And the winners are: forty-four awards were presented in the Annual ABA Ad Award Contest. Here are the winners together with commentary about what went into the creation of some of their top-quality ads.

• Author: Albro, Walt
• Position: 2002 ABA Advertising Awards Competition

AD WINNERS... AND HOW THEY ARE MADE

Bank marketers and their ad agencies must have been feeling their oats this year. The ABA Marketing Network received a record number of entries--340--in the annual ABA Ad Award Contest.

From that total, judges selected 30 entries for certificates of excellence and 14 for the highest honors, the best of the best. The awards were for ads, brochures, annual reports, websites or public relations campaigns produced during 2001.

Below is the list of 44 award recipients. A sample of the top (best of the best) winners were asked to describe some of the planning and thinking that went into the creation of their entries. Their remarks, as well as advice for bank marketers attempting to create media material of similar high quality, follow below.

BEST OF THE BEST

MULTIMEDIA

Free Checking (Life Preserver) Campaign

Institution: First National Bank of Pennsylvania

Asset category: $1 billion to $5 billion; 43 branch/bank locations

Advertising Agency: Adcom Communications Inc., Cleveland

Working Money Multimedia Campaign

Institution: First Tennessee Bank

Asset category: Over $5 billion; 200 branches/bank locations

Advertising Agency: Thompson & Co., Memphis, Tenn.

PRINT AD SERIES

Connections

Institution: LaSalle Bank, Chicago

Asset category: Over $5 billion; branch bank/locations, over 125.

Advertising Agency: Cramer-Krasselt, Chicago

Adopt-a-Map Print Campaign

Institution: Frost Bank, San Antonio, Texas

Asset category: Over $5 billion; 80 branch/bank locations

Advertising Agency: McGarrah Jessee

Curve, Merge, Do Not Enter, Bull and Bear

Institution: Middleburg Bank, Middleburg, Va.

Asset category: $250 million to $1 billion; six branch/bank locations

WEBSITE / E-COMMERCE

www.nsbank.com

Institution: Nevada State Bank

Asset category: $1 billion to $5 billion; 61 branches/bank locations

Website designer: The Rose/Glenn Group, Reno, Nev.

ANNUAL REPORTS

2001 Annual Report

Institution: Seacoast Banking Corp. (First National Bank & Trust Co.), Stuart, Fla.

Asset category: $1 billion to $5 billion; 25 branch/bank locations.

2001 Annual Report

Institution: The Palmetto Bank, Laurens, S.C.

Asset category: $250 million to $1 billion; 30 branch/bank locations

BROCHURE SERIES

Straightforward Banking Brochures

Institution: Lincoln Federal Savings Bank, Plainfield, Ind.

Asset category: $250 million to $1 billion; eight branch/bank locations

BROCHURE, SINGLE

150th Anniversary Brochure

Institution: Ulster Savings Bank, Kingston, N.Y.

Asset category: $250 million to $1 billion; six branches/bank locations plus four mortgage tending centers.

The Value of Trust

Institution: Washington Trust Bank, Spokane, Wash.

Asset category: $1 billion to $5 billion; 29 branch/bank locations

DIRECT MAIL SINGLE

SunTrust Road to Daytona

Institution: SunTrust Bank

Asset category: Over $5 billion

Advertising agency: D. Trio Marketing Group, Minneapolis

TV SERIES

Working Money TV Campaign

Institution: First Tennessee Bank

Asset category: Over $5 billion

Advertising agency: Thompson & Co., Memphis

TV SINGLE

College Tuition

Institution: Citibank

Asset category: Over $5 billion

Advertising agency: Fallon Advertising, Minneapolis

WINNER PROFILE: MULTIMEDIA

'ZERO FEE': A DISTINCTIVE WAY TO SAY 'FREE CHECKING'

Free Checking (Life Preserver) Campaign

Institution: First National Bank of Pennsylvania

Asset category: $1 billion to $5 billion; 43 branch/bank locations

Advertising Agency: Adcom Communications Inc., Cleveland

Original thought behind creative concept: While every other bank was simply saying "free checking," we were looking for a better, more believable way to convince people to switch banks. At the same time, we considered people already discouraged with their bank's checking fee structure to be a more attainable audience. These two thoughts led us to explore the...