national brand presence. The bank is making its largest marketing investment ever, budgeting $85 million for advertising in 1997, more than double the amount it spent last year. And last week, the bank hired Jim Garrity, a marketing executive from Compaq Computer, to head up the bank's advertising effort.

Developing a brand identity has become an increasingly important goal for commercial banks such as First Union as non-bank competitors, particularly mutual-fund companies, continue to attract cash hoards that previously would have been stashed in secure but low-yielding bank accounts.

Banks have been product and price promoters and they've never really had to market themselves, says Alan Bergstrom, president of Brand Consultancy, an Atlanta consulting firm. They've looked at their competition on a national level, such as Charles Schwab and Fidelity Investments, and banks realize their non-bank rivals have well-developed brand names.

For instance, Bank of America is in the market for a new ad agency that will help it position our brand, says a company spokesman. And Wachovia, a bank based in Winston-Salem, N.Y., last year hired Lynn Brown, a former Kraft Foods executive, to develop a new image campaign that will be unveiled later this year. Meanwhile, Bank One of Columbus, Ohio, recently launched a $9 million television ad-campaign called My Life, featuring customers talking about how the bank fits into their lives.

At First Union, the goal is to shed the small, hometown-bank image and make customers aware of the company's size and scope. Based in Charlotte, N.C., First Union has grown rapidly in the past decade to become the sixth-largest bank in the U.S., with $140 billion in assets. The bank operates a full-service brokerage subsidiary with more than 3,000 employees. It provides investment-banking services to corporate clients and has a 1,400-mile banking network that stretches from Connecticut to Florida.

As far as bank budgets go, First Union's $85 million commitment is significant. In comparison, Citicorp, the country's largest bank, spent $96.1 million on advertising between January and November of 1996, according too Competitive Media Reporting, an ad-tracking firm.

In the first phase of commercials, which break tomorrow, historic firsts such as the Write Brothers' first flight, the tumbling of the Berlin Wall and Jackie Robinson integrating major-league baseball are depicted. These historic events are used to illustrate what the bank calls its first union between banking and the brokerage business.

The advertising was created by San Francisco's Hal Riney & Partners, which did the creative ad work for Saturn cars and Bartles & James wine coolers. The First Union commercials will be broadcast regionally during popular TV programs such as 60 Minutes and Seinfeld, and nationally on cable outlets such as CNN and Discovery Channel. Over the next 12 months, additional commercials will be rolled out, showing how First Union brings together banking, technology and financial planning.

We didn't want to do traditional bank advertising, which is more product focused and which quite frankly doesn't attract a lot of attention and interest, says Brad Iversen, senior vice president of corporate marketing.

The potential downside to all this brand building is that commercial banks might not measure up to consumer expectations, says Mr. Bergstrom, the consultant.

A brand is a promise, he says. It says something about what you're going to deliver to consumers. If you just talk about it and you don't actually deliver, the consumer will reject you.

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