Independent Banker - April 2020 - 5

FLOURISH
" You've got an incredible
story to tell, and ICBA is
honored to help you tell it. "
Rebeca Romero Rainey
President and CEO, ICBA
Community Banking Month holds a special
place in my heart. It began early in my career at
Centinel Bank of Taos. Every April, I would visit
local elementary schools to speak about community
banking. And let me tell you, talking to
a group of 8-year-olds is a lot more intimidating
than speaking to a convention hall of colleagues!
To keep their attention and make community
banking relevant, I had to get creative. So, we did a
little role-playing. I would bring in enough Susan
B. Anthony coins for every child in the class, and
I would have each of them place the coin in the
middle of the room. We would go around and talk
about how we could use that money as a community
investment. Each child would share ideas
about businesses to start, homes to build, college
funds to launch and ways to benefi t the community.
Then, collectively, we would decide on the
best investment for our resources and why.
Beyond the basics, the beauty of this activity
was that it instilled in the students the core
concept of community banking: We support
the communities we serve. We make collective
investments in helping our neighbors achieve
their goals. For us, it's about pooling resources to
make dreams come true, and I loved that these
kids were connecting with that message.
The same story that resonated with second
graders needs to be told far and wide. People of
all ages should understand what separates community
banks from other fi nancial institutions.
They should know that we off er so much more to
the neighborhoods we serve.
To help you get that message out, we've
updated the Marketing & Communications Toolkit.
This valuable ICBA member-only tool is
designed to help you leverage local media, along
with traditional and digital marketing channels,
to tell your story.
Tell your
bank's story
No matter where
you are, take
a moment this
month to share
what makes
your community
bank great. Craft
your message
using the ICBA
Marketing &
Communications
Toolkit, found at
icba.org/
marketingtoolkit
In addition, we launched a consumer-facing
video that highlights the value that community
banks bring to their customers and communities
through mortgage and small business lending,
along with fi nancial literacy and civic service.
These resources can complement your existing
promotional eff orts.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg! One of
our initiatives over the next few years will be to
address how American consumers see us. We're
working on activities to convey the benefi ts of
choosing a community bank, and I look forward
to sharing more with you in the coming months.
Because you've got an incredible story to tell, and
ICBA is honored to help you tell it.
Connect with Rebeca @romerorainey
independentbanker.org Q 5
http://www.icba.org/ http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - April 2020
