Customers take testimonial ads to the bank

Early last year Home State Bank came to Ellen Zibell, co-owner of The Perennial Gardener retail store in Fort Collins, with a seemingly pedestrian request.

“They asked if I would do a testimonial (advertisement),” Zibell recalled. “I thought it would be three lines at the bottom of an ad with quotation marks around it.”

Zibell said yes. She was content with her bank and was happy to say so.

“The next thing I knew they were setting up a photographer and a makeup person. I realized then it was a little bigger than I was originally thinking,” Zibell said.

Bigger, for that matter, than even Home State Bank could have imagined.

Results of the testimonial campaign, executed by Fort Collins marketing executive Don Condit and graphic designer Sam Cooper, have been at least an anecdotal success for Home State.

Home State was betting on the campaign to build up name recognition in the wake of its consolidation with American Bank, both Larimer County-based banks. The bank also wanted to cement its identity as a locally owned bank, which it deemed an advantage in a region thats become one of the most competitive in the country.

Still, Home State took an acknowledged risk with the ads. It was relying on endorsements from local merchants, not celebrities. Furthermore, the ads came with 150- to 200-word narratives that may have easily been cast aside by a public with little time for such details.

“Most people are repelled by a lot of copy,” Condit said.

The bank was also bucking the standard bank advertisement that pitched interest rates, which appeal to compare-and-contrast consumers.

The positive response has staggered the bank, which has since shifted an increasing share of its marketing budget to the campaign.

In follow-up surveys, Condit said two-thirds of the respondents said they recognized the banks ads and one-third had read the body copy, which he called “tremendous.”

“I know people are reading them, because they recite things to me (from the ads) when I see them on the street,´ said Mary McCambridge, vice president of marketing for Home State.

Condit said the ads were compelling, in part, because “the copy is very intimate and personal.”

Still, the ads which all carry the slogan “Think Big. Bank Small.” may have brought a greater business reward for Zibell and the other participating Home State clients.

In most cases the ads, seen across the region in newspapers and magazines and on billboards and bus shelters, feature pictures of the business owners in their shops. The picture is coupled with a narrative about the clients relationship with Home State.

For instance, Zibell and her husband, Ted, are shown surrounded by flowers and a highlighted quote “We needed a banker who was willing to stop and smell the Rosa Floribunda.”

Within a matter of days after the ads were rolled out last spring, Zibell said customers started talking about it.

“Id have people say it seven or eight times a day,” she said.

Similarly, restaurateur Rayno Seaser, co-owner of the Fort Collins-based Egg & I chain, said the reaction has been continuous.

“Even after six months I still get at least seven to eight people comment about seeing me on the billboards,´ said Seaser, who appeared in the ad with his wife, Patty. “Im overwhelmed.”

Both Zibell and Seaser insist the ads helped their own bottom lines over the past year.

In fact, the campaign came full circle for both merchants, who partnered with Home State on a direct mail advertisement.

The Perennial Gardener, for instance, offered a free pair of gardening gloves to customers who made a purchase at the store using a Home State Visa card. Customers who made an appointment with Home State mortgage division received a $20 gift certificate for The Egg & I.

“Peggy Sage (Home States lead mortgage broker) wrote a good deal of business as a result of it,” Condit said.

The impact of the campaign hasnt been lost on other merchants who have observed the reaction for the Zibells and Seasers.

“Weve even had some people who want to move over (to become Home State clients) so they could be in the ads,” McCambridge said.

Last month, Home State used the ad format to feature its owners, Harry and Jack Devereaux, with text that declares the banks intent to remain independent.

McCambridge said she intends to stick with the campaign at least through the balance of this year, with a new twist about to be the rolled out this spring.

“Youll see different customers and different products or service areas as we go forward were getting more focused on specific products and services,” Condit said. “Its distinctly evolving.”

Condit praised Home State for committing to a relatively long campaign.

“One of the No. 1 mistakes advertisers make is they get tired of the campaign long before the readers do,” he said.

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