Banking That Provides A Caffeine Kick
(This article was originally published by the ABA Banking Journal)
A curious logo, an enigmatic name, and all those coffee cups
People who don’t know North Fork Bank have put all kinds of spins on the name when they hear it over the phone. Some hear “Norfolk” and think the bank comes from Virginia. Some hear it as “North Folk.”
Actually, North Fork started as a community bank on the east end of N.Y.’s Long Island, in Mattituck, a town on the northern of two forks at the island’s eastern end. “North Fork,” as a location, means volumes to a Long Islander, but what the heck does it mean to anyone else?
CEO John Kanas bridles a bit when asked about a name change. The bank has worked hard to achieve brand recognition. There have been radio ads, billboards, and more than 12 million coffee cups, after all.
But how well will the name travel to New Jersey, as the company’s acquisition there moves forward?
“Well, we are going to find out, I guess,” says Kanas, with an implied “just you watch us make it work.”
The basic North Fork logo, shown here in its latest revised form, has confused even Long Islanders at times. To some, it resembles … well, you just have to say it: a marijuana leaf.
That much, Kanas admits to, and laughs about it. (You never see a North Fork employee, from tellers in the branches to Kanas, without a gold logo on their lapel, by the way.)
Years ago, marketing types drafting a last-minute promotion, insisted that the bank needed a logo. Kanas was a trifle stumped, and scanned his office. His eye fell upon a paperweight, a stylized compass card–the symbol you see on old ship’s compasses and on older maps. He seized it and proffered it to the marketeers. “How about this?” he said, and a logo was born.
Oh yes, about those coffee cups. They are all over Manhattan and other North Fork markets, distributed by coffee services and by branch employees who bring them to grateful diners and coffee stands who thus save the cost of buying their own disposables.
“I just signed the contract for 15 million more of those,” Kanas says with the pride of a hands-on manager intent on seeing his strategy succeed.
Drink up, New Jersey.
Looking to build relationships with YOUR prospects? Consider these possibilities to raise your business ID, or contact Bill Simon to find out how to get your business noticed in a cost-effective and attention-getting manner.