- BACKGROUND

- KEY TEAM PLAYERS

- OUR INSPIRATION

- CORE COMPETENCIES

- PROCESS

- SAMPLES

- CASE STUDIES

Situation: California, the most populous state in the nation, has an approximate 800+ financial institutions competing for basically the same customer.

Client Background: Farmers & Merchants Bank (F&M), founded in 1907, is Southern California’s oldest family-owned community bank, and one of the safest banks in the country. Unfortunately, the bank and its strengths were a well-kept secret.

Problem: Dwindling client base, flat growth and minimal awareness.

Solution: Based on the information we learned by conducting a thorough analysis of F&M’s business, market, competition, strengths, weaknesses, and ratings (as presented by the six key bank rating services), BLK positioned F&M as California’s Strongest Bank, and then built and implemented a comprehensive marketing plan.

Results: Stellar…after engaging BLK, F&M’s awareness soared to 81% (on par with the leading super-regionals), the bank’s internal culture benefited from far greater clarity, and – most importantly – asset growth increased  When they came to us in 2001, they were a bank trapped in time. Here’s what we accomplished…

• Positioning:  We did substantial analytical work and positioned F&M as California’s Strongest Bank
• Marketing Planning: We created highly targeted/accountable marketing plans that blended branding and direct response. We handled creative, media, BM/BD sell-in and backend analytics
• Campaign:  We created/launched a pre-emptive, highly visible and memorable campaign, which I’m sure you’re aware of: