Make Every Season Count With Year-Round Marketing Strategies

Remember when movies would show the passage of time through pages falling off a wall calendar, one after another? Time seems to move just that quickly in community banks these days. That’s why setting up a 12-month marketing strategy can help you meet each new season with confidence. 

It might feel intimidating to sit down with a blank screen in front of you, planning a year’s worth of work all in one go. But taking that long-term approach can be rewarding in the long run, many bankers say. 

According to Magen Bain McLemore, retail banking manager and marketing specialist at $209 million-asset Community Spirit Bank in Red Bay, Alabama, “Having a four-season marketing strategy can be especially powerful in building local relationships, increasing brand awareness and driving engagement throughout the year. With a strategy like this in place, your bank’s brand stays in the minds of customers, even during the downtimes throughout the year.”

Seasonal marketing makes sense because it’s the way your prospects and customers already think. “Whether it’s saving for a summer vacation, choosing new flooring for a remodel or setting aside money for holiday gifts, consumers, even if they don’t realize it, make financial decisions based on the seasons,” says Mandy Bradshaw, a digital marketing analyst at the BankBound digital agency.

Banking needs shift throughout the year, making seasonal marketing essential, says Andre Barrie, marketing and experience officer at $480 million-asset Eclipse Bank in Louisville, Kentucky. “While certain times of the year may seem slower,” he says, “staying engaged is key to maintaining relationships and driving long-term growth.” 

Every time of year brings new opportunities, and these community banks have taken advantage of each change of season.

Summer

Fun in the sun

McLemore says summer offers many new opportunities for targeted marketing. “At that time of year, we’re doing graduation celebrations and senior recognition,” she says. “In school, we work on end-of-year recognition for our student-led bank branch [CSB Tiger Branch at Red Bay High School]. And there are always good opportunities for content around vacation, travel budgeting and security tips.”

“We ran a dorm room makeover for kids going off to college in the fall,” says Elizabeth Allen, marketing director for $500 million-asset Better Banks in Peoria, Illinois. “The campaign started before school ended in May and went through the summer months. The winner was selected in August and received a check for $500 to use for their college dorm room.”

Fall

Festive pumpkins, socks and school supplies

For autumnal campaigns, Better Banks likes to keep them specific to individual branches, but many rally around back-to-school initiatives or drives. “Many of our branches have their own autumn campaigns,” says Allen. “One branch collects school supplies for the local community center. Another one has a drawing for a backpack full of supplies.” 

Another location provides pumpkins for first-grade classes at the local school. The kids decorate the pumpkins, and each classroom picks their favorites. “The finalists are displayed at the branch for people to vote for, and they’re also shared on Facebook, with each ‘like’ being a vote,” explains Allen. “It’s one of our top-performing Facebook posts, and we end up adding so many new followers every year. The winners get a gift certificate to the local farm, and the winning classroom gets a $100 gift card to use for a party.”

Better Banks also holds a Socktober sock drive for the Children’s Home Association of Illinois. The community bank sends to each branch blank sock donation boxes, which the staff can then decorate any way they want. 

“Pictures of the collection boxes are posted on Facebook for votes, and the winning branch gets a pizza party and the traveling trophy,” says Allen.

Winter

A treasure trove of family time

Winter brings a plethora of cultural and religious holidays, including Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Diwali, providing plenty of fodder for marketing campaigns.

“We focus on holiday budgeting tips, customer education on holiday scams, Shop Local campaigns and community Christmas events like parades and Christmas tree trails,” says McLemore of Community Spirit.

Better Banks takes a different approach. “I try not to promote anything too heavily between Thanksgiving and Christmas,” Allen says. The exception is the community bank’s 12 Days of Christmas giveaway, started in 2020, which has recently become a successful social campaign. In the 12 days leading up to Christmas, Better Banks chooses customer names at random—drawn from social followers and based on its post likes—to receive gift cards provided by its business customers.

Civista Bank, a banking subsidiary of $4.1 billion-asset Civista Bancshares Inc., rings in the new year with a financial fitness campaign. “It drives insights to our followers about kicking the new year off on the right foot with financial tips on savings, budgeting and financial New Year’s resolutions,” says Autumn R. Jose, assistant vice president and brand marketing specialist of the Sandusky, Ohio, community bank.

In Minnesota, customers are very attuned to seasonal changes, says Tim Martinson, assistant vice president of marketing at $1.4 billion-asset North American Banking Company in Roseville, Minnesota. 

“Minnesotans are passionate about the outdoors, and the rhythms of each season play a big part in our lives,” he says. “This comes into play in our marketing. For example, in February, we were the presenting sponsor of the annual Minnesota Golf Show, and we had a booth there to promote our bank’s services. The show is a big draw every year, as Minnesotans begin thinking of the warmer months ahead.”

Although the end of the year is often slow for banks, it does present marketers with some new opportunities, McLemore says. “During those times, I’ve found it’s a great opportunity to demonstrate our community-focused mindset through support of local businesses, charities and other initiatives.”

“We collect stuffed animals from January until Valentine’s Day for the children at our local Children’s Hospital,” Allen says. “We partner with a group called Cuddles with Kindness. Our branches are drop-off locations, and we promote the drive at our locations and on our social channels.”

Barrie says Eclipse Bank harnesses the giving spirit many people feel toward the end of the year. 

“When branch traffic is down due to the colder weather, people in general aren’t looking to make big waves with their finances,” he says. “That’s when we promote our Impact Checking Account, which donates 1% of the average daily balance to a nonprofit of the depositor’s choice.” 

Spring

Bringing sunshine and rain

As with most things in life, timing is everything. “A HELOC campaign for home renovations, for example, [is less likely to be successful] during fall and holiday times, when people are busy,” says Bradshaw. “It should launch in early to mid-spring, when home improvement projects are top of mind, and continue through mid-summer.” 

The best way to determine the right timing? Look to your own data, she says. “Find out when your HELOC applications have historically spiked, and you’ll be able to tap into a goldmine of insight about your market’s habits.”

Jose has built a #SocialStars ambassador team of Civista Bank employees from all areas of the bank who provide brand reach in their communities during every season. 

“They share authentic, localized content with their audiences and communities, and their posts help bring campaigns to life in a way that traditional marketing alone cannot,” she says. “During our spring financial literacy campaign, #SocialStars share real-life tips on budgeting.” 

Spring holidays are another marketing opportunity for Civista. “We’ve created campaigns tied to Women’s History Month in March, offering financial tips from women bankers across our footprint,” Jose says. “Personal tips and stories have a more engaging story to tell, and it humanizes the brand.”

“Spring marks an uptick in community involvement,” Barrie says. “Last year, our team recorded over 400 volunteer hours.” 

Spring is a time of growth for nature and for business, he notes. “As interest rates have normalized and even dropped slightly, we’re focused on growing core accounts and loans during this time,” Barrie says. “With each loan, we aim to tie in a DDA account. We’ve also partnered with trusted, locally owned renovation companies with dedicated landing pages to streamline our HELOC application process and guarantee a 48-hour decision.”

---