CASE STUDY: REGIONAL BANK EXPANDS REACH WITH PR MUSCLE

Client:

United Community Bank, a $6 billion "hometown bank" expanding throughout north Georgia, coastal Georgia, western North Carolina, and east Tennessee. (2005-present)

Assignment:

In 2005, the Vice President of Marketing wanted to test the strength of PR in stretching the branding budget and differentiating the banking message with important audiences. His bank had used traditional advertising, but never a public relations firm.

Strategy/Implementation:

The Jackson Spalding team worked quickly to bring message consistency to many bank touch-points, focusing on key bank markets. We created the theme for the corporate shareholders' meeting, wrote the CEO's comments and also scripted his quarterly earnings calls. In addition, we wrote the 2005 Annual Report and implemented an aggressive media relations strategy targeted to local and national media. And, we revamped the design and content of the presentation for analysts.

Results:

In just six months, we assisted the bank as it doubled its loans and deposits in a key market. Bank leadership has increased our budget by 50 percent and has asked us to expand our work into various marketing communications areas.