BANK ON A SMILE. THE RE-BRANDING OF JONESTOWN BANK & TRUST CO - By: Natalie Bombatch
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BANK ON A SMILE. ®
THE RE-BRANDING OF JONESTOWN BANK & TRUST CO.
By: Natalie Bombatch
JBT logo prior to 1999 JBT logo 1999-2006 JBT logo since rebranding in 2007
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A
Lebanon County community bank has In conjunction with the bank’s ad agency, Bachleda Adver-
found success in differentiating them- tising, Peters determined the look and feel of the new brand.
selves from “big banks” following a re- Instead of a wordy name, Peters opted for the simplicity of
branding campaign. Jonestown Bank & the initials JBT. He said, “Part of our brand is simplicity. I
Trust Co., or JBT as customers know it, think it cuts through the noise when you’re simple. And I
underwent some changes in 2007. Troy wanted something that wasn’t the typical ‘big, serious bank’
Peters helped to initiate those changes in but rather more ‘soft and approachable.’”
his prior role with the marketing department and continues
to facilitate them now as Chief Executive Officer. In addition, JBT conducted market research to discover what
both customers and non-customers thought of the bank. “We
Peters said, “My goal as CEO is for my team, from top to kept hearing over and over, ‘It’s a nice place. People know your
bottom, to work hard to help our customers feel and be well name. They smile at you.’” Those ideas spurred the creation of
cared for, and to know that their bank choice matters. I in- the smile that is a big part of JBT’s new logo. After the logo was
tend to keep the bank on a positive growth track, and make chosen, the tagline “Bank on a Smile®.” came to fruition. The
sure our shareholders continue to enjoy the performance new tagline has multiple meanings – customers can count on
results they expect.” It was with these goals in mind that smiles from bank employees, and bank employees count on
Peters initiated JBT’s rebranding campaign. making customers smile.
Rebranding JBT’s new brand helps to reinforce the bank’s mission – to
help people improve their financial life. They know they
While the prior logo was credible in a “traditional bank” sense, need to perform to remain independent and they go about
it lacked the friendliness that the bank knew their customers reaching financial results by staying true to that mission. Pe-
enjoyed when banking with them. Peters commented, “We are ters elaborated, “If that’s as simple as getting them an ATM
steeped in the heritage, but at the same time, we’re not just card so they can access funds when the bank’s closed or as
resting on that laurel. We’re looking ahead to where we’re go- complex as helping them with business expansion financ-
ing to go. We know we have to be proactive.” They revisited ing or complete estate planning, wherever it falls for them,
the colors, fonts, advertising message tone, and more, to con- that’s what we’ll do. They’ll return business to us and that’s
vey more of who they really were… and continue to be today. how we’ll stay successful.” He added, “We all live in this
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community; I don’t want to go to church Sunday morning Peters explained, “Ephrata has been welcoming despite be-
and have somebody say, ‘Why did you give my grandma a ing across county lines. It’s our biggest step out, to date, but
third checking account that she doesn’t need?’ We want to we believe locales like Ephrata share the same appreciation
do it the right way.” of doing business with ‘first name friendliness,’ and like to
know that we take the time to know customers and under-
It is with this rebranding campaign that JBT was, and still stand how to help them move forward.”
is, able to reinforce its position versus “big banks” as the
leading community bank option. They are focused on Overall, JBT has seen new business since the rebranding.
serving customers through attentive personal service, the The bank now services more than 21,000 households, an in-
latest financial tools, and increased lifestyle convenience. crease from 17,000 households in 2008. According to Peters,
“Customers that I interact with know that they can reach there has been more than a 3 to 4 percent growth per year in
me anytime here or on my cell phone if they have an issue. households served.
I may not be able to solve it right away, but they can at least
reach a decision maker. The bank will continue to
You can’t really do that at seek opportunities in more
a big bank,” explained Pe- We are steeped in the heritage, but at communities while staying
ters. It is the bank’s level of
the same time, we’re not just resting true to their fundamentals.
service and genuine dedi- “There’s a good reason we
cation to customers that on that laurel. We’re looking ahead have opened just 10 branch
has helped differentiate
to where we’re going to go. locations in 139 years – we
JBT from “big banks.” move smartly and cautious-
ly to ensure we minimize
Expanding risk while maximizing value to both customers and share-
holders,” said Peters.
Although JBT’s formal name is Jonestown Bank & Trust Co.,
the use of simple initials gave the bank the opportunity to One of JBT’s strategic goals is to become the market leader in
expand without being tied to a specific location. Peters said, business banking. Peters elaborated, “We have already put
“Many people outside of Lebanon County haven’t heard of into place an extensive commercial calling program that fo-
Jonestown. We knew if we were going to be more portable cuses not only on our existing business relationships, but also
with the brand, it had to be something that didn’t identify carefully selected, high-value, prospects.” Last year JBT ex-
us strictly with one town. JBT is working well for us as we panded the team in their Commercial Services department by
reach out to serve more communities.” 50%, including adding a credit analyst and a new commercial
lender. And their work is paying off. Earlier this year JBT’s
JBT opened two branches in the past two and a half years, one commercial department exceeded $100 million in loan out-
in Palmyra and one in Ephrata. For a 139-year-old bank that standings, which is a 235 percent growth from five years ago.
had only one branch until 38 years ago, opening two branch-
es in two years is quite a fast expansion. The bank’s newest Culture
branch in Ephrata has been performing well since opening in
2011. They have added 258 new banking households in the The culture at JBT is evolving with the rebranding. Peters be-
first eight months and look forward to steady deposit and loan lieves the rebranding campaign has changed the way their
growth as more Lancaster County residents get to know JBT. employees see the bank. He said, “We don’t have a lot of
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turnover among employees. We have a reputation of being they reinvest in the communities they serve. “While the
stable, conservative, and traditional. But that can also lead term ‘community bank’ does imply we are designed to
to being set in your ways and doing things without wanting serve the community, it doesn’t just happen. I encourage
to change.” That hasn’t been the case with JBT; rebranding our management and staff to ‘walk the walk’ of supporting
efforts have strengthened the bond between employees at the community,” said Peters. The bank actively participates
the bank and again differentiated them from “big banks.” with Habitat for Humanity and other participation-based,
community-enhancing initiatives.
That bond was tested in October of 2011 when Tropical
Storm Lee came through Lebanon County. Peters said the Early in June, the entire Branch Management team served
area was hit hard, “The amount of employees that came the “free noon meal” to more than 150 people at Lebanon
out to help us rebuild was astonishing. Employees that had Christian Ministries, just as they have for each of the past
flooding problems at home either took care of them quickly three years. Peters explained, “I couldn’t have paid for a
or put them on hold to come help at the bank. You really better team building experience than that.” The culture
find out who has your back during a time of crisis like that.” within JBT definitely extends to community service. In
fact, in 2011 the bank logged more than 900 hours of com-
The storm left the Cleona operations center under 14 inches munity service between their Board and employees.
of water. Employees banded together to carry files up from
the lower level and pin them up on clotheslines to dry. They It is with a rebranding campaign that JBT has realized the
pumped out more than 300 thousand gallons of water from strength that comes in making changes while remaining
the building. “To put that into perspective, I swim at the dedicated to serving their customers and the community.
YMCA in a pool that holds 150 thousand gallons. So we re- Now their logo, tagline, and overall brand match the com-
moved the equivalent of two full-sized pools full of water munity’s view of them: friendly, approachable, and help-
from the Cleona building,” explained Peters. ful. The campaign has allowed them to grow and expand.
Peters’ goal is to continue to de-
Peters added, “People went above and beyond, using their per- velop and change based upon
sonal vehicles to transport things, and they never complained. community needs in order to
To be able to find the good in that situation, I’d say first that remain a successful bank.
we were able to dispose of a lot of unneeded items, and most
importantly, we really pulled together to help each other out.”
It was especially amazing that despite all of the issues, aside Does your bank have a story
from closing bank offices for one day, everything was seamless to tell as one of our month-
for their customers. Employees made sure to continue provid- ly member profiles? If so,
ing exceptional service during a time of crisis. don’t hesitate to reach out
to me at natalie@pacb.org
It’s not just during emergencies that the culture at JBT or 717-231-7447.
brings employees together; the bank is proud of the way
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