A Nice Case Study on How to  Separate Your Friendly, Responsible, Local Bank from Wall Street’s Mess

Louisiana and Texas based MidSouth Bank hosted a series of well crafted “Town Hall” meetings throughout Louisiana in early February. MidSouth Bank President and CEO Rusty Cloutier – “We are confident participants leave the meetings understanding that it is unfortunate and unfair that community banks have been lumped in with the big Wall Street banks that created this crisis and caused it to trickle over into our business, Cloutier said. We may be a small player, but we are passionate about protecting the reputation that we, and so many community banks like us, have worked decades to build “.

A great marketing concept coupled with an even better public service theme. Providing a public forum for elected officials and community groups to participate in the meetings allowed the bank the opportunity to engage recognized local opinion leaders and added credibility to the gatherings. Nice job.

http://www.midsouthbank.com/cfm/prdetails.cfm?PressID=122

by Pew Hispanic Center

Like the U.S. population as a whole, Latinos are feeling the sting of the economic downturn. Almost one-in-ten (9%) Latino homeowners say they missed a mortgage payment or were unable to make a full payment and 3% say they received a foreclosure notice in the past year, according to a new national survey of 1,540 Latino adults conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center. Moreover, more than six-in-ten (62%) Latino homeowners say there have been foreclosures in their neighborhood over the past year, and 36% say they are worried that their own home may go into foreclosure. This figure rises to 53% among foreign-born Latino homeowners.

The survey also finds that the economic downturn has had an impact on the amount of money that Latinos sent to relatives or others in their country of origin in the past year. Among Hispanic immigrants who sent remittances in the last two years, more than seven-in-ten (71%) say they sent less in 2008 than in the prior year.

Latinos hold a more negative view of their own current personal financial situation than does the general U.S. population. More than three-in-four (76%) Latinos, and 84% of foreign-born Latinos, say their current personal finances are in either fair or poor shape, while 63% of the general U.S. population says the same.

As a result of current economic conditions, many Latinos are adjusting their economic behaviors. More than seven-in-ten (71%) report that they cut back spending on eating out. More than two-thirds (67%) planned to curtail holiday spending. Over one-fourth (28%) report that they helped a family member or friend with a loan.

For a copy of the report go to:  http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/100.pdf

The January issue of HarrisInteractive’s newsletter, Newsmaker Insights, provides a glimpse into future trends, challenges, and industry sectors offering the best business opportunities for PR professionals.  Executives from 13 public relations firms took part in the research and provided their take on the industry’s increased burden to provide proof of ROI for corporations choosing to direct limited dollars to PR efforts. Additional pressure points identified by research participants included the need to better define the benefits of social networking, blogging, etc. to corporate bottom lines and the necessity of the profession to attract and keep fresh new talent.

The study also presented four sectors that may provide fertile ground for PR growth in the future: enhancing corporate reputation initiatives related to economic realities, better defining America’s image related to world affairs, healthcare policy changes and their poltical and regulatory impacts, and the need carefully present the benefits of  corporate environmentally friendly actions.

You can review the newsletter here: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/newsletters/newsmaker/HI_NewsmakerInsights_2009_v04_i01.pdf