Northeast Bank

Challenge

Northeast Bank faced a dual challenge: driving deposits in their core market of Maine while expanding online account opening usage. Competing against established national and regional banks, they needed to amplify awareness of their top-tier Certificate of Deposit (CD) and High-Yield Savings (HYS) rates, particularly in a landscape where proximity to physical branches still holds sway.

With ambitious deposit targets, Northeast Bank’s primary objectives were to:

• Saturate the Maine market with strategic, targeted campaigns.
• Leverage data to inform ad spend and audience targeting across both physical and digital banking services.
• Adapt campaigns in real-time to optimize cost-efficiency and return on investment.

Strategy

Targeted Saturation Campaigns in Maine

Zozimus developed a data-driven strategy covering Northeast Bank branches and beyond. By refining the focus to high-value search terms and leveraging advanced targeting, the team optimized ad spend to achieve increased impressions and conversions.

Enhanced Attribution and Analytics

The implementation of enhanced conversion tracking allowed Zozimus to bridge critical data gaps, ensuring a seamless connection between ad spend, online engagement, and deposit performance. This also enabled the team to pivot from broad match keywords to more focused and cost-effective strategies.

Dynamic Campaign Adjustments

• Ad Targeting Adjustments: Leveraged scientific modeling to determine appropriate targeting.
• Performance Max Campaigns:Leveraging Google’s latest AI-driven ad platform, these campaigns were instrumental in maintaining a strong local presence supported by Northeast Bank’s branch network while also increasing visibility in other parts of Maine not directly supported by branches. Simultaneously, they expanded beyond Maine to effectively reach and engage with retail customers in new markets.

SEO and Content Optimization

Recognizing the growing importance of organic traffic, Zozimus identified technical and content-related SEO gaps, such as the absence of optimized meta tags and a sitemap, which they utilized to guide work for their website vendor.

Campaign Results

Zozimus’s tailored approach delivered measurable results that exceeded expectations:

• Advanced Targeting Success:The campaign had an ad engagement rate that was 58% higher than industry benchmarks.
• Cost Efficiency: Through optimized Google Ads targeting, the bank saw over a 50% increase in clicks while keeping ad spend stable.
• Local Impact:Within Maine, the impression share doubled post-campaign adjustments, resulting in a surge in both new customers and deposits.

Client Results

In a highly competitive environment, Northeast Bank achieved remarkable milestones:

• Generated meaningful growth in non-brokered time deposits.
• Significantly increased YoY growth in conversion rates for online CD and HYS accounts.
• Enhanced local brand awareness, reflected in a strong increase in search impression share and engagement.
• Established a scalable model for future campaigns, combining local market expertise with digital-first strategies.

Business Impact

This partnership underscored the importance of leveraging data, agility, and innovative marketing tactics. By addressing both immediate and long-term needs, Zozimus enabled Northeast Bank to secure a leadership position in their core markets while building a robust foundation for future growth.