Illinois-Based Riverside Bank Utilizes “Bowlers Salute”
as Community Support Campaign
Riverside Community Bank takes their name seriously. “We’re always looking for ways to support our community – however and whenever we can,” explains Riverside’s Personal Banker Paula Schweinler. “So when I saw the carpet lane for the troops rolled out in our local bowling center, I thought that it would be a great idea for our bank.”
Selecting a designated service person to receive the kit was easy. Schweinler sent out an e-mail to all their employees to ask if they knew someone from the area who was on active duty. A response from one of their tellers came back quickly. Her brother-in-law was serving in the Alpha Company of the 506th infantry in Iraq.
Schweinler bought the Bowlers to Veterans Link carpet lane and set it up in one of Riverside’s branches. She also instructed tellers to talk with their customers about the program, put out contribution jars at each of the teller’s windows, and encouraged customers to throw a ball or two on the carpet lane and donate to the cause.
However, the tellers report they didn’t need to introduce the campaign too often – with the carpet lane sitting in the middle of the branch, customers reacted immediately. “Customers would walk in the bank and say, ‘What the heck is going on here?’ Schweinler recalls. “It was fun – it got a lot of people talking and we all enjoyed it.”
What’s more, the area bowling center offered free game coupons to Riverside for their patrons. The bowling center looked at the bank campaign as a natural opportunity to reach out to new customers.
After two weeks in the flagship branch location, Schweinler rotated the lane set up to Riverside’s three other branches, each for an additional two-week period.
The campaign was a great success from both a business and promotions perspective, concludes Schweinler. “But most importantly, it was another chance to emphasize Riverside’s commitment to our community.”
