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Mrs. P. Campaign Debuts at Provident Bank, New York

September 19, 2007

Austin & Williams (Long Island, NY), a leading strategic advertising and marketing agency, announced the launch of its new multi-media campaign for Provident Bank, a full-service community bank based in Montebello, New York with 32 offices serving Rockland, Orange, Ulster, Sullivan and Putnam Counties in New York, and 1 office in Bergen County, New Jersey. At the center of this highly creative, atypical bank marketing campaign is Mrs. P, an approachable, accomplished woman of today. Mrs. P does it all. As she balances family, work and play, she depends on Provident Bank to keep everything going well.

According to Austin & Williams Executive Vice President Eva LaMere, "We were given a fairly straightforward directive from Provident Bank on what they were seeking in this brand-driven campaign. Simply stated, it was the "Gotcha" factor. More specifically, the bank wanted to step outside of the usual euphemisms associated with bank marketing."

Austin & Williams, the agency of record for Provident Bank for the past five years, has also been behind many successful campaigns for other prominent financial institutions. This time, however, the creative team at A&W was especially inspired by Provident Bank's openness to a fresh and bold approach.

According to Connie Martin, Vice President and Director of Marketing at Provident Bank, "We do business in a highly competitive and hotly contested marketplace, where consumers and business owners are exposed to hundreds of financial services ads in a given month in print and electronic media. As a full-service community bank competing against both large and smaller banks, we wanted a sophisticated campaign that would get attention and also focus on the distinct value proposition a community bank offers."

Continued Martin, "In selecting Mrs. P. as the "persona" of Provident Bank, our goal was to stand out in our marketplace using a different approach from our competitors to appeal to a broad range of consumers, while showing how we deliver the bank's brand values and service excellence to our customers."

"As a smart, savvy, successful and demanding customer of Provident Bank, Mrs. P.'s relationships with bank professionals exemplify how we deliver on our values of Community, Connection, Consistency, Empowerment and Trust, and how we connect people with opportunities, which is our brand tag line," said Martin. "The television commercials, in particular, are unique, memorable, humorous, and truly show how our employees ‘live the brand', providing the right products and excellent service to Mrs. P. in a customer-centric way. They also exemplify Mrs. P.'s close, friendly relationship with her bankers, which is what doing business with a community bank is all about."

"It was clear to us from the beginning that Provident Bank really wanted to rise above the noise out there in the world of banking," noted LaMere. "From the heavy bank acquisition activity in their market to the usual new customer promotions with offers of toasters and free checking, Provident Bank wanted a campaign to communicate its community bank position on an entirely different level, while attracting new customers and strengthening its existing customer relationships."

Austin & Williams went to work with LaMere, Chief Creative Officer Rick Chiorando, Associate Creative Director Neil Esposito, Director of Client Service and Account Supervisor Kim Brussell and Chief Copywriter Barbara Esposito on board to meet the charge. Five different concepts were developed and from them came the winner. It had all of the elements Provident Bank sought in an evolutionary branding campaign. But most importantly, it had Mrs. P., a 40-something woman who knows what she wants in a bank, has her own business, a family and a penchant for living life to the fullest -- often leading to light-hearted scenarios.

Using focus groups and other research, Provident Bank and Austin & Williams determined that Mrs. P. had widespread appeal to a broad range of audiences, including male and female consumers and business owners. The campaign also includes additional characters, Mrs. P.'s family and friends, in various financial scenarios to broaden its appeal and demonstrate additional financial challenges Provident Bank has met.

"Mrs. P. has the perfect voice to carry Provident Bank's message to the marketplace," said Austin & Williams' Provident Bank Account Supervisor Kim Brussell. "She enabled us to demonstrate the bank's commitment to service excellence, its full-service offerings and its connection to the community. Most importantly, Mrs. P. gives a face to a bank with a 120-year tradition of high quality customer service and innovation."

Development of the campaign began last fall, and the campaign launch began in September 2007, just before the start of Provident Bank's new fiscal year. One of the most critical steps was the casting of Mrs. P. A casting call went out right after the 2006 holidays. After considering over 100 candidates, a perky, attractive blonde, personifying the "easy-to-relate-to" yet "memorable" character was cast for the role.

Austin & Williams' campaign for Provident Bank includes print advertisements placed in The Journal News, Times Herald-Record, local weekly newspapers and business publications; full production television spots airing throughout the day and evening on the cable television networks of HGTV, E!, YES, FOOD, Discovery, ESPN, TLC, MSNBC, LIFE, USA, RNN and FOX News; radio advertising on WCBS-AM and WHUD; Web site presence; sky murals at the Palisades Center and the Galleria at Crystal Run shopping malls; Stewart Airport billboard advertising; local Chamber of Commerce inserts and customer communications. In addition, the campaign will be incorporated into the bank's on-site branch merchandising.

Mrs. P. made her official debut Labor Day week on September 3rd with a teaser print and television campaign launch, to be followed by the full campaign kick-off beginning September 24th.

Continued Brussell, "What residents of Provident Bank's Hudson Valley, New York and Bergen County, New Jersey markets will find is that while Mrs. P.'s needs may seem basic, they are anything but, which is where the comedy lies. Using this seemingly "everyday" person, who regularly frequents Provident Bank branches and has an obvious connection to her bankers who are meeting both her personal and business needs, we are driving home key marketing messages regarding Provident Bank's service values and its ability to connect people to life's opportunities."

From a technical standpoint, Austin & Williams took extra measures to ensure the production integrity of the campaign. For example, still photographs of Mrs. P. were taken at the time of television filming. This photography was used in a variety of print executions, including the teaser campaign which, as LaMere pointed out, was intended to pre-acquaint the audience with Mrs. P. and soften the market.

"We have Mrs. P. in various vignettes which emphasize how important her relationship with Provident Bank is to her overall life," said LaMere.

"The vignettes also are very clever in incorporating graphics to reinforce the Provident Bank brand," added Brussell. "For instance, in one scene of a business banking ad, where Mrs. P.'s mom is working in her bakery making cookies and her daughter makes a discovery – a huge order for purple flour -- the television audience later sees her mom's clever purple and red cookie design, which is the logo for Provident Bank. In yet another vignette, Mrs. P. is playing paint ball with the splashing of purple and red paint ending up in the shape of the logo. When Mrs. P. takes to the racing circuit, she's driving none other than a Provident Bank-branded car with the bank's tag line and purple and red logo. Incidentally, expect to see Provident Bank's racing car making its way in local community events and parades as another means to extend and position the brand in the community. Mrs. P. herself will be making selected appearances in the local community as well.

Austin & Williams will be monitoring the Mrs. P. campaign's numbers throughout the year with a complete analysis toward the end of Provident Bank's fiscal year 2008. However, Provident Bank is already receiving positive feedback about the campaign.

"Just a week or so into the teaser ads, our customers and employees have been noticing and commenting positively on Mrs. P., which is a great start," noted Martin. "A customer even stopped one of our employees on the street, thinking she was Mrs. P.!" Martin continued, "The use of Mrs. P. as an icon to represent the bank is an extremely powerful branding tool – decades later, people still remember and are motivated by ‘personas' used in advertising. We're very excited about the Mrs. P. campaign as a dynamic and memorable way to expand awareness of the Provident Bank brand and increase traffic in our branches."

About Provident Bank

Headquartered in Montebello, N.Y., Provident Bank, with $2.8 billion in assets, is an independent full-service community bank. Provident Bank operates 33 branches serving the Hudson Valley region, including one office in Bergen County, N.J. The bank offers a complete line of commercial, retail and investment management and trust services. Visit the Provident Bank Web site at www.providentbanking.com.