Strike up the band: how bank-organized community concerts/festivals can fit into your overall marketing and promotional efforts.

• Author: Foxworth, Rhonda

FOOD AND MUSIC ARE TWO THINGS THAT EXCITE PEOPLE. Put them together, and you've got the makings of a powerful event. But what happens when you combine food and music with a community bank? You have an opportunity to energize and excite your community--while also promoting your bank.

Banks are frequently solicited to be one of the sponsors of community events. But this often involves nothing more than donating money in return for getting the bank logo displayed at the event.

A more high-powered way for a bank to help the community and to get noticed is for the bank itself to organize an event. Below are two examples of bank-sponsored events followed by a list of helpful tips and best practices for success.

A free summer-long downtown concert series

About seven years ago, Tim Marshall, president and CEO of the Bank of Ann Arbor (assets: $1 billion), Michigan, had a vision of a free summer-long concert series to enliven a downtown Ann Arbor park. The event would showcase local musical talent and further support the community's arts and culture.

With the help of the bank's advertising agency, Perich + Partners, the financial institution created and branded Sonic Lunch, a lunchtime concert series on Thursdays during the summer months.

Since then, the concert series has grown into a staple of the summer scene. From June to August, people from diverse sections of the community stop by to enjoy free music and to purchase lunch from a restaurant partner. The bank also partners with a local radio station to attract up-and-coming national touring artists. Over the years, Sonic Lunch has presented such vocalists as Darren Criss, a former University of Michigan music student who starred in Fox television's "Glee," Mayer Hawthorne, Michelle Chamuel (finalist on "The Voice"), Vance Joy, Brett Dennan and more.

Here's how one local resident rated the series on a recent awareness survey: "[Bank of Ann Arbor is a] fun local company with a human touch. I'm also impressed with their support of Sonic Lunch. They seem to actually care about the community and not just profits."

A monthly downtown block party with food, music and shopping

For years, Jill Castilla, president and CEO of Citizens Bank of Edmond, (assets: $250 million, Edmond, Okla.) heard suggestions that the bank do something to help make the city more diverse and interesting. Inspired by the success of Bank of Ann Arbor's Sonic Lunch, she and her team created Heard on Hurd, a once-a-month block...