Atlantic Union Bank
Publicity and Media Relations
Situation
In March 2020, President Trump signed the CARES Act to provide emergency assistance and health care response to those affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Through this Act, the Small Business Administration (SBA) created the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to assist small businesses through these turbulent times.
Atlantic Union Bank rose to the challenge and used earned media to educate the marketplace nationally and throughout its footprint about PPP funding.
Strategies
The right voice
Atlantic Union Bank CEO John Asbury, became the bank’s PPP spokesperson. He was passionate for the PPP and helping small businesses across the bank’s footprint. Additionally, Asbury prioritizes media interviews and is extremely articulate, making him the ideal spokesperson.
The right media
We expanded the database to include national media, and included identifying national media who were already writing about the government stimulus and PPP, as well as targeting relevant beat reporters throughout the entire campaign.
Responsiveness
The ever-evolving news cycle made it imperative for both Sweeney and AUB to prioritize media communication. We responded immediately to inbound media requests and provided critical, real-time updates and Asbury was available for remote interviews.
Content development
The content strategy focused on creating a mix of bylined, educational feature articles and highlighting PPP milestones with news releases and pitches.
Agility
The SBA program evolved early and Atlantic Union Bank remained flexible and evolved with it.
Results
With the assistance of Sweeney’s Publicity and Media Relations team, Atlantic Union Bank helped 10,000 companies achieve $1.7 billion in PPP loans and solidified the bank and John Asbury as a leading resource/expert on the SBA PPP loan.
800
Media mentions achieved nationally
483M
Earned media impressions
