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RBS Citizens, Providence, RI

How to EnterCompany: RBS Citizens, Providence, RI
Entry Submitted By: EMI Strategic Marketing
Company Description: RBS Citizens, one of the nation’s leading commercial banks, provides comprehensive banking services to companies with revenues of $25 million or more. We focus on delivering financial ideas and solutions to help our clients create value in their businesses. RBS Citizens is a subsidiary of RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a $126 billion commercial bank holding company with nearly 19,000
Nomination Category: Sales Awards Achievement Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Inbound Marketing Program of the Year

Nomination Title: RBS Citizens M and A Thought Leadership Pipeline Development Program

Tell the story about your organization's inbound marketing program since the beginning of July 2012 (up to 525 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

The RBS Citizens Commercial Bank launched its Corporate Finance & Capital Markets capabilities in June 2012 to capture new revenues, elevate client relationships and deliver strategic value to sophisticated Middle Market clients. To establish positive awareness and a strong, the bank designed and implemented a content-driven inbound marketing program centered on the topic of Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A). The quality of thought leadership presented, the lead development and cultivation strategy, and its integration with the 300-strong commercial banking sales channels were all central to the program’s success.

The program worked by using emails to drive recipients to a microsite, which expanded as the year progressed to showcase a growing content library. Codes enabled matching back to recipients, and program activity monitoring at the individual level. This level of tracking allowed both detailed lead reports and program effectiveness measurement.

The program consisted of:

• Development of a targeted list of senior executives at clients, prospects and influencer enterprises, primarily comprised of companies with revenues of $25mm or more
• Six proprietary thought leadership “Perspectives” providing insights for C-suite executives to establish the bank’s expertise in the corporate finance space; topics ranged from “The 2014 M&A Horizon” to “The Power of No in Driving Long-Term Value in M&A”
• A custom study researching M&A expectations, concerns and plans among more than 400 senior middle market executives
• Two executive webinars
• Two campaigns, comprising 24 email waves in total, promoting these content assets to generate awareness, downloads, webinar participation and a continuous qualified lead flow
• Integration of a social media component, including “Tweet this” widgets in emails, and timed postings to the bank’s Twitter handle
• Sales tools to catalyze and script banking relationship manager conversations about the content assets, and guide effective and timely follow-up with engaged responders
• A sales lead distribution program to deliver responders with engagement data to relationship owners based on existing relationships, geography and channel
• Follow-up measurement using the bank’s sales force automation platform

Across the full year of M&A Thought Leadership, the program:

• Reached a total of more than 70,000 client, prospect and influencer executives with a contact frequency of 16 to 24 emails, depending on the segment
• Generated a view rate of 32% (nearly a third of the target audience opened one or more emails)
• Stimulated 4,649 downloads of thought leadership content (Perspectives or webinar replays)
• Generated live attendance of 426 across the two webinars (one in April, one in November)
• Generated 2,115 qualified executive responders who engaged in 3+ activities, thus generating a robust pipeline for sales follow-up; 70% of these were C-suite executives at target companies, and 835 were prospects
• Demonstrating the quality of content, and level of responder engagement, 220 executives downloaded 6+ unique assets
• Qualified responders were delivered directly to sales managers for their teams regularly throughout the program;

While sales numbers are confidential, the Corporate Finance results speak to the success of the integrated marketing and sales effort. From 2012 to 2013, the number of corporate finance & capital markets deal referrals increased 51%, propelling RBS Citizens into the top 10 in the middle market Bookrunner League Tables—an industry benchmark for market leadership in the corporate finance and capital markets sector.

 

Provide a brief (up to 125 words) biography about the leader(s) of the team that developed and implemented the nominated marketing program:

Bob Rubino is Executive Vice President, Head of Corporate Finance and Capital Markets for RBS Citizens. Over five years, Bob and his team have developed and launched corporate advisory, capital markets, and leveraged finance platforms, and the bank’s alliance with Oppenheimer & Co. which delivers M&A capabilities.

Bob is a member of the Loan Underwriting Committee, Commercial Banking Executive Management Committee, and Executive Leadership Group.

Bob came to RBS Citizens in 2007 from Bank of America, where he led the Northeast Business Capital Group, the Large Corporate Group, and managed Precious Metals.

Bob graduated from Providence College and earned an M.S. from The London School of Economics. He completed formal credit training at Manufacturers Hanover Trust and carries NASD licenses 24, 7 & 63.