
M&T Bank is the official bank of the Baltimore Ravens and has the naming rights to M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Ravens. At the start of this year’s NFL season, M&T rolled out a new ad campaign – “Checking Built for Baltimore” – that leveraged its solid relationship with the Ravens and positioned it as the go-to bank for checking in Baltimore. Ravens tight end and all-time leading receiver, Todd Heap, was one of the faces of the campaign. It was the first time M&T Bank had featured a professional athlete in its advertising.
Ads showing Heap holding the exclusive M&T Bank Ravens Check Card appeared on buses, bus shelters, truck-mounted mobile billboards, the campaign website – even on pizza boxes. A second version of the ads featured Ravens season ticket holder and “superfan”, Sports Steve, who leads cheers at home games with 48 pounds of beads around his neck. Another well-known fan, Captain Dee-Fense, and one of the Ravens’ three mascots, Poe (not to be confused with Edgar and Allen), were the campaign’s other cameos. Radio spots, special branch signage and ATM screens, and rich media online ads on the Ravens official website as well as baltimoresun.com were part of the campaign, too. At the “Built for Baltimore” website, Ravens fans could download and print out game day signs bearing a catchy headline and the M&T logo (we must admit, it was tough to do the layout for “Beat the Bills”). Specially printed Ravens/M&T footballs and pom-poms were given away at radio remotes and at branch and community events, and were tossed from the mobile billboard trucks. Finally, individuals who signed up for a Ravens Checking Package received a free order of checks with the Ravens logo, along with the M&T Ravens Check Card, a cash bonus, rewards points, and a free Ravens tailgating chair.
“Checking Built for Baltimore” launched in September and ran until mid-November, surpassing campaign goals. “Baltimore is a football-crazy town, and tapping into that emotion has been very successful for the campaign,” said Jeff Pappalardo, creative director on the M&T account.