Big banks have a unique challenge in Orange County: distinguishing themselves from one another.
The national and big regional banks that dominate the market here all offer similar services for business and everyday customers.
Advertising is just about the only way to standout among the pack.
The big banks—Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co. Union Bank NA and U.S. Bancorp—have ramped up their marketing on the airwaves and in print to woo customers.
“Our national brand and advertising is like any of the other brands; we want to make sure we are effectively communicating our business and identifying with our customers,” said Sandy Steed-Martinez, marketing director for San Francisco-based Wells Fargo.
The nation’s three biggest banks— Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America, New York-based Chase and Wells Fargo—spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on advertising, according to market tracker Nielsen Holdings BV of New York.
In the past several years, the big three have shaken up their marketing strategies on a national and local basis with branding campaigns designed to entice businesses and individual customers.
“We are really focused on how these products are easy to use and relevant to what customers need today as they are trying to get their finances in order,” said Meredith Verdone, brand, advertising and research executive of Bank of America.
Bank of America dubbed itself the “Bank of Opportunity” in 2007 in a bid to appeal to a broad range of customers, from immigrants and first-time home buyers to the wealthy.
The bank has spent a large amount of its advertising money to help “reset the dialogue” with customers, according to Verdone.
“Where we are at the moment, as we come out of a recession, is helping to build trust in banks and what we need to say about us as a company,” she said.
The bank has spent a significant amount of time attempting to position itself in OC through local and regional campaigns intended to build trust.
“Although we are a big bank, we do more than many of the local and community banks,” Verdone said.
Chase has spent the past several years introducing itself to the market after its 2008 purchase of struggling savings and loan Washington Mutual Inc. of Seattle.
“We are aggressively marketing across various mediums,” said Gary Kishner, a Chase spokesman.
Wells Fargo also has beefed up its advertising in the wake of its acquisition of Wachovia Corp. in 2008 with several marketing campaigns nationally and locally.
“The main purpose of (the increased advertising) is to recommit the brand promise to our existing customers and potential new customers,” Wells Fargo’s Steed-Martinez said. “It’s exciting because we haven’t done as much as our competitors in these mediums.”
Easy Deposits
Big marketing pushes for the banks include slip-less deposits, money back on debit card purchases and low rates on loans.
Bank of America began pushing ATM deposits that don’t require you to fill out a slip earlier this year.
The bank allows customers to drop a check into an ATM without an envelope or deposit slip. The ATM reads information from the check.
Chase recently started pushing its version of slip-less deposit via an application on the iPhone.
Using the Chase app, customers are able to take photos of checks and deposit the amounts into their accounts without ever going to an ATM.
Bank of America also is pushing a 1% return on debit card purchases to get its customers comfortable with spending again. Other banks have similar offers with their debit and credit cards.
“We play an important role as local economies have been hurt,” Bank of America’s Verdone said. “We are trying to talk about our role by helping to stimulate growth.”
Other banks have taken a more regional approach.
“We don’t have a national campaign,” said Lawrence Henry, market president for the Orange County and Inland Empire division of San Francisco’s Union Bank, part of Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. “That’s really one of our strengths as all our marketing decisions are made locally.”
Union Bank is pushing custom financial strategies for customers that outline the bank’s services and promotions.
“Instead of opening up cookie cutter accounts for a customer, we are trying to understand their banking needs before we make a product or service recommendation,” Henry said.
The bank also has been pushing a sweepstakes with a chance to win a VIP trip to the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards in February. The contest is tied to the Union Bank Debit MasterCard. Customers are entered every time they use the card.
A lot of time is spent on educating local branch employees on the various campaigns and products being offered in bank ad campaigns.
“We defer to them as an important channel of interaction with the customers,” Bank of America’s Verdone said.
Social Media
Several banks have started to use social media websites, albeit conservatively due to compliance and regulatory restrictions.
“We’re a little bit ahead of the curve in how we are utilizing social media to meet our customers where they are,” said Steed-Martinez of Wells Fargo. “We’re still restricted on how we can utilize the channel.”
Bank of America has been using Twitter for customer service for existing and potential customers, who post questions and comments about the bank.
“Our BofAHelp Twitter handle is there for customers who need help and have questions,” said Joe Goode III, senior vice president of global media relations for Bank of America. “We have somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 million followers and satisfaction rates are very high.”
