Headline: For banker, Charlotte loses to S.F. in landmark case

Publication: San Francisco Business Times

Dateline: July 30th, 2004

Community Bank of the Bay CEO Brian Garrett is preparing to engage in some guerrilla marketing. Unlike many guerrilla groups, though, he's having a little trouble sorting out appropriate targets.

The idea is to pictorially illustrate that little Community Bank is based here and lends out its deposits locally, while its giant rivals may take them back to wherever they call home. So some targets are obvious: In a TV commercial in the works, Seattle's Space Needle is used to represent Washington Mutual and the Eiffel Tower stands in for the Bank of the West's French parent, BNP Paribas.

The stumper, Garrett says, is how he'll symbolize his biggest competitor: Bank of America. BofA's hometown is, of course, Charlotte, N.C. The bank's Corporate Center dominates its skyline, but as a bemused Garrett notes, "I'm not sure anyone would recognize the Charlotte skyline."

In fairness, the so-called Queen City (hold on, they've even taken that from us?) has come a long way since George Washington called it a "trifling place." After all, as Charlotteans were eager to crow earlier this year, they now have seven Fortune 500 headquarters, to San Francisco's six. But instant visual recognition continues to elude it.

In the interest of full disclosure, we'll note that Charlotte is also the hometown of this newspaper's parent company. So we're in a position to offer Garrett some help in defining the city's landmarks:

• A sign on BofA's headquarters alerting visitors that firearms are not permitted inside.
• Airport signage directing visitors to exit onto the Billy Graham Parkway.
• Numerous plaques noting the sites of historic structures, most of them swept away by various generations of glass towers housing bankers.

One thing's for sure, Garrett says, Bank of America will be featured -- somehow.

"BofA is just too big of a target to ignore," he said.

Compiled by Jim Gardner. Contributors: Mark Calvey, Ryan Tate.