(This article originally released on Marketwire) Burlington, Vermont - Given recent economic events in the banking industry, more community banks are taking a closer look at how current and effective their brand message is within their marketplace. Although negative press for big banks has opened the door for community banks to reach out with themes of  "strength and stability," community banks are beginning to consider that the "safety" message may be running its course. It should not overwhelm a community bank's messaging, but rather be part of the bank's overall marketing mix. At Shark Communications, a Burlington, Vermont-based community bank marketing agency, we have found that bank customers can conceptually move quickly past the idea that a bank is solid. It's a position that doesn't necessarily reward the bank's marketing efforts with a lot of brand differentiation. Customers may be far more interested in how a community bank can deliver the products, service - and the ideas that will help its customers more successfully manage their finances.
   A case in point, new branding and marketing recently developed by my marketing agency, Shark Communications, for Brookline Bank in Brookline, Massachusetts, was designed to shift the focus away from the bank as simply a safe place for savings, and towards a more enduring and valuable perception of the bank as an important partner to its customers' financial lives. The new bank marketing campaign features customer profiles in contemporary lifestyle situations commenting on the bank's responsiveness, flexibility, and ability to "go the distance."  With a new, contemporary graphic interface deployed across the bank website and marketing, a new sense of excellence and customer-focused energy has invigorated the bank's marketing and provided the starting point for creating strong brand differentiation in the marketplace.
   With an updated brand image, community banks can then reap further rewards by taking advantage of a wide variety of highly effective online marketing techniques including developing bank product landing pages, community bank blogs, and integrating search engine marketing along with the many free and popular social media websites and services that are available to everyone.
   Shark Communications, and Strategic/Creative Director Peter Jacobs,  offer nearly two decades of creative excellence and deep, strategic knowledge of community bank marketing. Shark's marketing solutions include bank branding, advertising, web development for community banks, social media and search engine marketing, and more. Shark's portfolio of case histories includes the agency serving the growth of a $700 million community bank into a $9 billion financial services company.