Can you hear me now?

• Author: Marlin, Brenda
• Position: New Media - Today periodical readers has declined so banks needs to supplement its traditional advertising with new media - Cover story

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In the past, when a bank wanted to advertise, it either printed an ad in the newspaper or broadcast a spot on a local radio station. No more. Today, the pool of both periodical readers and radio listeners has declined. If a bank intends to reach its target audience, it needs to supplement its traditional advertising with new media.

Since the Internet channel is growing so fast, it's not surprising that many of the new advertising possibilities are online--podcasts, blogs, YouTube, social networking sites, RSS feeds (Real Simple Syndication). But there are also new twists on old media. For example, instead of a simple outdoor billboard ad, banks are doing things like "wrapping" advertising messages around buses, subway cars or automobiles. They are also finding new ways to promote themselves through enhanced community and charitable events.

We recently asked bank marketers from around the country to tell us about some of the new media they are using or experimenting with in the ongoing effort to improve communication with their audience. Their stories follow.

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Podcasts and Text Messages

Mary Wilkerson, CFMP

Vice President, Marketing

Boone County National Bank

Assets: $1 Billion

Boone Co., Mo

About a year ago, the bank was searching for a new media channel. Its target audience is young people who are early adopters of new technology. Could the bank sponsor a podcast of a homebuying seminar? No one was aware of any existing podcasts in the community.

One day during a routine conversation with the local National Public Radio (NPR) station, a representative of the bank expressed the institution's interest in podcasting. The NPR person replied the station was planning to introduce podcasting within a couple of months. "We immediately said that we wanted to be a part of what they did," explains Wilkerson.

The NPR station currently makes audio versions of its programs available on its website. Listeners who want to download the program to their computer or MP3 go to the website. Boone County National Bank has a banner ad on the website explaining that the podcast service is sponsored by the bank. In addition, when the listener plays back the audio, it stars with the words, "This podcast is brought to you by Boone County National Bank."

Since at the time neither the radio station or the bank knew how popular the podcasts would be, the bank was able to lock in a long-term advertising contract at what Wilkerson calls "unbelievable prices."

The new media channel turned out to be a hit. The podcasts have drawn a big audience--four times the volume of what the radio station originally anticipated. The bank is pleased enough that it is shifting money from its radio broadcast budget into its podcast sponsorship budget. "We have no idea whether it is doing us any good," Wilkerson concedes. "But the demographics are right. We are reaching the audience we are interested in."

Within the...