Webster Bank Enters Marketing Partnership With Boston Celtics Star Ray Allen

BOSTON, Feb. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Webster Bank, a leading New England financial institution, has entered a marketing partnership with Boston Celtics star Ray Allen. The arrangement was made public today with the release of "The Webster Dream Team," a video distributed via social media networks. The video features Allen, his one-time college basketball coach Jim Calhoun, and a group of the bank's Boston-based employees. The video can be viewed on numerous sites, including Websterbank.com (http://promotions.websteronline.com/rayallen.html) and YouTube.

"Our new partnership with Ray Allen offers an incredibly unique way for Webster to strengthen and differentiate our brand from Boston through Connecticut," said Michelle Crecca, chief marketing officer for Webster Bank. "Ray is a perfect match for us – his core values of teamwork, discipline and giving back to the community mirror our own. He is beloved by millions throughout our New England region, both for his NBA career and his college career at the University of Connecticut, where he played for the legendary Coach Jim Calhoun." Webster has had a similar marketing partnership with Calhoun in Connecticut since 2000.

Under the agreement, Webster has full marketing and endorsement rights from Allen throughout the bank's New England/New York geographical footprint through August of 2012. Allen will appear in video and still photography that will be used in Webster's advertising, marketing and collateral materials. He will also make special appearances at select Webster events. The partnership was negotiated with Boston-based Altus Marketing & Management, and the video was produced by the agency Kelliher Samets Volk, also of Boston.

"The emotional connection sports delivers in the Boston marketplace is unique and powerful, and it is critical that companies entering this market leverage that connection in as authentic a manner as possible," said John Ivey, managing partner of Altus Marketing & Management. "When we first explored opportunities for Webster Bank to affiliate with Boston-area athletes, it was clear that Ray Allen was the preeminent choice.  Not only does Ray possess the extraordinary personal attributes embodied by the best endorsement personalities, he also has meaningful roots in the Webster's Connecticut home base – providing a critical bridge from the bank's past to its future. We're very excited about this partnership and looking forward to seeing it unfold over the coming weeks and months."

In addition to Websterbank.com and YouTube, the Webster Dream Team video can be found on Bing, Flickr, Metacafe, Blip.tv, Viddler, Video Jug, Vimeo and Daily Motion.

Webster Financial Corporation is the holding company for Webster Bank, National Association. With $17.8 billion in assets, Webster provides business and consumer banking, mortgage, financial planning, trust and investment services through 181 banking offices, 497 ATMs, mobile banking, the Customer Care Center, and the Internet. Webster Bank owns the asset-based lending firm Webster Business Credit Corporation, and the equipment finance firm Webster Capital Finance, and provides health savings account, trustee and administrative services through HSA Bank, a division of Webster Bank. Member FDIC and equal housing lender. For more information about Webster, including past press releases and the latest annual report, visit Webster's website at www.websterbank.com.

SOURCE Webster Bank