City First Bank of DC and Broadway Federal Bank of LA merged, creating a first-of-its-kind financial institution to address capital needs for low- and moderate-income communities, small businesses and nonprofits. This merger of equals created the largest Black-led minority depository institution (MDI) in the U.S. To announce this news to the public, the team sought a strategic communications partner to help craft and pitch the story of the transformational impact this merger would have.
With our existing media contacts and knowledge of the economic inclusion, small business and community development communications landscape, our phased approach included preparation, pitching, distribution and follow-up. We began our engagement with a rapid discovery process of existing background materials and began iterating on story angles. We then developed a press release, massaged messaging and conducted an extensive media-training session with the CEOs of both companies, where we practiced mock interviews and tough questions in advance of potential reporter inquiries. Storytelling for Good began pre-pitching, beginning with conducting exclusive outreach to the New York Times in addition to broadcast television news outlets.
The merger agreement garnered national, local, industry and multicultural media attention coupled with tremendous traction on social media. As a result of our outreach, we saw virtually universal pull-through of key messages focusing on access and opportunity, including in a New York Times exclusive followed by print and broadcast coverage in leading outlets including the Associated Press, Black Enterprise, CNBC, CNN Business, CNN International, Forbes, NBC4 DC, NBC4 LA, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Business Journal, The Washington Post and Yahoo! Finance. The outreach effort generated 40 unique media stories and an estimated 2.9 million views. The BusinessWire distribution garnered more than 16,300 total views, more than 9,200 multimedia views and nearly 600 hyperlink clicks. Seventy-two wires and media outlets reprinted the press release. Additionally, news of the merger agreement was mentioned in 175 social media posts.
Within weeks of the launch, CityFirst Bank experienced significant deposit and loan growth; stock performance increased more than 10% on the first day. The merger became final in April 2021; concurrently, CityFirst Bank has led a capital raise which secured more than $30 million to help support efforts in financially underserved urban areas.