Bank Asks Consumers About Competitor's Celebrity Staffing

U.S. Bank Launches Service Campaign by Asking Consumers ``How Many Stars Does Your Bank Have?''
 
U.S. Bank service campaign TV spot highlighting competitive rates. MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 3, 2006--U.S. Bank, home of the Five Star Service Guarantee, will begin a new branding campaign on April 5 aimed at attracting new customers by challenging them to think about the service they receive from their current bank and asking, "How many stars does your bank have?"

 

Created by The Kaplan Thaler Group in New York, the television spots center around the theme that customers should expect five star service from their bank. The commercials take a light-hearted look at situations where service at other banks is anything but five star quality - a business customer needs a "fast decision" only to be met with an endless series of calls to see if a fast decision is possible; another asks about a "low rate" but the banker thinks she's asking him to lower his voice; and a third wants to open a personal checking account only to have the banker call him by the wrong name again, and again, and again. Each spot ends with the reminder that U.S. Bank provides fast decisions, great products and personal service with Five Star Service Guaranteed. The television spots are running frequently on 292 stations in 24 states.

 

U.S. Bank will promote the new campaign with an online sweepstakes, the "How Many Stars Trivia Challenge" on www.usbank.com that will award a $50 Visa gift card to 10 winners daily and enters the participant in a sweepstakes in which $10,000 will be awarded at the end of the promotion.

 

Starting with the "low rate" advertisement, U.S. Bank will also introduce a new home equity program that was tremendously popular in its markets in 2004. The U.S. Bank EquiLine Rate Reward is a home equity line of credit in which the interest rate decreases one-quarter of one percent (0.25 percent) every six months up to one full percent below prime. In addition, the reward is portable, so if the customer ever needs to close the line, the reward that he or she has earned can be applied to a new home equity line at U.S. Bank. For more information call 1-888-444-2265.

 

The campaign coincides with the 10-year anniversary of the company's exclusive Five Star Service Guarantee and kicks off a celebration of its own stars - the nearly 50,000 employees who deliver great service to U.S. Bank customers day after day.

 

The Kaplan Thaler Group (www.kaplanthalergroup.com) has been ranked by industry publications as the fastest-growing New York advertising agency. KTG's blue-chip client roster includes AFLAC Inc., Coldwell Banker, Continental Airlines, Foxwoods Resort Casino, Marshalls, Office Depot, Outback Steakhouse, Panasonic, Pfizer, Pilot Pen, Procter & Gamble, Revlon, Trojan and U.S. Bank. KTG is part of the Publicis Groupe, one of the world's largest communications holding companies.

 

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB), with assets of $209 billion, is the 6th largest financial holding company in the United States. The company operates 2,419 banking offices and 5,003 ATMs, and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions. U.S. Bancorp is the parent company of U.S. Bank. Visit U.S. Bancorp on the web at www.usbank.com.

 

Contacts
U.S. Bank
Steve Dale, 612-303-0784
Teri Charest, 612-303-0732