The Story

I recently had the chance to stay at the Nordic Hotel Forum in Tallin, Estonia - a new, hip, modern hotel. I was really impressed by the way the hotel stayed true to its brand through their interior design choices. They had a clear nature theme, which contrasted (pleasantly) with the […]

Today I’ll take a break from my branding and multi-sensory marketing soapbox and report about an interesting experience I recently had. A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of speaking at the Best Marketing Password 2008 conference in the Baltics. First stop was Vilnius, Lithuania. Then it was on to Riga, […]

“Setting the Tone” is the third article in a five-part series about using multi-sensory marketing and experiential branding in the banking industry. The articles were authored by CBC’s Jeff Stephens for ABA’s Bank Marketing magazine, which is running the series during this fall/winter.
Branding With All Five Senses
Part three of a 5-part Series on Multi-Sensory […]

When was the last time you were driving down the road, and became enthralled by a commercial for cough syrup? I may get excited about dorky stuff like bank marketing or credit union branding, but this was certainly a first for me, when I recently tuned in just in time to hear a creative […]

I was at a movie last week that has a particularly large and enthusiastic cult following. The devotees of this film embrace the movie as part of their lifestyle. They go to see it on a regular basis, act out character parts, and actively promote it to everyone and anyone who will listen. This cult […]

One of our recent posts made me think about how even the smallest expectations, if not met, can cost you a lot. What about just the opposite situation – what happens when you go above and beyond meeting your clients’ expectations?
I went to Blue Moose Cafe for lunch the other day and was pleasantly […]

After leaving the American Bankers Association’s Bank Marketing Conference last week in Baltimore, my head was swimming was topics to hash out here in The Story. There was a lot of good information shared, discussed, and considered. And thanks to two presentations from the folks at Umpqua Bank, and one from Made to […]

A lot of brands (even beyond bank brands and credit union brands) say they want to be innovative and progressive, so they opt for all the bells and whistles. You know, lights galore and shiny metal. The newest “bank marketing ideas.”
What they don’t understand is that is NOT what it means to be innovative […]

We’ll go ahead and assume so. 
Check out the NY Times’ article covering the Umpqua Bank Lemonaire program: The Lemonade Stand That Umpqua Bank Built

When we at CBC recommend our bank marketing or credit union marketing clients develop some sort of unique, non-traditional program that may employ some experiential tactics or viral media, they often ask “can you give me an example?” Thanks to Umpqua Bank, one of my newer examples will be the Lemonaire program.

Take a moment […]