Bankers are often reporters’ go-to sources for economic and personal finance coverage. BOK Financial’s CMO Sue Hermann thought the bank could get some direct benefit from that. The possibilities that can be realized when a bank decides to deploy its experts to produce “brand journalism” excited Sue Hermann, CMO at BOK Financial, parent of Bank of Oklahoma. Not only can brand journalism deliver meaningful content to customers and potential customers, rather than the usual pabulum, she says, but it can begin to improve the flagging degree of trust that studies still show the industry suffers from. Today, BOK Financial produces “The Statement,” a content site offering timely articles and videos. The site features four sub-channels — “Your Money,” “Your Business,” “Perspectives” and “Community.” Since 2019 the bank’s team of internal experts and writers, as well as freelance writers, produce approximately 150 articles or videos annually. Hermann says the critical difference is “creating a need, rather than selling a thing. Not talking about checking accounts, but helping people understand the importance of long-term planning for their financial needs.” Brand journalism “is a long-term play and it takes a long time for some people to get on board,” says Megan Ryan, the bank’s director of content strategy. This not only includes superiors who want proof that the technique produces results, but even experts within the bank. She and Hermann say that often the best people on a given subject area start out feeling that they’re just bankers, and not media material. But the bank has tracked reader and viewer behavior in multiple ways and Hermann says the content team is garnering results. The bank tracks return users and Hermann says people come back for more articles and videos. (The bank filters bots and employees out of its figures.) In addition, The Statement contributes to higher levels of “earned media” — exposure gained through social media sharing and other channels. Building exposure for the bank in this way, rather than pouring on email after email and then sending those who click through to a page about checking (yes, this is a bugaboo for Hermann), she says. “There is huge value in delivering information in a way that isn’t salesy, because that aligns with our brand and developing long-term relationships — doing what’s best for the client,” says Hermann. Hermann says the bank learned early on that making a success out of this technique takes dedication and regularity. Another helpful element is cross-pollination. Something setting BOK Financial apart from some other large banks is that both marketing and corporate communications report to Hermann as CMO. In the early days, the two functions tended not to leave their swim lanes, as Hermann calls the divide, but now more sharing of ideas and information regarding The Statement occurs. Meetings with line-of-business staff sometimes prompt marketing staff to ask what questions the bankers are hearing from their customers. This may pinpoint an issue and then the right approach to address it has to be settled. The idea is not just to chime along with other media, but to add a viewpoint of bank experts or a round-up informed by that expertise. Hermann and Ryan says its helpful to have professional journalists on the staff or as regular freelancers, because they are not only comfortable with the need to crank out articles on a timely basis, but also the ability to drop.