Out with the old, in with the new.

• Position: Marketing News

Through the years, First Federal Bank in Lincoln, Neb., has maintained a pattern of growth. Since 1907, when it was first chartered as Fidelity Savings and Loan Association, until 1995, when it received a federal savings bank charter and became First Federal Lincoln Bank, the institution opened new offices, nurtured its assets, increased its deposits and became--in effect--a new bank.

This year it gained a new name, as well. Last February, First Federal of Lincoln officially became TierOne Bank.

As far as its customers (and employees) were concerned, the name change happened literally overnight. Feb. 10 was a Sunday. On the evening of Feb. 9, employees from throughout the bank's three-state market area were invited to a reception in Lincoln, where the name was announced amid lavish video presentations and fireworks. There, they learned the new name and were introduced to the new logo. As they left, they were presented with new stationery and customer literature.

The next day, the advertising blitz began--radio, television, direct mail, newspapers--and flooded the marketing area. And on Monday morning, when the banks reopened for business, seven of the key offices already sported the new "TierOne" signs.

The name-change process actually began much earlier, says Ed Swotek, TierOne's senior vice president for strategic marketing. More than a year before, bank officials began thinking about changing the company's name.

"We were growing into markets outside Nebraska, taking on new lines of...