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Company Background

We know that better banks build better communities. For too long, marketing firms have underserved banks in every way, from strategy and brand to web development and advertising. At Mabus Agency, we know better. We are a full-service advertising agency that specializes in financial marketing. Our goal is to reduce the stress of creating high quality, effective marketing and advertising and help banks like yours reach their full potential. From strategy to creative to placement, we bring deep expertise and high skill to every facet of your marketing.

We Understand Banking

We are a full-service agency that understands banking. But we know we can always grow our knowledge. All Mabus Agency team members are required to participate in ongoing bank training through the American Bankers Association. That way, we proactively ensure anyone at Mabus Agency understands what makes the industry tick—from banking products to legal oversight and compliance.

We Know Growth

Benchmark Community Bank is poised for growth, and Mabus Agency is the perfect partner to support that initiative. For example, when Mabus Agency first started working with Mississippi-based Renasant Bank, Renasant stood at $2.6 billion in assets. By the end of 2018, Renasant’s assets will total more than $12 billion—progress that comes from intense collaboration and the execution of sound strategy. More recently, Mabus Agency revived the brand of Texana Bank, and by connecting that brand with strategy, Texana saw explosive growth by simply doing the little things right.

We’ll find what makes Benchmark Community Bank unique and create marketing pieces that aren’t just captivating, but purposeful and directed at driving growth.

We Drive Measurable Results

Beyond our support for M&A activity and de novo expansion, we drive ground-level growth. We stand unparalleled in our SBA lending knowledge and abilities, driving millions of dollars in niche lending for our clients. We work with clients to track our results, make adjustments, and continually improve.

In 2018 alone, we can already track more than $20 million in deposit growth directly from our campaigns. Marketing and brand awareness aren’t just fluff to us. We create campaigns that drive measurable results.

We Help Banks Transform

Every client brings a unique story and skill set to the table, even banks. To transform your brand, we’ll get to know you and pore over every detail to find out what makes Benchmark Community Bank tick. We’ll help you discern your audience, your priorities, and your vision. Your brand isn’t just a logo—it’s a physical representation of all these things that make you who you are. In action, your brand and marketing strategy work as one to expand Benchmark Community Bank’s reach and direct your messaging to exactly the right customers.

Our Approach

We are a strategy-first company. We begin each new client relationship with an intensive discovery session. While FIs offer similar products and services, there are distinct differences around brand. These differences are usually nuanced, but must be understood and embodied within all communications to effectively market your bank.

We work collaboratively with clients to understand their needs and their brands. Our goal is to understand the “why” behind any new initiative. Establishing measurable goals allows us to benchmark success and prescribe changes to enhance effectiveness.

See How We Do It

Account Management & Billing Process

We built our processes around transparency and accountability. Our approach will be particularly helpful in light of your recent experience.

We maintain an escrow account for all media purchases. This is well beyond industry standard and requirement. We maintain clear lines in regards to media fees and will not mix these in our GL.
We provide dollar-level reconciliation on all project, creative, and media billing each month.
We provide complete transparency on all projects by giving you access to our project management and proofing software. You see what we see: real-time reporting on each project in queue.

Meet Your Team

You will onboard with a dedicated team who has already lobbied to serve Benchmark Community Bank. This team is well-versed in banking and undergoes routine training around products, regulation, and compliance and is fully supported by the entire staff at Mabus Agency.

Your expanded team includes media placement, video, motion graphics, and digital marketing departments who work closely with your dedicated team on your projects. Your team also has access to teams dedicated to other clients (should your workload demand it).

Point of Contact

Communication Overview

Standing weekly check-in calls with your Mabus team
Monthly web conference around projects, creative collaboration, and budget reconciliation
Quarterly strategic check-ins, held in-person at your headquarters

Jenna Trautman

Relationship Manager

Deep experience serving agency clients in a variety of highly regulated industries.
Proven track-record of managing project activity and communication with client and creative team.
Develops realistic timelines and keeps projects on track to meet deadlines and exceed expectations.

Jordan Poppelreiter

The Creative Team

Amanda Wilkerson

Corey Childers

Senior Designer

Supported growth of a financial institution from $2.6 Billion in Assets to $13+ Billion
Incredibly prolific and talented designer
Longest tenured Mabus Agency employee

Brennan Kennedy

Lead Team Designer

Leads team in brand-setting and visual communication
Well-versed in utilizing existing brand elements and creating additional components to increase usability and flexibility of brands
Uses skills in typography, layout, and design to build incredible brands

Strategic Leaders

Josh Mabus

President, Chief Creative Officer

Worked hand-in-hand with Renasant Bank to boost assets from $2.6 billion to $17+ billion—reinventing how community banks can market through growth
More than a decade of bank marketing experience—from small local institutions (sub-$200 million) to regional banks
Extensive strategic and creative direction experience
Helped transform marketing of 20+ financial institutions

Your Expanded Team

We provide comprehensive solutions without third-party involvement. Here are three in-house groups (outside your dedicated team) that will provide broad-based resources to support your goals.

Media Placement

Our team specializes in finding the right media mix to drive engagement, conversion, and results. Through traditional, digital, geotargeting, social, environmental, and sports marketing—our goal is to find the right combination that drives what matters to you.

Videography

We specialize in creating compelling content. This is realized by marrying thoughtful narrative with beautiful imagery. Our video team is led by a director of photography with an MFA in filmmaking and two Emmys under his belt. JB Clark and his content team transform their understanding your institution into the scripts our video department will bring to life.

Motion Graphics

Consumers who understand banking products are much more likely to engage with them—and you. In many cases, the complexities of banking products require an additional boost to help increase understanding. That boost comes from animation. We use motion graphics to help consumers connect the dots around your products and provide deeper understanding. Our motion graphics department uses its experience of working on national brands to help you bring your products and services to life.