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Huntington Bank

CELEBRATING 80,000,000 Pens & Counting

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CHALLENGE:

In 2013, Huntington National Bank (HNB) embarked on a campaign to set themselves apart from other financial institutions. They didn’t want to come off as stuffy and uptight like their competitors—they wanted to rebrand themselves as a “welcoming” bank.

HNB was looking for a low-budget solution that would have the power to generate awareness and create an impact on the community. The strategy behind this solution needed to be highly visible and perfectly positioned for social media.

They didn’t want to use the same tired tactics that other financial institutions had been using for decades. They were looking for the right campaign that would set them apart from the crowd.

SOLUTION:

Can something as simple as a pen really have an impact on the community? 50,000,000 pens later, we certainly think so.

With HNB’s goals in mind, Leaderpromos proposed an original, custom-designed, fully-branded pen. Bank pens are not a new concept, so an innovative strategy and approach to these lobby pens would be the key to making the campaign a success.

It started with reimagining every aspect of the pen’s design—from the barrel to the clip to the tip—to create an unmistakable product.
Next, Leaderpromos eliminated the traditional practice of bank lobbies chaining their pens to the desk. Instead, patrons were encouraged to take the unique pen with them. This simple, strategic move enabled the campaign to grow beyond HNB lobbies and quickly spread throughout the community.

OUTCOME:

Soon after the campaign launched, the pens became so prevalent that they prompted several regional news pieces and began appearing all over social media with the hashtag #HuntingtonPen. A few posts even revealed HNB pens showing up at competing financial institutions!

The campaign was so successful that demand quickly grew beyond projections. To ensure that individual branches would never be without their signature pens, Leaderpromos created a sustainable distribution model that enables branches to restock their supply as part of a monthly allocation.

To date, Huntington has shared enough of their signature pens to span the entire width of the continental United States and every pen has been used by an incredible average of 42 people throughout its lifetime.