First Citizens Bank Launches Advertising Campaign

Ads focus on three key company values: common sense, integrity, consistency

April 19, 2004

RALEIGN, N.C. - First Citizens Bank announced the launch of a major advertising campaign starting today (April 19). The campaign focuses on values that have defined the company for more than a century: common sense, integrity and consistency.

“These values differentiate us and are important to the people and companies that bank with First Citizens,” said Lewis R. Holding, chairman of First Citizens Bank. “Our ads deliver the message that we care about our customers and build long-lasting relationships with them based on these values.”

The media campaign includes television, radio, newspaper and magazine advertising.

Three 30-second television ads will run in First Citizens’ markets in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Set at a First Citizens branch, the ads feature a spokesman describing the importance of a specific value.

In one television ad, the spokesman says, “Consistency. Isn’t that what you’re looking for in a bank? A relationship you can trust will be as strong in the future as it is today. At First Citizens, we’ve been doing business the same way for over a century — focusing on the needs of customers rather than on mergers. So if you want a bank you can trust will be the same tomorrow as it is today, talk to First Citizens, where values have always mattered.”

The radio ads also highlight the three values of consistency, integrity and common sense as they relate to business customers. The print ads provide clear-cut definitions of these values and what they mean for people who bank with First Citizens.

One print ad simply states, “Common Sense is knowing there is nothing common about our customers’ needs.”

The media campaign is scheduled to run throughout the year.

Founded in 1898, First Citizens operates 337 branches in 200 cities and towns in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Headquartered in Raleigh, the bank has $12.6 billion in assets. First Citizens Bank is committed to providing superior financial services to individual customers and small to mid-sized businesses. For more information about First Citizens Bank and its services, visit firstcitizens.com or call toll-free 1-888-FC DIRECT (1-888-323-4732).

Barbara Thompson
(919) 716-2716
First Citizens Bank