Overview

"Checking Now" is the evolution of our campaign with Patrice Bergeron from community ambassador to bank spokesperson to promote Avidia Bank’s suite of checking products. "Checking Now" is the evolution of Patrice from Captain of the Boston Bruins to Avidia Bank spokesperson - the commercial opens with what checking used to mean to him and evolves to show what checking means to him now at Avidia Bank! 

“Assists For Kids” is a powerful campaign created with Avidia Bank's community impact in mind also using Patrice Bergeron. Patrice talks about playing hockey growing up and the sacrifices his parents made as working class parents so he and his brother could play the game they loved even though it was expensive. That's why he wanted to team with Avidia Bank to award Max savings accounts for youth hockey players who love the game but need help with the cost. Patrice shares what hockey means to him, the friendships and lessons he's learned from it - and why he's such a great ambassador for the game.

For every Boston assist, Avidia Bank donated $50 to help MetroWest Hockey Families pay for youth hockey.  In 2024, Avidia Bank donated $37,000 to help families in the MetroWest cover the high cost of hockey. Avidia Bank's financial support provided over 200 youth hockey players with $150 Max Savings Accounts.

Approach

The strategy focused on creating emotional resonance, mass visibility, and tangible community impact by blending authentic storytelling with high-profile athlete alignment:

• Checking Now & Assists For Kids Audio & Videos: Featuring Patrice Bergeron as Avidia Bank ambassador with "Checking Now" and Community Captain with "Assists For Kids" providing funding for MetroWest Youth hockey, and the impact of the partnership.

• Campaign Microsite: A hub for campaign content, videos and education, showing content, videos, checking accounts, etc. (avidiabank.com/teambergeron)

• Broadcast & In-Game Media: Extensive integration during Bruins games on NESN, delivering premium reach.

• Custom Social & Paid Media Content: Co-branded assets across Avidia Bank's channels amplified reach and engagement.

• Avidia Bank Internal & External Marketing: Patrice is now featured on in-branch assets (posters, fatheads, videos) and external marketing (brochures, mailers, etc.)

• Community Engagement: Patrice engages at events with MetroWest Youth Hockey Families at our Family Skate where Patrice skates around with Framingham Youth Hockey Players and their families.

• Press, PR & Thought Leadership: Media placements and interviews drove credibility and awareness throughout New England.

Results

$37,000+ Raised to provide $150 Max Savings Accounts to MetroWest Youth Hockey players and their families in Avidia Bank's customer radius

• 5.9 Million Impressions on NESN during Bruins games

• 4.3 Million Household Impressions on NESN during Bruins Season

• Bergeron audio creative drove 37 completions with a 90.87% audio completion rate (resonating particularly well across Worcester, Framingham, and Waltham)

• Avidia Bank saw a 3% in new checking accounts year over yer

• Significant Positive Brand Lift in community trust and favorability

• Featured Coverage on NESN, NESN 360 & 98.5 The Sports Hub

Digital Results

• 96.5% video completion rate on YouTube TV, outperforming industry standards across major placements like FOX News, MSNBC, and CNN.

• Free Checking – 779 Impressions; 80 Clicks; 10.27% CTR; 1 conversions

• Campaign CTR: 2.62% is 4.6x higher than FB Finance Industry benchmark of 0.56%

• Majority of Traffic from Ads were from Females ages 35-44

• PB Free Checking Video: 572 Clicks

• PB Checking GIF Spring: 16,471 impressions – 29 Clicks

Bottom Line

“Checking Now” & "Assists For Kids" proved that when purpose, platform, and partnership come together, impact follows. This campaign not only helped increase their checking accounts - it elevated Avidia Bank as a community leader and created a lasting emotional connection with their customers, fans, and employees alike.

Testimonial

“When I agreed to team up with John Taylor "JT" and Avidia Bank as their ambassador for Assists For Kids to make hockey more accessible and affordable for Metrowest families, it was something that hit home with me having grown up with hard working parents who did all they could to help me play the game I loved. The campaign has been a very successful one that I'm proud to have my name associated with. Working with JT on the campaign has been great. He makes it as convenient as possible to execute on all campaign deliverables, while bringing his energy and enthusiasm to create programs that have an impact in the community."

— Patrice Bergeron | Boston Bruins Legend & Captain

“Working with John Taylor (JT) on the Assists for Kids and Checking Now campaigns with Patrice Bergeron have been an absolute pleasure. JT has helped us create a unique and impactful program that has positively impacted our community reputation, brand, and bottom line.  He has been a phenomenal partner, working alongside us as a team. No task is too big or too small for JT, and his can-do attitude has helped us achieve amazing and impactful moments throughout the campaign.”

— Janel Thomas, SVP, Chief Marketing Officer | Avidia Bank