Washington Trust looks to future

WESTERLY – To celebrate its 215th year in business, The Washington Trust Co. this month is launching a new marketing campaign to attract the next generation of customers.
The Washington Trust Co., a Washington Trust Bancorp Inc. company, opened in 1800 and bills itself as the nation’s oldest community bank. The new marketing campaign includes a new “WT” logo and a new series of animated TV advertisements. The bank says the TV spots “illustrate how Washington Trust provides solutions to everyday financial needs through personal service and convenient technology,” according to a press release.
“It was important for us to find a creative way to demonstrate that Washington Trust is different from other banks,” said Elizabeth B. Eckel, senior vice president of marketing, in a statement. “Our new campaign is both informative and entertaining; it helps us tell our story in a fun, clear and comprehensible way.”
The bank hired Walsh & Associates of East Greenwich and Animus Studios of Riverside to develop the company’s new brand and multimedia advertising campaign.
Washington Trust Bancorp, with $3.6 billion in assets, is the second largest Rhode Island-based bank ranked by assets, according to PBN research. The company in 2014 was the third largest Rhode Island bank by deposits with 9.3 percent of the market share, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.