Case Study: Citizens Access Bank launches a new national brand with Merkle

Citizens Access Bank launches a national direct bank with Merkle, reaching $4.6B in balances in 10 months

Citizens Access Bank was tasked with building a new national direct bank from the ground up within a very aggressive nine-month timeframe. The challenge involved launching a completely new brand with no national recognition in a highly competitive market against established, rate-sensitive consumers. The vendor Merkle was engaged to help overcome these obstacles using its audience strategy expertise.

Merkle implemented a solution centered on deep audience research using its proprietary Neuroanalytics and M1 platform to understand consumer motivations and media habits. This data-driven approach informed critical decisions on branding, product features, and marketing channels. For Citizens Access, this strategy resulted in the acquisition of $4.6 billion in balances within the first ten months, with 71% of deposits originating from outside the parent bank's regional footprint.

Citizens Access Bank