This outdoor movie series in Malden sponsored last summer by Eastern Bank is one example of the kinds of corporate sponsorships in which banks participate in order to enhance community well-being.
Community involvement for Bay State banks has always been a focus of attention for the charitable-giving departments, but when it comes to corporate sponsorships, bank officials have some very clear definitions as to where the bank’s name will be placed.
Banks of all different sizes try to integrate sponsorships that maximize customers’ expenditures and work a new or existing product into an event, all the while generating media attention and consumer awareness.
Among the dozens of museum exhibits a year, the summertime golf tournaments and the charity events throughout the state, banks are presented with hundreds of corporate sponsorship proposals.
A corporate sponsorship, vs. a charitable contribution, is an opportunity to support a local or national organization while at the same time generating a significant amount of media attention, and for some businesses, a slew of new clients.
Of the many sponsorship options that banks are presented with, Joseph J. Bartolotta, vice president of public relations and corporate communications at Eastern Bank in Lynn, said most banks act as sponsors as either a community investment or promotional opportunity.
Recently, Eastern Bank sponsored the “Quest for Immortality” exhibit at the Museum of Science in Boston, giving the bank a large amount of publicity, but Bartolotta said even with a big-name sponsorship, the customers never go unnoticed.
“Museum sponsorships are a promotional activity because of the amount of publicity that comes to the bank,” said Bartolotta. “The ‘Quest for Immortality’ was a big hit and we shared the benefits of that sponsorship with our customers by giving away free passes to the exhibits and offering discount coupons in statement books. It’s important to realize that we are serving the community … but corporations also like to bring value to their customers.”
Bartolotta said sponsorships range in a variety of events depending on the bank’s public relations or charitable-giving accounts, but for most banks, engaging in a sponsorship that promotes the bank comes second to the sponsorships that promote quality of life in the community.
“Our goal is to do as much as we can in a community and we try to spread involvement out to all communities … It’s one of the most fun parts of the job,” said Bartolotta.
Media Component
The partnership between a bank and a sponsored organization should be relevant to the community and the mission of the bank, according to Kevin Noyes, compliance officer for Danvers Savings Bank.
But according to Richard Ehst, director of corporate communications for Sovereign Bank, there is a distinct difference between public relations and charitable giving – the media.
“All sponsorships have media elements and charitable contributions don’t have the media content,” said Ehst. “A sponsorship in our world has a significant media-component side to it. We have a way of measuring the component of the media to the corporate sponsorship by the direct relationship between [customer] impression and [media] cost.”
Ehst said banks have to understand the elements of the media, and the underlying business and bank goals, when signing on as a corporate sponsor.
Noyes said the line between charitable giving and corporate sponsorships at Danvers Savings is very defined not only by the bank’s budget, but more so by the type of community involvement.
“I track all the charitable contributions on an annual basis and I break it down to where we are servicing and what we will do in our area,” said Noyes, who confirmed that Danvers Savings has a charitable contribution budget of $150,000 that is divided evenly among education, branch communities and CEO discretion.
According to Noyes, charitable contributions from Danvers Savings generate some media attention, but the servicing of the community generates more attention to potential consumers.
“We are a corporate citizen and [giving] is the right thing to do … You get the benefit of giving back to the community, but of course there are options to communicate that back to the customers,” said Noyes. “If the opportunity warrants itself, we will promote our contributions to our customers.”
While there are many events that warrant bank participation, most banks have a “theme” to their sponsorships.
“One of the biggest issues that we focus on is kids and education, and that can be a defining factor on what we do, ” said Ehst. “The existence of a banking relationship will make a difference, too. [Sovereign] is always interested in being a good corporate citizen and we have been pretty successful as we currently manage 36 major corporate sponsorships.”
More local banks, including Danvers Savings and Eastern, focus more on local campaigns and events, which brings up the question: When do banks say “no” to giving?
Noyes said Danvers Savings focuses mainly on community organizations including local schools, senior citizen homes and assisted-living centers and said the bank says “no” to bigger, more national, associations such as the American Heart Association and the Walk for Hunger.
At Eastern Bank, Bartolotta said brainstorming the bank’s mission is the best way to agree to bank sponsorships.
“Proposals, however, come in more often than we brainstorm,” said Bartolotta, adding that sometimes the random suggestions make the largest impact.
“We created an outdoor movie series in a public park and initially tried it in Malden … and more than 2,000 people showed up,” said Bartolotta. “Last summer we made it three movies and it attracted thousands of families.”
Bartolotta said the time to say “no” is dependent on the bank budget, or if the event is “not relevant to the corporate mission. It’s really about how [banks] want to spend your money.”
