We are excited to share that last week, River City Bank was featured in the Sacramento Business Journal.  Was the feature about award winning service, our regional leadership in banking, or more insights into the regional business environment? Not this time!  Melanie Turner, of the Sacramento Business Journal, took an interest into our marketing campaign that has been running in Comstock’s magazine,  the Wall Street Journal online, in addition to the Sacramento Business Journal.  The article, “Community bank marketing cashes in on big-bank backlash”, discusses the strategy behind the campaign, what we hope to achieve with the ads, and the playful nature of the ads themselves.  

After the government bailout of ‘big bad banks,’ and outcries against Wall Street, this is a time for community banks to shine. In an effort to create new relationships with businesses, our current campaign is “edgier” at the insistence of our President and CEO, Steve Fleming, and highlights the benefits of teaming with a more personable bank. The campaign features cheeky comics, previously published in the famed New Yorker, which blatantly tease big banks along with the slogan, “Not bigger. Better for your business.”

The goal is to emphasize the difference between big banks and community banks, and encourage businesses to “Make the Switch” to River City Bank. These ads have been great conversation starters for River City Bank and will continue to run through 2012.  Have you seen the campaign? What are your thoughts?  Has your frustration with the bailout of large financial institutions led you to change where you do business?

For the full article, please visit the Sacramento Business Journal HERE.  To view the entire print and radio campaign, click HERE.