U.S. Century Bank's Digital Audience Intelligence — a content-driven lead generation success.
US Century Bank + Create180 + Castleberry Media. A data-driven content engine built to bring specialized business financing in front of South Florida's exact buyer profile — in English and Spanish.
Marketing-qualified leads delivered to the bank's sales team
Consecutive months hitting monthly MQL targets, and counting
Of leads matched location, industry, size and role
Bilingual funnel for South Florida's business community
Brief overview
Specialized financing, the right buyers, the right moment.
In the competitive landscape of financial services marketing, US Century Bank sought to promote their specialized business financing offerings while enhancing brand visibility, improving audience engagement, and driving business growth through qualified lead generation in the South Florida market.
The bank recognized these specialized financing solutions as a strategic product for expanding their small business customer base and wanted to position themselves as the go-to lender for these tailored financing options.
To achieve these objectives, they partnered with Create180 and Castleberry Media, combining complementary expertise in banking marketing, data-driven content marketing and digital design. The result: an initiative that leveraged advanced audience analysis, tailored content creation, and strategic distribution to reach the right audience with the right message at the right time.
The project
Digital Audience Intelligence. Five clear objectives.
Not a brand campaign. Not a generic content push. A measurable engine designed to feed US Century Bank's commercial banking pipeline month after month.
Generate qualified leads specifically for US Century Bank's specialized business financing products.
Establish US Century Bank as the premier business lender in the South Florida market.
Educate potential borrowers about the benefits and application process for these financing options.
Create a sustainable pipeline of financing applicants for long-term growth.
Establish US Century Bank as a thought leader in business banking for the South Florida market.
Tools & services
Four moving parts. One engine.
Audience intelligence, expert-sourced content, native distribution, and a precise LinkedIn lead-gen layer — sequenced together end to end.
True Audience Analysis
What it is
Castleberry Media's AI-powered tool that analyzes and identifies content consumption preferences of a target audience. It surfaces the topics and ideas that interest ideal customers so brands can optimize their content marketing strategies accordingly.
How we used it
True Audience was crucial in understanding US Century Bank's target audience in South Florida. We analyzed the digital behavior of small business owners across different fields and found that potential applicants were especially interested in eligibility requirements, documentation, and the specific needs their businesses faced — and how specialized financing could address them.
Thought Leadership Content
What it is
Editorial-grade content developed jointly by Create180 and Castleberry Media, built around the borrower's real questions and decision moments.
How we used it
We crafted a content ecosystem in both English and Spanish to reach South Florida's diverse business community. Every piece was designed to position US Century Bank as the go-to lender while generating qualified leads through a gated content distribution campaign.
Content at Scale
What it is
A Castleberry service that streamlines content production by documenting rather than creating from scratch. It involves interviewing subject matter experts and turning that source material into diverse formats across channels.
How we used it
We built the program around a single in-depth interview with the bank's financing expert. That session became the foundation for multiple formats — giving the audience a complete marketing experience grounded in a real expert's perspective.
Native Distribution
What it is
Placement of content on relevant publication sites in a non-invasive way. It increases reach, directs qualified readers to the client's site, and boosts engagement with the target audience.
How we used it
We distributed the bank's thought leadership content natively on platforms the target segments already consume — premium placements on Yahoo, CNN Business, and Reuters — so the right audience saw it in the right context.
A precise LinkedIn layer on top of native reach.
Beyond native distribution, we implemented a highly targeted LinkedIn campaign. It captured marketing-qualified leads that we passed directly to US Century Bank. From there, the bank's team took over, applying their internal sales strategies to move leads through their established sales funnel.
"The data-driven content strategy delivered by Create180 and Castleberry transformed our lead generation approach. By focusing on quality and targeting our exact business customer profile, we've built a sustainable pipeline that directly supports our growth objectives in commercial banking."
Why it works
Why content-driven strategies make sense for business lenders.
Specialized education
Business financing options have complex requirements and processes that benefit from detailed educational content, positioning the bank as a helpful guide through the application process.
Trust building
Content that addresses common financing concerns builds trust with prospective borrowers during what is often a significant financial decision.
Lead qualification
By creating content for different stages of the financing consideration process, we naturally qualified leads based on their content consumption patterns.
Competitive differentiation
A well-executed content strategy gave US Century Bank an edge over competitors by showcasing their expertise in navigating financing programs and requirements.
Extended engagement
The business financing application process typically takes time, making content marketing ideal for nurturing prospects throughout their decision-making journey.
Results
A consistent, sales-ready pipeline.
Consistent lead generation target achievement
Throughout the first half of 2025, the lead generation campaigns consistently met their monthly marketing-qualified lead targets for four consecutive months — and counting.
Significant traffic through native distribution
Our multi-month content distribution campaign drove substantial visitor engagement to business-financing-focused content. High-performing assets included English and Spanish articles and guides, with placements on premium platforms like Yahoo, CNN Business, and Reuters.
Highly relevant decision-maker leads captured
The campaign successfully attracted the exact audience profile sought by US Century Bank from key industries in their target region. These leads represented small to medium-sized businesses perfectly aligned with the bank's strategic focus, resulting in highly qualified prospects for their specialized financing solutions.
From the client
Higher-quality, sales-ready leads.
"I'm really pleased with what Create180 and Castleberry Media delivered for us. Our sales team is more engaged with the leads we're bringing in, as they're closely aligned with what they're trying to sell. They're also more motivated and appreciative when working with higher-quality, sales-ready leads."
Beatriz Gonzalez · SVP / Marketing Manager · US Century Bank
Conclusion
Data, content, and distribution — executed together.
The partnership between US Century Bank, Create180, and Castleberry Media demonstrates the power of data-driven content marketing in the financial services sector. By analyzing audience behavior, creating targeted thought leadership content, and strategically distributing this content through both native channels and LinkedIn, we strengthened US Century Bank's market position, enhanced brand visibility, and generated qualified leads for their commercial banking services.
This case study illustrates how a focused approach to content marketing for specialized banking products can drive meaningful business results when executed with the right partners and technology, with an emphasis on generating qualified leads that convert into applications and closed deals.
About the partners
Three teams. One outcome.
US Century Bank
One of the largest community banks headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, with a network of 10 banking centers across Miami-Dade and Broward counties. With assets exceeding $2.5 billion, US Century Bank specializes in providing customized banking solutions for businesses, entrepreneurs, and professionals throughout South Florida, with particular expertise in sectors such as law firms and healthcare practitioners.
Create180
A full-service branding, marketing, and web design agency based in Orlando, Florida. Since 2007, they have provided digital services including graphic design, web development, SEO, copywriting, and digital marketing for businesses across various industries. Their team specializes in creating engaging digital experiences that strengthen brand positioning and drive customer engagement.
Castleberry Media
A data-driven content marketing company that helps businesses engage their audiences effectively. Using artificial intelligence and data analysis, we identify audience preferences and create targeted content strategies that resonate with specific market segments. Our specialized tools like True Audience analyze audience behavior and optimize content marketing efforts.
What's next
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