Banks Need FI Communications Specialists

The Media Landscape Has Radically Changed.

Digital transformation in the financial services industry has reached the stage that community banks need the assistance of outside marketing communication specialists to help navigate the new digital platforms and more traditional media channels. Those specialists should have an in-depth understanding of banking products and services to maximize the impact of the media spend on producing new accounts and return on that investment.

The gap between what used to work in local, traditional media compared to the ever-evolving digital platforms has widened dramatically. In fact, the digital media landscape has grown to the point that most local media, once the cornerstone of community banking is facing extinction.

To illustrate the changing media landscape, take a moment to look at the change in digital ad spending in the U.S. Financial Services Industry. Digital media is forecasted to increase by nearly 20% in the next two years. In fact, since 2017 digital media spending increased by 117% compared to the 2021 forecast. Those spending increases are primarily focused on display, search and social media marketing channels.

The demise of local newspapers | Large and small market publications.

Large market newspapers are evolving into local news content digital platforms and smaller market newspapers really don’t have the money to compete digitally. Both continue to see their print circulation shrink as people of all ages use the internet to get their news.

The development of strong, internet news content sites has been stealing readers for years. Digital subscription and advertising revenue has not made up for the collapse of print advertising industry-wide. And local newspapers across the country have not been successful at the digital subscription model.

In the U.S., weekday print circulation has shrunk from a high of nearly 60 million in 1994 to less than 32 million for combined print and digital circulation today.  That represents 24 years of straight decline.

The decline of local radio station listeners.

Streaming services and apps have been slowly carving away at radio stations best listeners and local market share.  The rise of internet and cell phone streaming apps like iTunes, Amazon, Pandora, Spotify, BeatPort and other music apps are accelerating the loss of listeners.

Advertising on these new streaming sources can be expensive when you target them in to your bank’s footprint zip codes and each one of these services reach very small audiences.

Local radio stations are scrambling to regain audience share and are now selling individual streaming and websites packages that are not very effective.

The fragmentation of local broadcast, cable and satellite television viewership.

The growth in satellite and cable networks has fragmented the audience tremendously and makes using this medium inefficient and expensive.

Cord cutters have been using TV streaming services like Hulu, Netflix, Sling TV, Pluto, Tubi and many others for years. This segment is growing and the streaming services are continuing to build their viewership, while fragmenting the audience even further.

Broadcast, satellite and cable networks are now launching their own streaming services that can be viewed on nearly every video capable device.

While the cost-per-point of traditional broadcast and cable TV ratings points continues to increase, the rise of Over-The-Top (OTT) digital video media is continually fragmenting viewership.

The continuing evolution of the internet.

Is there a day that goes by that we are given new and expanding opportunities to access the internet?

Human reliance on anywhere | anytime access continues to grow and is in high demand. Today, people of all ages use it for almost anything they want or need.

An excellent example of this principle is the negative impact the internet has had on traditional brick and mortar retailers in nearly every category imaginable.

There is an APP for almost everything and new companies providing new services daily.

Leap Strategic Marketing can help.

Community banks should strongly consider the help of outside marketing communications specialists to navigate this rapidly changing media landscape.

Bank marketers need to embrace this change and utilize these outside marketing specialists to help find ways to differentiate their organization in the new media marketplace and to achieve their goals cost effectively.

Leap Strategic Marketing has been serving Wisconsin community banks for years as an Associate Members of the WBA. We specialize in helping institutions from $100 million to $3 billion dollars in deposits tackle virtually every facet of the business.

We are navigating and helping our clients thrive in the ever changing media environment and would love to put our expertise to work for you.

And that is exactly why a community bank should consider hiring Leap Strategic Marketing. We are community bank marketing and communications specialists.

The agency employs former financial services marketing and marketing communications executives who have an in-depth knowledge of the industry. This is one of the things that makes Leap Strategic Marketing unique and allows us to develop strong partnerships with our financial services clients.

You can learn more about Leap’s community bank marketing expertise by sending us an email or giving us a call at 262-436-4080.

We look forward to hearing from you and helping accomplish your goals.

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