JP Morgan Chase Aims at Consumer Confidence

JP Morgan Chase, concerned with customers' decimated confidence in the banking industry, are using messaging in ads to buoy confidence in Washington Mutual, which it recently acquired, reports The New York Times. 

Chase is deflecting the bad buzz and branding questions with tongue-in-cheek headlines, like "We love Chase. And not just because they have a trillion dollars," and more direct tags, like "WaMu & Chase. Safe & secure."

The ads successfully steadied the flow of deposits from WaMu, Thomas Kelly, a spokesman for JP Morgan told The Times.

Edelman's US president and CEO, Matt Harrington, told The Times, "It's more comforting to be treated candidly: 'We're in uncharted waters. We're doing our best. We want to hear your questions. We're here to help you...' You gain a lot of credibility."

From a PR student perspective, I think the quote added to the short article from a prominent PR agency (Edelman) gave the content of this article some value. Each and everyday the financial crisis makes us consumer more and more apprehensible about spending, finances, etc... With all of the financial distrust, now is definitely the time to shine for PR agencies and financial institutions' internal PR!