CAUSE MARKETING
Photo courtesy of Fifth Third Bancorp.
snapshot
Fully Engaged Fifth Third Bancorp launched a cause marketing campaign to help unemployed customers find work—and to bolster the bank’s brand perception in the process BY CHRISTINE BIRKNER | SENIOR STAFF WRITER
cbirkner@ama.org Goal The Great Recession shattered many financial institutions’ reputations. Seven years later, many Wall Street banks are still being slapped with fines for wrongdoings while many other banks are still struggling to earn back customers’ trust. While it emerged from the recession with its reputation and business intact, Cincinnati-based Fifth Third
8
Bancorp recently wanted to bolster its brand perception and boost customer engagement by embarking on a cause marketing initiative in line with the company’s long history of charitable community involvement. Action Community engagement and charitable work are integral to Fifth Third’s business
and brand identity. According to the company, Fifth Third launched its first cause-related effort in 1948 when it formed a charitable foundation. In 2012, Fifth Third expanded its communitybased work to address another pressing societal issue in the United States: unemployment. The company identified mortgage customers who were behind on their payments because they’d lost their jobs (customers either called bank representatives to let them know, or the bank learned about customers’ unemployment during normal business communications). Fifth Third partnered with NextJob, a Bend, Ore.-based re-employment solutions company, to offer these customers NextJob services, including webinars, job coaching and an online training program called the Job Seeker’s Toolkit. The bank contacted the
MARKETING NEWS | SEPTEMBER 2014
MN Sept 2014 1-64+-edit-8-21-14 V2-ESedit-8-20-14.indd 8
8/22/14 11:41 AM