IBC Bank is a financial services company headquartered In Laredo, Texas, on the border between the U.S. and Mexico. It has about $12 billion in assets and operates a commercial bank network in more than 89 Texas and Oklahoma communities. IBC—one of the largest banks in Texas and the largest minority-owned bank in the United States—owns subsidiaries in the insurance, investment banking, and mortgage lending industries.

Challenge
With technology changing so rapidly, how do you promote a bank's products and services to a new generation of bankers with a bee mascot?

IBC Bank

Originally created as part of a single promotion, the FreeBee character received such a positive reception, IBC decided to utilize him to showcase the bank's range of products and services. Careful attention was given to creating entertaining promotions and content without go so far that the bank would be seen as untrustworthy or flippant.

IBC Bank's original audience consisted of Gen X and Baby Boomers; however, once they introduced FreeBee we believed there was an opportunity to connect with the Millennial demographic. Print, broadcast, and digital executions were created and pushed through multiple channels in English and Spanish throughout Texas and Oklahoma. Special care was taken not confuse Hispanic audiences by making sure FreeBee did not have any similarities to Chespirito's Bumble Bee character.

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