The Context

With over $9.8 billion total assets, nearly 2,000 associates, and over 90 locations across the country, Park National Bank (PNB)’s footprint is large! However, PNB hasn’t always been known by one brand name: instead, in the recent past it had 12 different brand names, with many of those names referencing a different geographic area it served. As PNB continued to grow, its leaders knew such a differentiated brand would not be sustainable. Therefore, PNB and its marketing partners engaged Illuminology to conduct a large scale quantitative and qualitative research project focused on how to reposition the public’s understanding of these trusted, established brands.

The Critical Questions

To what extent were customers willing to accept a transition to a common, unified brand name? What concerns did they have about such a transition? Did they feel positive, neutral, or negative about such a transition, and how strongly did they feel about it?

Our Solution

Working in partnership with PNB, Illuminology designed and deployed many focus group sessions across the areas served by the bank, along with high-quality, representative surveys of both prospective customers and current customers. Illuminology analyzed the data from these various research methods and then clearly summarized the key findings for sharing and review by PNB’s senior leaders.

Illumination

After hearing emotional stories about customers’ experiences with their bank, and after reviewing sophisticated analyses of the quantitative data, Park National Bank, its marketing partners, and Illuminology understood that a change to a common, unified brand name would be accepted by the majority of customers as long as certain information (e.g., what will change, what will not change) was clearly communicated before, during, and after such a transition.

Resolution

In 2019, Park National Bank transitioned to using one brand name for each of its locations, unifying the customer experience. The organization continues to grow while maintaining its focus on the communities and residents it serves.