We represented American Savings Bank for several years - first strictly on behalf of its real estate division, and subsequently for corporate and consumer activities as well. At one point the bank brought in a new chief executive, just as its non-performing asset problems were becoming critical. In the face of potentially disastrous publicity because of those problems (which eventually led to the bank's takeover by the FDIC), we conducted a very successful media program on the president's behalf. It included favorable articles about him in The New York Times, Crain's New York Business and American Banker; good stories in the local press and American Banker about the turn-around management team he was assembling, and an article under his byline on the op-ed page of The New York Times.

For 7-1/2 years, we handled all public relations activities for a New York bank.

LVM's efforts produced results ranging from a long front-page article in The Wall Street Journal to two features in Forbes to a homey feature in the New York Daily News, and just about everything in between. The president was so pleased with the Wall Street Journal article that he ordered 75,000 reprints as a marketing tool.

But our work for the bank extended far beyond press relations. We wrote the copy for the bank's New York Times and Washington Post op-ed advertising, which reflected management's position on public banking issues. We also wrote the copy for the bank's brochures and statements of condition, and — in many cases — its internal communications, as well.