It’s not Facebook that sells bank services. It’s face-to-face. Furia Rubel recognizes this, and leveraged the power of personal recommendations to enhance bank public relations and marketing for First Federal of Bucks County.
In today’s era of instant communication via social media, personal connections remain the paramount means of reaching customers. In his book The Face-to-Face Book: Why Real Relationships Rule in a Digital Marketplace, Ed Keller reports on his six years’ worth of research studying social media and found that 90 percent of consumer information still takes place on a one-to-one basis. Community bank public relations and marketing is no different.
When promoting a local financial institution such as First Federal of Bucks County, which for more than 130 years proudly supported residents and local businesses, we understand that personal interaction is the paramount tool for marketing client success stories.
The Furia Rubel team gathered testimonials from the bank’s customers — residents and small business owners from a range of industries — emphasizing how the bank helped each small business succeed and better the community.
First Federal of Bucks County Leadership Change- Fun at a Photo Shoot with Bruce Lacobucci and Jeane Coyle
$81,000
Worth of media coverage
13 Million
Impressions
Nearly 200%
Return on investment
Furia Rubel implemented a detailed communication plan, involving public relations, direct mail, print advertising, trade show promotions, videos, radio advertisements, online advertisements, social media advertising, satellite radio advertising, and a testimonial campaign.
Additionally, Furia Rubel kept its focus on personal communication to announce a transition of power at the bank. When CEO Bruce Iacobucci retired, replaced by the first female CEO, Jeane Vidoni, the Furia Rubel team kept personal contact in mind:
In addition to Ms. Vidoni’s new leadership role, the community bank made several other high-level promotions, and Furia Rubel clustered the promotions in various news releases to share them in a staggered but timely manner with relevant news outlets. Media placements included several mentions in American Banker, the Philadelphia Business Journal, Bucks County Courier Times, The Intelligencer, The Morning Call, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Region’s Business, Bucks County Herald, and KYW Newsradio 1060 AM, as well as two feature articles in Suburban Life Magazine.
In a span of less than four months, the public relations effort generated $81,000 worth of media coverage on behalf of First Federal of Bucks County, with more than 13 million impressions and a return on investment of nearly 200 percent.
Doylestown, PA
Philadelphia, PA
Pittsburgh, PA
Bernardsville, NJ
