Independent Banker - August 2019 - 91

" You can go out and sell
a brand story, but if your
people don't believe it, it
won't stick. "
-Josh Fleming, Bank Iowa
videos, one for each of the bank's 22 communities.
Bank Iowa also produced teaser videos that challenged
online viewers to guess which town the video featured. People
who guessed correctly were entered into a drawing to
receive $50 gift cards donated by local businesses. Bank
Iowa purchased some Facebook advertising to spark interest
online.
When Bank Iowa uploaded the videos to Facebook and
YouTube, they were a big hit, far surpassing Fleming's expectations
and forging an immediate and strong connection
between Bank Iowa and its communities.
Using drones, Bank Iowa created 22 videos profiling each of the
22 communities it serves as part of its Bird's Eye View campaign.
Viewers who guessed the right town were entered into a drawing.
" It really engaged people in a way we weren't prepared
for, " Fleming says, adding that viewers shared the videos
and tagged friends on social media. " Some of these videos
had 15,000 views for a town of 800 people. "
Good sports
started with internal and external research. He hired a firm
to survey a few hundred consumers. Meanwhile, Fleming
and his team talked with Bank Iowa team members.
" We wanted to find out who we thought we were, " Fleming
explains. " You can go out and sell a brand story, but if
your people don't believe it, it won't stick. "
Fleming quickly discovered that the staff shared a deep
desire to do whatever it takes to help customers achieve
their goals. " Whether it's a startup looking for a loan, a hospital
that needs a new wing or funding for a new theater, "
he says, " our attitude is, 'How can we make it happen for
those groups?' "
A common theme
Based on that mission, " Let's Make it Happen " became the
community bank's overarching brand statement. With its
messaging crystallized, Bank Iowa began to push out marketing
campaigns.
One, called Bird's Eye View, featured 22 drone-captured
Another award-winning campaign was the Catch the Bird
sponsorship of the fifth-inning breaks for the Iowa Cubs,
a minor league baseball team affiliated with the Chicago
Cubs. This campaign was specifically targeted to raise brand
awareness in the Des Moines, Iowa, area where the community
bank was less known.
During the fifth-inning break, Frisbees imprinted with
Bank Iowa's iconic bird logo were tossed into the stands.
Fans who caught the Frisbees got either a $5 concession
voucher or, in the case of one lucky fan, a $100 bill taped
inside. An accompanying scoreboard video featured bank
executives and team members talking about their commitment
to giving back to the community.
A third award-winning campaign was created when Bank
Iowa opened a new branch in Pella, Iowa, a 10,000-person
town that celebrates its strong Dutch heritage. For this
campaign, the marketing team took advantage of the
geotargeting capabilities of the streaming platform Pandora,
which meant that only residents in the Pella area heard the
advertising. The internet radio spots used Dutch words,
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Independent Banker - August 2019

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