Bank Marketing: First Arkansas Bank & Trust has gone to the dogs, but we love’em!!!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

First Arkansas Bank & Trust has gone to
the dogs, but we love’em!!!

With all the bad banking news, here’s one financial you’ve got to love and and love! Or, maybe you could claim that First Arkansas Bank & Trust has gone to the dogs. . . literally! The bank has headed straight for their local animal shelter and found “Cash”, yellow lab who had apparently been hit by a car and has a bum leg. The dog will be the mascot of the kids’ savings account program which will be renamed the Cash Account. The dog left the Jacksonville Animal Shelter for FAB&T on Jan. 29th.

Cash will accompany bank personnel when they visit schools, senior centers, and nursing homes, as well as attending community events. The bank is family-owned and based in Jacksonville, AR with 29 offices.

Larry Wilson, Chairman, President and CEO of FAB&T stated on the bank’s website,

“We have chosen a dog for several reasons. A dog personifies everything that we want our bank to stand for: Trust, Loyalty, Protection and Compassion. These qualities are the same qualities that we want our employees to exude, and that we have lived by for 60 years, and we’re excited to have Cash around as a reminder of our core values.”

Mr. Wilson also went on to say,

“By choosing a shelter animal, we are drawing attention to the overcrowding of animal shelters across not only the state, but across the country. It is during difficult economic times like these that many shelters see an increase in animals turned over to them, as pets are one of the first “non-essentials” that are let go."

Can anyone top this bank marketing story? In fact, this story is too good to let go. I’ll have a follow-up. (Read updated post on 2/22/09 "A Valentine's promotion that will steal your heart."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...: This is wonderful. Thank you for rescuing an animal who needed a good home.; March 10, 2009 at 12:08 PM

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My Story: The Twisted Tale of the Wayward Writer

How did I get to the point of writing a blog? It goes back to journalism school. Well, maybe I’m jumping ahead here a bit because I was never aimed for a writing career at all. In fact, I was a business major, marketing to be exact, at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Part of the biz school curriculum was an Introduction to Journalism. Hey, they wanted us to be well-rounded. Well, my instructor had quite the writing pedigree . . . from the Wall St. Journal to the Washington Press Corps. And, he had a dominating personality to match. Every year he took a couple of students under his wing and pushed them to the limit. I was lucky to be one of Mr. Polk’s chosen. He had seen potential in me. And so my fate was sealed. I switched majors in my junior year and literally immersed myself in journalistic endeavors.

Those were heady years when students had lofty goals of changing the world. I, too, dreamed of righting the wrongs of the world through the mighty pen. While I was offered a newspaper job, financial reality reared its head. I took a job for a fatter paycheck as Manager of PR at a financial services company. So there was another twist in my career path, steering me to this point in time.

I bummed a couple of more writing gigs, immersing me more into the crazy, creative copywriting world of advertising. But that was to prove tame compared to where I was headed. I found myself as the sole in-house writer at Litton Microwave. A colleague whose dad was a creative director at one of the major ad agencies told me I didn’t belong in corporate advertising, but writing legit ads for the big boys. But making the transition from corporate to agency is unheard of. The doors are closed to lowly corporate writing hacks. Sheer determination won out, and I convinced a small agency to hire me as their only copywriter! I was now official. . . I had the credentials of an agency behind me! But in three years, I went from a five-man shop to the largest agency in the Twin Cities with its several hundred employees. The title impressively read Creative Supervisor in Campbell-Mithun’s promotion division. I discovered that I not only had the creative ability, but I could see beyond the creative assignments and go much deeper into the client’s requirements. That’s why I was called on to develop and write marketing plans, strategic programs and tactical solutions for those clients, in addition to writing the actual creative. Tired of waiting to see what the AEs brought in for assignments, I struck out on my own and founded J. Arnsdorf & Company.

But why the financial specialty? I’ve always been tight-fisted about money. . . my own and my clients. I guess they call it fiscal responsibility. While working with many agency people, from AEs to creatives, I’ve found that many would rather be bitten by a hive of bees than work on a financial account. The assignments are deemed too mundane, not flashy enough for the wizards of words. That’s not my philosophy! I strongly believe that responsible financial marketing is essential to our futures. . . for the consumer as well as the banking industry. The current economic climate is now confirming my long-held beliefs. Plainly said, banking is simply an important service and product. From cashing that first paycheck to navigating the complexities of a retirement account, our financial decisions profoundly affect our lives. And, we make many financial decisions throughout the day. . . from buying a latte to opening a sweeps account. It’s an exciting, essential industry, one I’m pleased to be part of.

If you’re interested in learning more about J. Arnsdorf and Company, go to www.jarnsdorf(dot)com

Bank Marketing

Thursday, February 12, 2009

First Arkansas Bank & Trust has gone to
the dogs, but we love’em!!!

1 comment:

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My Story: The Twisted Tale of the Wayward Writer

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