Massachusetts’ banks are no match for Kelly Ripa and Regis Philbin.

In the face of arguably the industry’s most dynamic marketing duo, the messages on local institutions’ comparatively cheesy, clip-art billboards might as well be scrawled on jersey barriers along the Pike.

Banks in TD’s path know this, but have been much too slow to respond, and completely unwilling to make the first move, according to Peter Harvey, president and CEO of Intellidyn, a Hingham-based firm that provides marketing data to banks.

A banking veteran and keen observer of the industry, Harvey knows what TD’s television spots only hint at: The competition is old fashioned, and “frankly, terrified.” And crowding print ads and billboards with young faces won’t help if banks aren’t willing to embrace a faster, more streamlined marketing strategy.

“Within the banks, the marketing departments have incessant conversations about cross-selling,” Harvey said. But a bank’s marketing department often operates in a silo. And within that silo are other silos dedicated to marketing automobile financing, or branch services, for example.

“TD has come in and spent a tremendous amount of capital, not just opening branches, but also a tremendous amount on brand development…they’re doing what (the other) banks are still talking about,” Harvey said.

Steady March

In 2004, there were no TD Bank branches in Massachusetts, according to FDIC data. In 2006, there were 168. As of June 30, 2010, there were 157, and the bank held almost $9 billion in deposits.

John Carusone, president of the Hartford, Conn.-based Bank Analysis Center Inc., said TD’s success is a result of its deep pockets, its parent company’s proximity to New England and its ability to market itself as a local bank.

“They began to steadily march [into New England] a decade ago, and they compete head-to-head with large institutions, as well as community institutions,” Carusone said. “[Parent firm The Toronto Dominion Bank Inc.] has been able to convince the public that, notwithstanding the fact that they are one of the largest banks in the world, decisions are made locally and with creativity.”

That’s not to say local or regional players can’t compete, but competition requires willingness to experiment and an appetite for risk.

But most Massachusetts’ community banks aren’t ready to really duke it out with TD.

“If a bank is small, but has a good footprint, it can be a good competitor,” Carusone said. “It requires capital resources, creativity and strength of management.”

All of which are sorely lacking in most local banks, Harvey said.

“Some people are sitting in product management year after year. In their corporate cubicle, they’ve lost a sense of what’s going on in the marketplace in direct mail, television, the internet and email…I hate to say it’s all because of politics, but a good deal of it is. A certain executive with a certain line of thinking draws out their turf and says, ‘This is the way it’s going to be done.’”

Harvey said he recently worked with a “mid-size” bank that took eight months to design and implement a marketing campaign for its mortgage refinance business.

“It should take eight days,” he said.

And time isn’t the only stumbling block. Smaller banks are constantly pre-occupied with the bottom line, as well.

“Larger banks can stumble along and throw money at a problem,” Carusone said. But smaller banks don’t have such a margin for error. “Every mistake, or miscalculation or strategy blunder can result in the significant loss of market share.”

But in parts of the state where TD has established only a minor presence, those risks are less apparent.

Paul Scully, president and CEO of Country Bank for Savings in Ware, said industry consolidation has brought large, formidable, regional players like People’s United to his neck of the woods in recent years. But in the last year, Scully said volatility among larger banks has brought more customers through Country Bank’s doors.

“People want to know the same people are going to be here when they need another loan, and we’re about $1.5 billion, so we can handle a lot,” Scully said.

“We view any building with ‘bank’ over the door as competition,” he continued. “But our marketing focus hasn’t changed as a result of new players. Our process has changed because technology has changed.”