M&I Bank Names Publicis Its Public Relations Agency of Record for Central Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- M&I Bank has chosen to continue their engagement with Publicis Indianapolis to build awareness of the brand in Central Indiana. Publicis previously handled public relations for First Indiana Bank, which was acquired and merged into Marshall & Ilsley Corporation last year. Signs at all 32 Indianapolis-area branches changed to M&I Bank on February 4.

According to Beth Copeland, longtime First Indiana Bank employee and now vice president of marketing for M&I Bank in Central Indiana, M&I Bank was impressed with the work Publicis did before and felt the agency was the best choice to help build the M&I Bank brand.

"The highly qualified team at Publicis has been a tremendous asset to us in the past," Copeland said. "Their public relations expertise and knowledge of the market made them an obvious choice as we considered how we could most effectively increase awareness of the M&I brand throughout the Indianapolis market."

"It is somewhat unique to be asked to continue as the agency of record for a company following its acquisition," said Tom Hirschauer, president of Publicis Indianapolis. "I think it is a flattering vote of confidence in Publicis and our public relations team, and we couldn't be happier to represent M&I Bank in Central Indiana."

Optimedia, a sister agency of Publicis owned by Publicis Groupe, is also continuing to handle media planning and buying for the M&I transition advertising campaign.

About M&I Bank

M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank is an affiliate of Marshall & Ilsley Corporation , a diversified financial services corporation headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., with $59.8 billion in assets. Founded in 1847, M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank is the largest Wisconsin-based bank, with 193 offices throughout the state. In addition, M&I has 50 locations throughout Arizona; 32 offices in central Indiana; 31 offices along Florida's west coast and in central Florida; 14 offices in Kansas City and nearby communities; 22 offices in metropolitan Minneapolis/St. Paul, and one in Duluth, Minn.; and one office in Las Vegas, Nev. M&I's Southwest Bank subsidiary has 17 offices in the greater St. Louis area. M&I also provides trust and investment management, equipment leasing, mortgage banking, asset-based lending, financial planning, investments, and insurance services from offices throughout the country and on the Internet (http://www.mibank.com/ or http://www.micorp.com/). M&I's customer-based approach, internal growth, and strategic acquisitions have made M&I a nationally recognized leader in the financial services industry.

About Publicis

As part of Publicis Groupe, one of the world's largest advertising and media services companies, Publicis Indianapolis provides a wide range of corporate communication and media services, including creative advertising, media and campaign planning, marketing, and public relations.

Contact: Jennifer Whaley, Publicis

317-644-8112, Jennifer.whaley@publicis-usa.com