Raising Awareness Through Earned Media
In the banking industry, trust is everything. Money is personal, so retail customers, businesses, and investors need to know that their hard-earned money is in good hands.
Challenge
When trust in banks is lost, the broader financial system and economy usually tumbles. Over the course of its history, a top-30 regional bank has sought to keep that trust and raise brand awareness and recognition amid stiff competition from larger national and multinational peers, including during down market cycles and economic crises.
Solution
Bliss developed and executed a public relations campaign, homing in on the regional bank’s unique community focus and bulge bracket capabilities. We tailored messages to lines of business and specific audiences, and conducted targeted media outreach accordingly.
Messaging included:
- Institutional Investors: Highlighted the equity research analyst team’s award-winning coverage of 500+ companies across various sectors, which led to top-tier, national media recognition.
- Middle Market Companies: Promoted the bank’s capital solutions, typically through announcements and executive thought leadership with local and regional publications, underscoring how the bank helps the communities it serves.
- Retail Customers: Blended data with insights and promoted proprietary research that shows the bank understands the needs of its customers, no matter their financial life stage, which translated to local, regional, and national media coverage.
- High-Net-Worth and Ultra-High-Net Worth Individuals: Showcased key economic insights from the private bank’s chief investment officer in top business publications, alongside award submissions and recognition from reputable industry trades.
Impact
Despite a challenging year for the banking industry as a whole — led by the high-profile failures of several notable institutions — our integrated communications tactics resulted in more than 1,250 media placements in 2023 with top-tier national, trade, regional, and local media across all lines of business, including an average of 1+ placement per day for the bank’s marquee line of business.