City National reaches out via digital magazine

“Nowadays people are frequently looking for digital content in places that, two or three years ago, you never expected,” says Thom Miller of City National Bank. “Digital content is viewed by clients as a perk for them, and it keeps them closer to us.”

Miller is executive vice-president of marketing and product solutions for the $31.7 billion-assets company, based in Beverly Hills, Calif. In mid-December the company launched News&Insights, a branded digital magazine/website that combines the bank’s media newsroom content with additional material. This includes economic commentary, client advice, videos, thought leadership, company news, and infographics.

An article from the inaugural issue is actually reproduced on this website courtesy of the bank, due to its highly relevant theme: “Protecting your digital legacy.”

Miller says that one factor that convinced the bank that it was time to launch the new publication was proprietary research indicating that content marketing makes customers feel closer to an commercial organization.

Digital format today is virtually an assumption.

“I very rarely pick up a piece of paper to get information anymore,” says Miller. Even his own daily news reading is with the tablet version of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

Miller says that while it’s assumed that digital content is aimed mostly at Generation Y and Generation X, the bank believes it will also reach many Baby Boomer customers—more typically its current clientele—with a digital presence. The new publication’s bonus is that it will have appeal to younger people, who represent the bank’s future business, he says.

Much of the material for the publication comes from internal sources—subject matter experts inside the bank’s various departments as well as from Miller’s own team.

“We don’t believe this will be a drain on resources,” says Miller, and the ability to put the bank better together with its customers has a strong appeal.

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