They say that good things take time but really great things happen in the blink of an eye.From the hit song, ‘One in a Million’ (Hannah Montana)Who can deny that each child is one in a million? Isbank – more than any other bank in Turkey – knows this. Because being widely known as “Turkey’s Bank” from the inception in 1924 just after the foundation of the Turkish Republic Isbank has been a stable force in virtually every corner of the country. Isbank has a unique and rich tradition of preserving Turkey’s heritage, through history and language, literature and culture and even owns a book publishing company.

Isbank’s customer relations campaigns are also inspired by this positioning. That’s why when an integrated communications campaign was created to deepen the bank’s relationship with its current customers as well as prospective customers in communities throughout Turkey, children and education was the main driving force.

In the blink of an eye, children would receive a free book from Isbank for simply visiting the bank and showing their report cards. Parents of course accompanied their children to collect their gifts, which brought unprecedented traffic to thousands of Isbank branches throughout Turkey.

The books were sent to branches before the last day of schools. To announce the campaign and mobilize children to visit the nearest Isbank branch an integrated communications campaign ensued:A press meeting was held to launch the program. The President of the Board and the CEO of Isbank visited some branches and distribute the books where local media members are also present.Letters explaining the project were sent to executive editors and columnists of the newspapers, asking for their support.

After the campaign started another press release was distributed with the photos of children getting their books.Isbank employees from all over the country sent photos of children who came to branches. A press release of this story with photos of thousands of children collecting their books at bank branches was distributed nationally and locally.An advertising film was taken for TV. Ads were prepared for newspapers and billboards.

The ever biggest book campaign of Turkey is appreciated not only by parents and children who visited the bank branches but also by the national and local media. In 2009, 112 articles were published in the print media. The project was covered 11 times, 33 minutes on TV.The cost of the project is approximately 1 USD for every student including publishing, distributing of the books and the advertising budget.Isbank surpassed its campaign objectives both in volume of visitors (1.1 million against the target of 1 million), impact on target audiences, media coverage in national and local press, and reputation enhancement. With this project Isbank aimed to open another door for children, like the many doors that lead Alice to Wonderland.