Sending 'money' in a direct mail piece to attract business deposits.

• Position: Marketing News - Renasant Bank's marketing campaign - Brief article

Like many banks, Renasant Bank (assets: $3.6 billion), Birmingham, Ala., is interested in increasing commercial core deposits and loans. But reaching businesses with direct mail is a challenge.

In most businesses, someone opens and screens the mail before it arrives on the boss's desk. Frequently, mail that looks like "advertising" will be tossed out. The exception is a mailing piece that looks personalized or "valuable."

The bank tried to bypass the gatekeeper and reach business customers with a package containing "an intriguing item" in the envelope or box--along with a creative letter connecting the item to the institution's services.

The campaign was designed to assist the bank's calling officers in opening doors at new businesses in the institution's three-state market, according to Lucile Houseworth, the bank's director of marketing.

The bank selected 6,000 businesses with targeted sales volume and employee size located within seven miles of their branch footprint. These targeted...