Company: Hancock Whitney; Gulfport, Mississippi/New Orleans, LA
Company Description: Hancock Whitney offices and financial centers in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas offer comprehensive financial products and services, including traditional and online banking; commercial and small business banking; private banking; trust and investment services; healthcare banking; and mortgage services.
Nomination Category: Marketing Campaign Categories - Specialty
Nomination Sub Category: Brand Experience of the Year - Consumer
 Nomination Title: Hancock Whitney and KABOOM – Banking by Building
- Which will you submit for this nomination, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length about the nominated campaign or program, OR written answers to the questions for this category? CHOOSE ONE:
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this first question: Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched:
September 2022
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this second question: Describe the genesis of the nominated campaign or program: the reasons it was initiated, the challenges it was created to address, the problems it was developed to solve, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 241 words used.
- Strong, vibrant communities are not created by accident. They are the culmination of empowered residents, hopeful youth, and caring partners.
- In seeking a way to authentically connect with the communities we serve, specifically those that are underserved/underbanked and majority minority, Hancock Whitney’s Banking by Building initiative focused on three key objectives.
- Be Known: Build brand awareness in newer markets or enhance brand perception in legacy markets, positioning Hancock Whitney as a financial institution committed to helping people achieve the financial futures they deserve. Earned, owned, and paid media would help amplify the initiative with key audiences.
- Be Understood: Provide opportunities to connect with clients, prospects, and centers of influence to listen to the challenges communities are facing. It should also create chances to explain how Hancock Whitney can help communities thrive, either through investments, products and services, or outreach.
- Be Loved: Inspire interest and genuine brand affinity for Hancock Whitney through real commitment to the communities we serve. It should also lay the foundation for ongoing engagements to build relationships with partners, clients and prospects and encourage them to join us in creating real change for the communities that need it most.
- This led us to partner with KABOOM! the national nonprofit working to end playspace inequity. The partnership represented a strategic investment to strengthen communities by ensuring children have safe places to learn and play, residents have access to financial education resources and guidance to help achieve strong financial futures.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this third question: Describe the development of the campaign or program: the planning process, the goal setting, the creative and media development, the scheduling, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 249 words used.
From October 2022 - September 2023, Hancock Whitney and KABOOM! led playground builds in Tampa; Pasadena, Texas; and New Orleans. Each build following a similar execution:
Planning: Hancock Whitney invited stakeholders to community listening sessions, centered on community development efforts to expand access to affordable housing, mortgage resources and financial education. Design Day occurred with local children and parents, allowing them to share their ideas for a dream playground. Hancock Whitney infused financial education into the session by leading a budgeting exercise, challenging kids to build a playground within a set budget. Hancock Whitney also pitched design day to local media to showcase the upcoming build and Hancock Whitney’s investment. Pitching continued prior to the build, focusing on the importance of financial education, including two-dimensional math and literacy games.
Build: 100+ volunteers converge on each build to construct a playground in one day. Playground elements feature suggestions from design day as well as sidewalk games like number lines to introduce concepts critical for financial education. Local officials join for the build and ribbon cutting of the new space. Local media are invited to capture build activity and ribbon cutting, leveraged as a community announcement for the new space.
Legacy: We partnered with local nonprofits to host free quarterly financial education sessions on topics like credit management and home buying. Residents are continually engaged through a direct mailer promoting the new park, the release of a video showcasing the build, and blogs and a landing page supported by organic/paid media.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this fourth question: Outline the activities and concrete results of this campaign or program since the beginning of 2022. Even if your initiative started before 2022, limit your response to activities and results since the beginning of 2022 only (up to 250 words):
Total 203 words used.
- The earned media mentions across all three phases of all three builds include 175M impressions across 38 stories in local media, 28 covering the playground builds and 10 covering various financial literacy topics. An additional 46 reprints of three stories appeared on news aggregate websites.
- Between both organic and paid efforts, both the blogs and landing pages have seen more than 14,000 visitors. Additionally, organic social media drove 129K impressions and 12K post engagements.
- Brand awareness and engagement KPIs for initiative included total number of attendees and volunteers, earned media mentions, social media engagement, and website visits/blog views.
- Across three design day events, we engaged with more than 30 parents and 50 children. Through community listening sessions we connected with 25 local community stakeholders. For three builds we gathered more than 350 volunteers to participate. In legacy phase financial education sessions, we have reached 277 individuals.
- Beyond metrics and key performance indicators, success is also measured in the strength of community relationships forged throughout the campaign. Community leaders, met through this initiative, have been invited to serve on Hancock Whitney’s Community Advisory Council to share strategic insights and advice on how Hancock Whitney can make a more significant impact on their communities.
- You have the option to reference here any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 37 words used.
We have included several media mentions that were garnered from the various KABOOM builds in both New Orleans and Houston. Also attached are various videos that were created during the design and build phases of the projects.
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