Integrated Marketing Firm Deploys Proprietary Brand-Development Methodology for Newly Merged National Payments Organization

PORTLAND, Maine Feb. 28, 2008 -- KG Partners, a nationally recognized advertising, public relations and interactive agency, today announced the development of a new brand for PaymentsNation, an organization critical to the nation's banking infrastructure. Formed by the merger of Dallas, Texas-based National Clearing House Association (NCHA) and Payments Resource One (PRO), a Phoenix, Arizona-based regional payments association, PaymentsNation is the single largest settler of clearing house image and paper check volume in the United States, and a leading provider of Automated Clearing House (ACH) services.

KG Partners was engaged in mid-2007 to develop a new name, brand structure and visual identity for the organization. The new brand needed to communicate the combined organization's national reach, collective service offering including both physical check and electronic payments categories, and leadership status within the nation's payment system.

"PaymentsNation truly captures the message that two legacy organizations have joined together with the capacity to offer a wide variety of products and services and provide national leadership throughout our industry," said Glenn Wheeler, CEO, PaymentsNation. "KG Partners' brand development process was exceptional -- their thorough research and creative execution produced a great new platform for us to go to market with post-merger. They also worked very adeptly with our professional staff, corporate board and board of directors."

KG Partners' work included research and competitive brand analysis, followed by the agency's proprietary branding process, including the generation of a new name, tagline and logo. Because of its deep branding experience and knowledge of the financial services industry, KG Partners was able to pinpoint a brand identity reflective of both legacy organizations, as well as the value proposition of the new, united organization. The selected tagline, "Service, information, leadership," further strengthens the name and image, while providing financial institutions and their constituents with a snapshot of the organization's brand promise.

"Development of winning brands is one of our specialties at KG Partners, and the PaymentsNation project is a great example of how we work to fulfill the unique needs each client," said David Goldberg, principal, KG Partners. "We build brands for clients from many different industries and it was an exciting challenge to find the right formula for PaymentsNation, an organization so important to the smooth running of our country's banking system."

More information on PaymentsNation can be found at www.paymentsnation.com.

About KG Partners

Based in Portland, Maine, KG Partners is a nationally recognized advertising, public relations and interactive agency that helps its clients build and maintain business momentum. The talented people at KG Partners work hard to connect clients with their markets and help brands find their voice. For more information on how KG Partners can help you connect, please visit www.KGmoment.com.


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