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Proof in Our Collective Pudding.

SHS acknowledges that there's work that's bad and effective and then there's work that's good and effective. We always vote for the latter. So, what happens when a brand chooses to stand out? Good things, friends. Good things.

Intrust Bank

SITUATION

In mid-2008, establishing and maintaining trust was proven vital to financial institutions across the nation. Consumer confidence in cigarette manufacturers actually exceeded confidence in banks due to the fallout of major financial institutions like Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch. More than ever, consumers distrusted banks and financial institutions everywhere.

It was against this backdrop that INTRUST Bank, a regional, family-owned bank with 134 years in business, enlisted SHS to help rebrand their institution within the communities it serves.

Objective

Bank advertising in the Midwest is replete with guys in suits, empty promises, ugly headlines and giant rates. What’s missing is the personal connection. Our Brand Exploration process identified this gap in the marketplace, and it dovetailed perfectly with what INTRUST Bank has to offer. From research on social media usage, we discovered that banking consumers find open and honest banking relationships important. This is how trust is built. Simply put, banking is personal and emotional.

THE ONE THING

Trust is about doing what’s right, over and over again.

Borderless Thinking

SHS took full advantage of traditional mediums like print, TV and online to get the “I Trust INTRUST” branding into the communities. Additionally, we capitalized on other nontraditional ways to support our message. One tactic included fill-in-the-blank “trust is” marker boards located at in-branch customer touchpoints. Not only did staff show customers why they trust INTRUST Bank, they encouraged customers to submit their own trust statement.

Results
  • Top-of-mind awareness increased 4.9% over the previous year
  • Advertising awareness increased 33% over the previous year
  • Upon asking consumers what INTRUST Bank advertising said based on their recall, 44% of customers said “trust,” “strength” and/or “stability”
  • Upon asking consumers which words describe INTRUST Bank advertising, we saw trust-related words increase in mention over 2008 answers. Of those questioned, 22.7% used “credible” to describe the advertising, which is a 6% increase over the previous year. Additionally, 13.8% of people said “believable,” a 6.4% increase over the previous year. Another 13.2% said “relevant,” a 3.9% increase over the previous year. “Personal” was mentioned by 6.9%, which is a 3.2% increase over the previous year.