Newly Launched ‘Mutuals Matter’ Awareness Campaign Highlights Community-First Impact of Mutual Banks

Barchart · 10/17 09:00

An association of banking leaders operating across the country has launched an industry-first, collaborative awareness campaign highlighting the community-minded benefits offered by mutual banks.

Developed by a group of 10 founding mutual bank participants, Mutuals Matter is a national advertising, marketing and communications effort that aims to shine a spotlight on what sets mutual banks apart from other financial institutions.

The campaign emphasizes the fact that, unlike other financial institutions that prioritize shareholder profits, mutual banks are bound by their charters to focus on the economic well-being of their customers and to invest directly into the communities they serve. As depositor-owned institutions, mutuals don’t have some of the conflicts that investor-owned banks have in setting their priorities.

“We know that today’s consumers are becoming increasingly conscientious about where and with whom they spend their hard-earned money and take their business,” said Gregg R. Tewksbury, president & CEO, NH Mutual Bancorp and a founding member of the Mutual Matters effort. “This is an opportunity for America’s mutual banks to come together and showcase the significant investments we as an industry make in our respective communities.”

Materials in the Mutuals Matter campaign include website content; digital, print and outdoor advertising assets; 30-second television and radio spots; and more. All of the campaign’s assets are customizable and can be used by participating mutual banks in exchange for a modest, annual licensing fee. Campaign assets were developed by Duffy & Shanley, Inc., a full-service public relations, marketing and advertising firm based in Providence, R.I.

“Our hope is that our colleagues see this campaign as a cost-effective way to promote both their own individual banks and the community-focused model shared by all mutuals,” said Tewksbury. “Raising public awareness of both the services mutual banks offer their customers and the investments they make to improve the quality-of-life of their hometowns is in all of our best interest.”

Founding members of the Mutual Matters Association include:

  • Chelsea Groton Bank (Groton, Conn.)
  • First Mutual Holding Company, encompassing Blue Grass Federal (Paris, Ky.), First Federal Lakewood (Lakewood, Ohio), First Mutual Bank (New Martinsville, W. Va.), Martinsville First Savings Bank (Martinsville, Va.) and Warsaw Federal (Cincinnati, Ohio).
  • New Hampshire Mutual Bancorp, encompassing Meredith Village Savings Bank (Meredith, N.H.), Merrimack County Savings Bank (Concord, N.H.) and Savings Bank of Walpole (Walpole, N.H.).
  • Piedmont Federal Savings Bank (Winston-Salem, N.C.).

Annual licensing fees start at $1,000 per year and are based on the size of the participating institution.

Additional information, as well as samples of the Mutuals Matter campaign can be found, at www.MutualBanksMatter.com.

About Mutuals Matter

Mutuals Matter is an industry-first, fully collaborative, national advertising, marketing and communications efforts aimed at raising awareness of the value mutual banks create in their local communities. Through customizable website content and digital, print, outdoor, television and radio marketing assets, the campaign aims to showcase what sets mutual banks apart from other financial institutions, with a particular focus on community investments.

Mutuals Matter was developed by an association of 10 mutual banks operating across the United States.

Learn more at www.MutualBanksMatter.com.