Ironbound Bank
Problem / Solution
Situation: A $120 million community bank that had either a negative or blank image among businesses and the public, depending on their experience with its prior board of directors. Ironbound rebuilt its board and resolved to communicate that it was a different place of business.
Re Think: What made the Ironbound Bank prospect tick? What were the deeper truths about this customer in this community? How do you build trust between this customer and a bank? Insight: Despite a blue-collar label, the people of Ironbound are entrepreneurs and hard-working men and women who intend their work to pay off, for their families. They are proud, successful, communitycentered, and understand the importance of customer service in making a business go. Ring True Solution: Establish a dialog with this customer. Relate to their lives. To their ambitions. Create an authentic feeling that this is a bank that understands their dreams. Then back it up with the experience. Give this customer a reason to believe. Create a campaign that communicates, with personality, humor, that Ironbound Bank is a place where they’ll feel comfortable doing business. And get help to be a success. Result: A positive, welcoming personality where once there were blank walls and faceless tellers. An increase in commercial and personal accounts, revenue, and brand value, as evidenced by a highly profitable sale of its brand to a multibillion-dollar bank (2.5 x book value).