Washington Mutual Wins National Retail Advertising Award; California Market Entry Effectiveness Hailed

Business Wire, March 8, 2000

Business Editors

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 8, 2000

Washington Mutual, Inc. (NYSE:WM) today announced that its Consumer Banking Group has been given the coveted Retail Advertising Campaign (RAC) award by the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association.

In winning the award, Washington Mutual competed against some of the nation's most recognized retailers.

The RAC award recognized the effectiveness of Washington Mutual's advertising and marketing strategy for the company's 1998 entry into the California market. The award specifically cited the company's success in not only retaining customers, but significantly growing its California customer base despite account conversions and the "top of mind" ad awareness studies that show Washington Mutual in the No.1 spots in Los Angeles and San Francisco among consumers in those markets.

"We're gratified to win such a prestigious advertising award, particularly in a retail environment, which is not typically associated with banking," said Brad Davis, senior vice president of retail marketing and community relations. "We had a great opportunity to introduce Washington Mutual's name and brand to the nation's largest market. The combination of giving people a consumer-friendly alternative to large commercial banks plus bringing a retail approach to bank marketing was ultimately a successful strategy."

Washington Mutual was supported in the California market entry by its long-standing advertising agency, McCann-Erickson Seattle.

With a history dating back to 1889, Washington Mutual is one of the nation's leading financial service providers, offering a diversified line of products to consumers and small- to mid-sized businesses. Its business strategy of providing a higher-level of personalized customer service than its competitors has helped to make it one of the fastest-growing banks in the country. At Dec. 31, 1999, Washington Mutual and its subsidiaries had assets of $186.51 billion. The company operates more than 2,000 offices throughout the nation.

Editor's Note: Washington Mutual's news releases are available at no charge through the company's News On Demand Plus System. For a menu of Washington Mutual news releases or to retrieve a specific release, call 1-800-329-6236. On the Internet, news releases may be accessed at http://www.businesswire.com/cnn/wm.shtml