Sundin has been busy supporting United Bank of West Springfield as it prepares for its entrée into Worcester County with the acquisition of Commonwealth National Bank (CNB). Plans for announcing United’s presence in this new marketplace include newspaper advertising, radio and television spots, and billboards – all coming soon.

Bob, Bill and Carol recently joined eight CNB branch managers (soon-to-be United Personal Bankers) for a busy, daylong combination photo and filming session in Shrewsbury. The new TV spots will begin airing in the Worcester market next month, with billboards and other media to follow.

Framingham Co-operative Bank and its advertising agency, Sundin Associates of Natick, together have received one of the nation’s most prestigious honors for financial marketing by winning an American Bankers Association (ABA) 2009 Financial Marketing Award.

The Bank’s recent Checking for Charity campaign was the second-place winner among institutions of similar size in the Impact category of the ABA competition. Financial service marketers and advertising professionals across the country judged each entry based on execution of the communication strategy, message and positioning, and the campaign’s overall results. Entrants included banks, savings and loans, insurance companies, brokerage firms, investment firms, and credit companies.

“Winning this recognition is a wonderful honor,” said Steven Sousa, senior vice president of Framingham Co-operative Bank. “We are thrilled to be recognized for the creativity and ingenuity that went into this campaign, and with our customers’ response to it.”

Each new checking account opened at Framingham Co-operative Bank during the Checking for Charity campaign netted a $10 donation to the American Cancer Society. In addition, all Bank locations displayed and distributed informative cancer prevention, treatment, and research information to the public.

Sousa reported that nearly 500 new accounts were opened during the Checking for Charity campaign. The Bank directed its $5,000 Checking for Charity donation to the local office of the American Cancer Society and to the Natick-based Ovations for a Cure, to benefit ovarian cancer research and that organization’s community-based awareness events and programs.

2nd Consecutive Banker & Tradesman Win

For the second consecutive year, Sundin Associates was the first choice of readers of Banker & Tradesman and has been named Gold Award Banking - Advertising/Marketing Agency for 2009.

Representatives of the Natick-based agency accepted the Award at a special reception hosted by Banker and Tradesman , a weekly industry publication for banking and real estate professionals, at the Marliave Restaurant in Boston on July 27. Sundin Associates also earned the Gold Award recognition from the publication’s readers in 2008.

Roger Sundin, president, and Kristin Sundin Brandt, vice president, were recently featured on the cover of Banker & Tradesman’s new publication, Massachusetts Family Business. The two were highlighted in an article focused on father-daughter teams and handing over the reins of a family business.

The agency also recently received national recognition for its work. Kristin Brandt captured top honors in the Awards for Publications Excellence (APEX) competition for a two-part series on social media she authored for the Bank Marketing magazine published by the American Bankers Association (ABA) for banking professionals nationwide. 

Kristin Sundin Brandt captured top honors in the national Awards for Publications Excellence (APEX) competition with a two-part series of articles written for the American Bankers Association’s Bank Marketing magazine.

The APEX competition is sponsored by Communications Concepts, Inc., publishers of Writing That Works: The Business Communications Report and www.writingthatworks.com, a Web site for business writers and communicators. There were 3,785 award entries overall in this year’s competition, which recognizes excellence in publications work by professional communicators.

Entered by the ABA Bank Marketing magazine in the category of “How-To Series,” Brandt’s articles focus on new media and its future impact on bank marketing. The challenge for banks, she noted, is how — and whether — to leverage new technologies such as blogs, podcasts, video podcasts and viral video, consumer-generated content, digital networks and virtual worlds.

Brandt is a frequent guest speaker on the topic of social media, and has helped a number of Sundin’s financial services clients establish a presence in the new world of Web 2.0. She is also the executive editor and co-host of “Manic Mommies,” a popular weekly podcast for moms (and dads) trying to balance work and family life that has drawn the attention of national sponsors including General Motors, Mead and Microsoft. Additional information is available at ManicMommies.com.

Click below to download the articles:

• New Media Whitepaper - Part 1 (pdf)
  
• New Media Whitepaper - Part 2 (pdf)
  

Readers of this week's Banker & Tradesman received a copy of the new publication, Massachusetts Family Business. A joint publication of The Warren Group and the Family Business Association, the magazine will provide readers "with a spotlight into certain family businesses, advice from experts, practical guidance, interesting stories about situations to which all family businesses can relate, and much more."

Many of our clients (regular readers of Banker & Tradesman) were surprised to see two familiar faces on the cover of the new publication – our own Roger Sundin and Kristin Brandt, who were profiled in the article "Generation XX: Handing the family business to a daughter's leadership." Speaking with reporter Scott Van Voorhis, Roger and Kristin shared their experiences working together over the past 13 years.

We are honored to be part of this new publication with other father-daughter teams, and well-known family businesses such as Boch Automotive and Bernie & Phil's furniture. And you can be sure we had to get several copies for family members!

Missed the issue? Click here to download (.pdf)
Check out pictures from the photo shoot.

This is our blog. One of the first things you will probably notice is that there isn't much content in it.

It's not that we don't have anything to say. In fact, everyday we are working on exciting projects that would make for excellent blog-fodder. And that is where, for the most part, our attention is . . . on our client projects. We are also spending more time advising our clients on how they can utilize new technologies, including blogs and social networking, in their ongoing marketing and advertising strategies.

Which is why we don't blog. But you can see some of our new media & blog-related work at First Farmers Bank & Trust, Framingham Co-operative Bank, Jewett City Savings Bank, Manic Mommies and Real Simple Magazine.

If you want to be regularly updated on our activities, don't forget to subscribe to receive our free bi-monthly newsletter which is packed with information, updates and other news.

And don't be surprised if an article or two does show up here on the blog... anything is possible.

Natick agency wins marketing awards in Indiana and Massachusetts Sundin Associates tops industry peers

We have been honored for our work by the Indiana Bankers Association and also by the readers of Banker and Tradesman, a leading publication on banking and real estate in New England.
 
A campaign developed by Sundin Associates for First Farmers Bank & Trust of Converse, Indiana, received a 2008 MAXI Award from the Indiana Bankers Association for best marketing campaign among banks with more than $500 million in assets. Sundin is the agency of record for the Bank.
 
Following a theme of “Beware of Mortgage Predators,” the campaign was designed to caution and educate the public, and also to reinforce the Bank’s personal history of prudent mortgage lending practices, which has sheltered it from the national sub-prime mortgage fallout.
 
Revolving around an illustration of an ominous, cave-dwelling “Mortgage Predator” ready to pounce on unsuspecting homebuyers, the campaign included visual merchandising, newspaper advertising and direct mail marketing.
 
Sundin Associates also recently received recognition from industry peers and banking and real estate professionals as the recipient of a Banker and Tradesman Gold Award as the Best Bank Marketing Firm in Massachusetts. The agency was selected for the honor by readers in a survey conducted by the publication.