Bank of Ann Arbor unveils new non-local banker character in billboard and TV advertisements
The Bank of Ann Arbor is taking its nationally-recognized “non-local banker” campaign to the next level.
With the help of a famous animating team, they are personifying the “banker” referred to in billboards and radio advertisements that have been seen and heard around the county for the last three years. In order to create buzz around the new “character,” the bank has put his face on billboards around town with nothing but their signature bright green color in the background.
Ernie Perich poses with his non-local banker head at his office in Ann Arbor.
Photo Courtesy Ernie Perich
Advertising executive Ernie Perich of Perich Advertising + Design said the confusion even led one person to call and complain that he thought the head was poking fun at former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, but the point of using an animated figure was to avoid making fun of any one particular person.
“We just wanted your classic banker looking guy that if you lined up 100 bankers in a row and take the average of all of them he would pop out,” he said.
The billboards will be changed during the weekend to feature the animated banker along with the now-familiar non-local banker quotes. Perich also has been walking on Main Street wearing a “mascot-style” head of the character. He said people have been approaching him to take pictures with the character without knowing or asking what it represents.
J. J. Sedelmaier Productions, best known for their animation work on Saturday Night Live and MTV’s Beavis and Butthead, designed the non-local banker who will appear on advertisements that will be aired locally and online.
Bank of Ann Arbor president Tim Marshall said the character is the next evolution of an advertising campaign that has helped the bank grow tremendously over the last three years. Since 2010, Bank of Ann Arbor has seen their total assets grow by nearly 50 percent from $547 million to $802 million as they’ve made more loans, had more deposits, and grown their capital.
“It’s all part of what makes us great,” he said. “The financial strength of the bank, branding, the people, and the commitment to the community. All those factor in.”
Marshall also sees the advertising campaign as dovetailing with the banks strengths. He said following the economic downturn in 2008, there has been a trend across the country towards banking with smaller banks.
“People are embracing a more localized approach to banking,” he said. “Especially banks that didn’t participate in subprime lending or sophisticated swaps.”
In 2010, the branding campaign that included the “non-local banker” also included a broader branding effort that used a bright green color to identify the bank in marketing materials and other promotions such as the Sonic Lunch concert series. While wearing green is normally frowned upon in “Maize and Blue” Ann Arbor, Perich said being recognized with a specific color or shade can be extremely beneficial for a company.
“It worked for Tiffany’s, it works for UPS, and when you see that Coca-Cola red, you know that color,” he said.
“Everyone does blue, everyone does burgundy, so it was an interesting and fun decision to go with the bright green.”
Vice president and marketing manager Rhonda Foxworth said employees had embraced the green and taken to wearing clothes that matched the distinctive hue.
“I even had green toes for a little while during the summer,” she said.
Marshall also has embraced the branding efforts, even wearing green pants around the office. He said the campaign has become something they all enjoy being a part of.
“To be able to make people laugh today is good,” he said. “I don’t know a lot of ad campaigns where the purpose is to make people laugh, to put a smile on their face.”
Here's one of BOAA's new TV ads:
Ben Freed covers business for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at 734-623-2528 or email him at benfreed@annarbor.com. Follow him on twitter @BFreedinA2
Comments
Hmm
Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 4:21 p.m.
Well thank you for finally explaining those stupid billboards!
jackson72
Mon, Sep 17, 2012 : 11:47 p.m.
I'm a customer of Bank of Ann Arbor and if you care about personal service and being able to talk to a person instead of punching numbers as you navigate a phone menu system then this is where you want to be. They have a great online banking system too. Bank of Ann Arbor also give back to our community INFINITELY more than ANY of the regional or national banks.
javajolt1
Sun, Sep 16, 2012 : 2:02 p.m.
If its truly idiotic....aa.com will be there to write a story about it. What a yawner of a marriage: local banking and a local advertising company to tell them "what people really like". The antithesis of true creativity. Dumb.
Linda Peck
Sun, Sep 16, 2012 : 12:59 p.m.
Amazingly negative comments about this ad campaign and most of it seems directed at the bank itself, Band of Ann Arbor. I moved my money from a national bank to this local bank several years ago and I have been very pleased for the most part. It is extremely convenient, I like their on-line banking very much, and I have never had rude people serving me, except for one, and she was not a teller or bank manager. All in all, I like to support local business and this bank is local. That is the bottom line for me. Supporting local banks is part of the picture of promoting local business.
Chimay
Sun, Sep 16, 2012 : 1:40 p.m.
I'm a customer as well, have been for 8+ years, and have zero complaints. They have always treated me respectfully and with dignity.
PineyWoodsGuy
Sun, Sep 16, 2012 : 5:41 a.m.
Come On William Martin! Be Honest with us A2 dudes. Your BofAA is Not a "local bank!" Bllly Boy you are selling "truances" (French for "slice of the pie") to Saudi Oil sheiks! And yer messing with credit-worthy A2 borrowers who have substantial deposits in yer "personal bank." Billy Boy, I tell you, You Should Be Ashamed of Yourself. Even Bill M. Jr. departed you. Get Ahold of Yerself Dude! It is not all about "money!" John Maynard Keynes said that "In the long run, we will all be dead." A Miser is cheap, but a Canary is cheeper, because a canary is always cheeping. Billy Boy, you cheep like a Canary!! More's the pity my lad . . .
YpsiLivin
Sun, Sep 16, 2012 : 5:20 p.m.
The word is "tranche" which means "slice." No pie involved.
Urban Sombrero
Sun, Sep 16, 2012 : 1:16 a.m.
I looked into a checking account at Bank of Ann Arbor. In order to NOT rack up monthly charges, you have to have a minimum balance, at all times, of at least $600. Some people may say, "What's the big deal?". But, for a single mom, on a single income, like me? That's a HUGE amount to have just laying dormant. I decided to go with PNC instead. Still, I think Bank of Ann Arbor's radio commercials (that I hear on 107.1) are kind of cute.
julieswhimsies
Sat, Sep 15, 2012 : 10:41 p.m.
Yawn...
Dr. Fate
Sat, Sep 15, 2012 : 5:47 p.m.
They should have stopped when they were a - eh, not a head.
JB SHOOTER
Sat, Sep 15, 2012 : 5:35 p.m.
The billboard is a little creepy. Big cartoon face looking down with no text. Weird
Kai Petainen
Sat, Sep 15, 2012 : 5:18 p.m.
ha... cheesy... but... i found it creative and funny. and more importantly... i remembered it.
JerryL
Sat, Sep 15, 2012 : 2:45 p.m.
I don't care much for the ad campaign or the new character, but that wouldn't stop me from doing business there. The snotty attitudes displayed by staff toward service workers, however, tell me all I need to know about the place. Very happy at my local credit union, knowing I will be greeted warmly at every branch and that our money is not being spent on expensive advertising.
Thoughtful
Sat, Sep 15, 2012 : 2:34 p.m.
Honestly thought it was Woody Allen. No ties to the bank. Inconvenient banking is not attractive. The other billboards were better with the catchy sayings. Try again.
PattyinYpsi
Sat, Sep 15, 2012 : 2:20 p.m.
All this chatter about green and burgundy and Tiffany and UPS and green toenails. The banks just don't seem to get it. As AllDownHill pointed out, in current American culture, bankers are no longer lovable and friendly--and after 2008, it's pretty hard to argue with that. Color theory isn't going to eclipse the memory of massive foreclosures, gambling with client money, and generally rapacious greed that has defined the banking industry every since. I've moved to a local credit untion, where I earn in excess of 2% on my checking account balance up to $15,000. Now, that's service! No color is going to take me back to the banksters.
Steve Hendel
Sat, Sep 15, 2012 : 1:58 p.m.
Why is THIS news? Or, do advertisers get a certain amount of free advertising masquerading as "news" ? I agree with the commenter who said, essentially, that whether or not a bank is locally-owned is irrelevant; in fact, it is likely that a larger national bank will have a much greater ability to provide all the services one would expect of their banker: lots of ATMs everywhere; a well-constructed on-line presence; and, in general, the provision of banking services no matter where a mobile population might move.
AllDownHill
Sat, Sep 15, 2012 : 12:55 p.m.
I don't think you guys got the memo. America doesn't believe bankers are funny or loveable anymore.....think Wall Street.
Hmm
Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 4:22 p.m.
When exactly did Americans find bankers lovable or funny to begin with lol?
Chimay
Sun, Sep 16, 2012 : 1:43 p.m.
I think that is the point of the character. He's not lovable or funny.
Soothslayer
Sat, Sep 15, 2012 : 12:50 p.m.
I thought the billboards were for the Vault of Midnight comic book shop. Instilling a sense of stable security and comfort (where my money is going to be held)? No. Advertising fail. Also: Worst... Bank... Ever. I don't care if you're local, I want banking convenience (atm's everywhere), to behave ethically and the image to be clean and simple (but not garish like that godawful TCF logo). As we've seen with tiny banks over and over they can't help get drawn into local conundrums and personal matters when they should be acting as simple financial ones. Then the fed shuts them down when they're insolvent.
Chimay
Sun, Sep 16, 2012 : 1:34 p.m.
You make decisions about banking based on logos? This makes no sense. Are you just a malfunctioning spambot?
Goober
Sat, Sep 15, 2012 : 12:34 p.m.
Cheesy!
Billy
Sat, Sep 15, 2012 : 12:33 p.m.
Too skinny to look like you "average" banker....