Company: SunTrust Bank, Atlanta, GA
Company Division/Group: Cookerly Public Relations
Company Description: SunTrust Banks, Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, is one of the nation's largest banking organizations, serving a broad range of consumer, commercial, corporate and institutional clients.
Nomination Category: Marketing Campaign Categories - Industry
Nomination Sub Category: Marketing Campaign of the Year - Financial Products & Services

Nomination Title: SunTrust: Lighting the Way to Financial Well-Being

1. Tell the story of this nominated marketing campaign for the judges (up to 525 words). Describe the genesis, planning, execution, and results to date of your campaign. If applicable, remember to describe what's unique or innovative about your campaign:

Genesis

Consumers, ready to move forward following the recession, lacked financial confidence and wanted a partner to guide/educate them. SunTrust (ST) seized the opportunity, evolving to a purpose driven company dedicated to Lighting the way to Financial Well-being and launched “How Can we Help You Shine Today?" The Shining brand campaign demanded a highly coordinated, integrated approach and repetitive messaging.

Development

Primary research-focus groups, daily customer polls and individual interviews were conducted by ST to determine the consumer mindset. Competitive audits and analyses spanned industry topics: financial well-being, CSR/volunteer programs plus commercial/business banking and social media issues.

Research confirmed consumers:
1) were optimistic;
2) were ready to move forward, tired of holding pattern;
3) desired personal connection of a small bank, convenience of a large;
4) felt insecure about financial acumen, wanting education/expertise;
5) wanted individual attention, didn’t want to feel “sold to.”

In response, ST evolved its business strategy and corporate culture from mission driven to purpose driven.

The redefined brand: lighting the way to financial well-being; the “local” bank with big bank resources; the partner that listens, supports, educates and helps.

Execution

1. Highly Visible Media Relations Campaign – Direct, customized pitches tied to real life events to introduce and support branding campaigns, purpose and solutions/stories
2. Creative Storybank – Developed storybank of 45 poignant stories across footprint to bring new purpose driven culture to life and promote branding
3. Financial Well-Being Survey – Monitored business mindsets demonstrating thought leadership
4. Bylines, Ready-to- Print and Broadcast Series – Strategically placed bylines and ready-to-prints touted financial well-being topics; secured, planned and developed WXIA-TV Atlanta &Co. series tied to life circumstances
5. Geographic Leadership/Wealth Program – Executed media outreach to increase visibility for home town presidents and wealth advisors to humanize the brand
6. Social Media – New YouTube hub showcased storybank videos, client success stories and more. Facebook Shinify Photo App creatively engaged consumers.
7. Thought leadership – Positioned key spokespersons across LOBs as thought leaders on subjects important to consumers/small businesses
8. Advertising - TV, radio, digital, branch materials supported storybank themes
9. CSR – Highlighted community outreach supporting financial well-being, e.g., United Way Dodge Ball Kick-Off, Boys & Girls Club of Atlanta “75 Blue Doors,” Junior Achievement

Results

• Dynamic Logic brand study showed significant lifts in brand awareness, +10 pts., and consideration, +9pts; overall engagement was higher than industry benchmarks and previous campaigns
• ST holds the #1 spot in “customer consideration” within the footprint, beating all national and local competitors
• During period of rebranding, STI’s (NYSE) stock price rose by roughly 28 percent
• 824 media placements; reached total audience of 823 million; advertising equivalency of $4.5 million. Coverage in more than 200 outlets: USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, TheStreet, BusinessWeek, Consumer Reports, Washington Post, broadcast and more.
• 481 media placements across geographic leadership and wealth; audience reach of 656 million
• New dynamic YouTube hub showcased ads, ST experts sharing client success, tips and tools: 77,370 views
• Facebook community grew 166%, increased engagement 258%; @SunTrust Twitter retweet rate 50%, with adjusted exposure of over 536,225

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2. Provide a brief biography of the leader of the team that planned and executed this marketing campaign (up to 125 words):

Rilla Delorier, chief marketing and client experience officer for SunTrust Banks, Inc. She is responsible for the company’s advertising, direct marketing, brand management, sponsorships, client analytics, cross-channel strategy, web solutions, line of business marketing, corporate communications and client loyalty programs. With a focus on leveraging client insight to enhance the bank’s operations, Delorier and her team use client feedback and analytics to design client experiences that reinforce the SunTrust brand promise and increase loyalty.

Delorier earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree from The University of Virginia. She was recognized in 2011 and 2012 by American Banker as one of the Women to Watch in Banking and named among the Top 25 Women in Banking in 2013.