Provident Bank Leverages Its 175th Anniversary

Provident Bank is among a handful of New Jersey companies that have a continuous, 100-plus-year history with essentially the same name. This august group includes Annin Flagmakers (we're proud to have written and published their corporate history), Campbell Soup, Congoleum, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Prudential, and PSEG (I'm proud to have written their centennial book as well). Provident has leveraged its 175th anniversary in several thoughtful ways, using it to:

• Create a new logo (evolved from 175 years of beehives--the gold one is the latest)
• Celebrate good corporate citizenship (the bank's Foundation has donated over $18 million to NJ nonprofits since 2003--a great accomplishment, but alas, there's a typo in Provident's web copy announcing it) 
• Post a timeline (only 12 items for 175 years? C'mon, guys!)
• Develop a few videos (I applaud the mention of history in the 30-second TV ad, but I like this longer one better; it features CEO Chris Martin against a changing backdrop of history images; however, it's located under "Our New Look" instead of the history section of the website, a serious mistake)

All in all, Jersey City-based Provident has mined its long history in service of corporate storytelling, showcasing a good balance of Then and Now. Kudos!