The BMO brand was largely unknown to the two million Bank of the West customers, especially in the retail segment.  

To meet retention objectives, and start building confidence in BMO, a comprehensive omnichannel communications plan needed to balance the need for business line-specific messaging and identities while staying true to BMO’s overall branding.

Reinforce the BMO brand and its core tenets in all communications to build awareness and promote the advantages of banking with BMO.

Version all communications to accommodate differences among the four segments – Personal, Business, Commercial and Wealth – starting with the initial Legal Day One tactics, which included direct mail, fact sheets, emails and the Welcome Center microsite.

Continue developing content and tactics specific to each line of business throughout the implementation of more complex conversion communications.

Utilize personalized messaging to create custom mail packages to convey the key deposit and loan product changes.

Meet the communication needs of each segment and numerous sub-segments with more than 65 separate initiatives over an 18-month period.