Building Donation Wins National Acclaim

Situation: Bank of America had a great story to tell in Delaware, where the company employs thousands of employees. The company planned to add 500 new employees in the state and at the same time donate one of its buildings in the state’s largest city, Wilmington, to house charter schools and other education programs. With such a significant event, Bank of America wanted to make sure that the Delaware community, as well as its employees, were aware of and understood the company’s commitment to the state.

Solution: Tipton worked with Bank of America to prepare an announcement event, which would be attended by hundreds of employees and a who’s who list of Delawareans–including an entire classroom of children, the governor, mayor of Wilmington, and a U.S. Senator–without letting word slip out publicly before the event. Tipton prepared multiple contingency plans, just in case, but the news never slipped out. While preparing the media plan, Tipton also developed the internal communication strategy and messaging for Bank of America’s employees. On the day of the planned announcement, the internal and external plans were flawlessly executed by Bank of America and Tipton staff. Employees were notified first through a series of town halls and e-notices. Tipton managed a widespread event-notification process, contacting all the local media outlets, government representatives, as well as state and local dignitaries.

Results: The attending crowd was a local star-studded event, and the story quickly spread from local to national press, including The New York Times. Employees were also appreciative that they were informed of the bank’s actions before they were made public.