LOS ANGELES Independent Leopold Ketel & Partners’ latest effort for Umpqua Bank turns the spotlight on local songwriter Charlie Campbell.
The “Be a localist” campaign, which includes radio, outdoor, touch-point marketing and a 30-second TV spot, stresses the bank’s long-standing commitment to its community, said Jerry Ketel, agency partner and executive creative director. Both the client and shop are based in Portland, Ore.
Using hand-drawn titles interspersed with shots of local residents, the spot suggests, via Campbell’s guitar-based tune, that people “Coach a school sport,” “Eat at a diner,” “Visit a local farm” and “Find the best ice cream in town.”
Campbell’s soundtrack began as an original jingle “that became a full-fledged song” promoted on a local radio station, Ketel said. “It works great within the Umpqua ‘Discover Local Music’ project, where you can go in and choose a CD of songs of local artists in their service area.”
Print includes ads in magazines such as Portland Monthly with the headline “Pdxist” (after the airport) and the copy, “Every community is unique and wonderful.”
Earlier work, tagged “Why not?” focused on friendly features such as dog dishes outside the bank and Umpqua’s own blend of coffee and lounge areas for reading the newspaper or watching financial news on TV.
Ketel said that evolved into a series of targeted campaigns, such as an effort for joint checking directed at 20-somethings. For that, radio ads parodied romantic proposals when the subject was opening a joint checking account.
A book distributed at the bank features local faces and positive slogans similar to the TV ad. There’s also an Umpqua free ice cream truck for “handshake marketing—initiating a true physical relationship with the brand” and other touch points, Ketel said.
Sing a Song of Umpqua
