Centennial Bank

Centennial Bank | Behind the Scenes in Florida from Jones Film Video on Vimeo. 

 CENTENNIAL BANK KICKS OFF NEW MARKETING CAMPAIGN

ARKANSAS AND FLORIDA MARKETS GET “BANKING THAT COMES TO YOU”

Centennial Bank recently launched a completely new marketing and communications campaign for both its Arkansas and Florida markets after 18 months of focusing on bank acquisitions.

"Over the past 18 months, Centennial has not promoted a comprehensive campaign, instead choosing to focus our efforts on raising awareness of our new acquisitions primarily in Florida," said Bob Birch, regional president for Centennial Bank.  "We feel we have reached a point where people know our name, but it’s time to tell the story of our bankers, products and community banking philosophy."

Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods (CJRW), one of the largest full-service communications firms in the region, was hired after an extensive search process to communicate the story to Centennial’s current and prospective customers.

"We now have a much different dynamic than even a year ago," says bank marketing director Lori Case. "Not only do we have Arkansas and Florida markets, but varied demographics within each of those markets.  We needed an all-encompassing plan that could speak to those markets individually, and we now feel we have that.  This is our first cohesive effort to communicate our brand to all customers at once."

Unveiled just weeks ago, the "Banking that Comes to You," tagline plays on the bank's core philosophy of community involvement.

"In our research with each individual Centennial market, one thing became apparent," said Jay Cranford, senior vice president and chief creative officer for CJRW. "Centennial is a strong community bank. So its bankers are very engaged with customers through community service and making decisions on a local level.  Its product line reflects the conveniences of always having access to their bank or personal banker.  In person, in a branch, online or on a mobile phone, Centennial makes every effort to be available for its customers."

The "Banking that Comes to You" campaign is the largest Centennial has ever created and marks a new direction for the bank in conjunction with the continuing focus of acquisition marketing.  Centennial has acquired six banks in the past 16 months through FDIC-assisted takeovers and led the nation in 2010 for total number of banks acquired.

"For many of our newly acquired customers, especially in Florida, our priority was to communicate the strength and stability of our organization along with our commitment to community involvement and an outstanding customer service experience," said Birch.  "It's no longer about the fact we are their new bank, it's we are here to be part of your community."

The campaign, which will run in both Arkansas and Florida markets through 2011, provides a multi-channel approach consisting of TV, newspaper, radio, outdoor, online and social media. 

"Though we have grown substantially over the past few years, we have always been the same community bank," said Case.  "This campaign allows us to continue our journey of making people’s lives easier and a little more fun, too."

For more information on the campaign or to view the new ads, please visit cjrw.com/centennial.

Home BancShares, Inc. is a bank holding company, headquartered in Conway,
Arkansas. Centennial Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary, provides a broad range of commercial and retail banking plus related financial services to businesses, real estate developers, investors, individuals and municipalities. Centennial Bank has locations in central Arkansas, north central Arkansas, southern Arkansas, the Florida Keys, southwestern Florida, central Florida, and the Florida Panhandle. The Company's common stock is traded through the NASDAQ Global SelectMarket under the symbol "HOMB."