This enhanced customer experience is central to Horizon Bank’s competitive position, but it wasn’t well reflected in their current brand positioning or in their institutional and service-line/product marketing. With ambitious goals for growing multiple service lines, Horizon Bank knew they needed an updated brand foundation to stand on — and then a series of service-line digital campaigns that would reflect that refreshed brand.
The size and prevalence of national-scale commercial banks mean that using an independent bank is a conscious decision, rather than a default: It reflects a preference beyond simple familiarity. We knew from discovery conversations with the Horizon Bank team that their customers consistently cited genuine customer familiarity, real human interaction, and hands-on service as differentiators. We began our work with these insights in hand.
In the initial phase of our engagement, we explored a range of options for Horizon Bank’s updated positioning. The core logotype was maintained, but we explored a broad range of photography and design options, as well as positioning language, including taglines. Ultimately, Horizon Bank selected “Beyond Ordinary Banking” as their core positioning, with the word “Beyond” living in a lockup with the Horizon Bank logo.
With the updated positioning propagating across the web and collateral, we stood up and managed multiple Horizon Bank product/service line campaigns across channels including OOH, print, radio, direct mail, and paid search. Campaigns, which ran semi-contiguously over the course of a 10-month period, included Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC), Business Banking, Fair Lending, and a campaign focused on Deposits that included checking and money market accounts and CDs.
We manage the Horizon Bank account from our Chicago office — just a short drive along Lake Michigan from the Horizon Bank headquarters in Michigan City, Indiana. And while we came to the engagement ready to apply as much capability as the project needed, we quickly learned that our initial work around the Horizon Bank brand had DNA-level implications for the organization. We worked at a deliberate pace through cycles of review before final delivery, helping to ensure buy-in from the necessary stakeholders. And with our product/service line campaigns, we scaled our channel recommendations and media investments to suit available budgets and potential return on each.
