Adams Dairy Bank

The Challenge:

When you read the year in which David Chinnery, then president and CEO of Adams Dairy Bank, started a new community-focused bank in Blue Springs, the challenge is evident. It was 2008, and we were at the cusp of the Great Recession. A one-location bank in a yet developing area of Kansas City wasn’t an optimistic idea for many. And Chinnery’s strategy to reintroduce community banking the way it had first been adopted generations ago: commit to treating each customer as an individual and restoring customer service to a personal level was going to make achieving success a challenge. A new bank with one location opening in 2008 with an unproven strategy competing against established big banks… Challenging to say the least.

Chinnery threw in another challenge. He expected and wanted complete confidence that EAG would handle every aspect of the bank’s marketing to perfection so his staff wouldn’t be burdened by marketing tasks.

The Direction:

Right off the bat, Chinnery and EAG’s CEO, Paul Weber, discussed the viability of differentiating a bank based on excellent customer service. Weber was skeptical considering banking services had become a commodity, and the industry was under assault from consumers and regulators thanks to the recession. Chinnery was convinced it was possible and listed the many ways Adams Dairy Bank had already and would continue to distinguish itself one customer at a time.

EAG’s team received the green light by way of Chinnery’s willingness to break creative boundaries and developed a brand and strategy that:

• Spoke to individuals as neighbors
• Reintroduced the importance of a local bank to a community
• Was slightly irreverent, if not downright humorous at times

What the Client Says:

“We are very good at banking, but you [EAG] are the experts in marketing. Do what you do best.”

David Chinnery, former president & CEO, Adams Dairy Bank

The Results:

For the next nine years, EAG was the bank’s full-service, outsourced marketing department, handling every aspect of the customer experience. If the bank’s customer saw or heard it, EAG was responsible for ensuring it was on message, consistent and true to the mission.

As Adams Dairy Bank became one of the fastest-growing community banks in Missouri, EAG’s role expanded. Customer acquisition was one of several responsibilities of the marketing plan, as was brand recognition within the community and beyond. Every conceivable marketing tactic was considered and tested. Each new challenge was met with collaborative solutions as EAG and the bank walked side by side during the period of rapid growth.

In 2018, with many goals accomplished, the bank’s leaders and investors decided it was time to acknowledge their success and agreed to be acquired by another bank. While this bank’s story is closed, the history is one to relish and review as a blueprint for other community banks.