Start simple: free marketing assets for community banks

There are several resources available to community bankers who want to market their credit or debit card program. Below are sites we recommend, which all house free marketing and educational materials to increase awareness and card usage.

ICBA Bancard

On icba.org/bancard, you’ll find curated assets specifically for our client banks. The Card Basics section breaks down the essentials of acquisition, activation, usage, and retention. Free statement inserts are also available for download to market the “Pays” and contactless payments. And we have an extensive marketing manual that walks you step by step through card marketing basics. This is a great first stop when looking for free, easy-to-access resources created for community banks.

The card network sites contain a wide range of resources for community banks as well and offer generic and product-specific materials for bank use.

Visa

At VisaOnline.com, if you’re looking for materials on the basic benefits of any Visa card, the Consumer Credit Products or Consumer Debit Products section is a good place to start. From the main page, hover over the Marketing menu, then click on Product Marketing. You’ll find a host of educational and marketing resources.

Under each sub-menu, you will find free, downloadable artwork for tent cards, take ones, posters, and more. Click “view” or “download” to use any of these assets, which can be printed in house or sent to your preferred printing vendor. You will also find in-branch, acquisition, activation, usage and loyalty materials on the site. Materials specific to Visa products or campaigns, like Visa Signature cards or the Visa NFL promotion, are available, as well as rewards product guides, signature card products, and issuer benchmark studies.

Mastercard

Mastercard’s resources are housed at Mastercard.com/marketingcenter. The easy-to-navigate landing page directs you to either the Marketing Calendar, or to the program you would like to access (e.g., promotions, consumer benefits, small business benefits, or product education.)

The site houses educational and turnkey materials for consumer, small business and corporate cards. Mastercard offers customer-facing guides to benefits, activation postcards, email templates, and more. Assets are free and quickly downloadable. Drill down to any product by type – such as Mastercard World Elite or Consumer Credit (classic) Card – then click on “Browse Related Materials” to see available assets. As with Visa, it is at the bank’s discretion to print these materials in house or utilize a third-party printing service.

Their downloadable marketing calendar shows which campaigns Mastercard is hosting throughout the year. Categories include driving engagement, consumer credit and debit benefits, small business benefits, product education, cause marketing, and Mastercard Priceless promotions and experiences.

If you have questions about marketing resources, contact ICBA Bancard at Bancard@icba.org or 800.242.4770.