Pabst Theater Group and Town Bank form branding partnership, remodel Pabst and Riverside box offices
The Pabst Theater Group and Town Bank have connected in a branding partnership they expect to benefit each business, starting with newly redesigned box offices at the Pabst and Riverside theaters that prominently display the bank’s name.
In addition, all of The Pabst Theater Group’s banking business has been transferred to Town Bank, and the bank is issuing “Love Milwaukee Live” debit cards featuring an image of Milwaukee's Pabst Theater, leaders of both companies announced Thursday.
New Town Bank checking account customers will receive a $100 gift card for ticket purchases at the Pabst and Riverside as part of the deal, the companies said.
Financial terms of the partnership weren’t disclosed, but it is set to last three years. Town Bank is now the official bank of The Pabst Theater Group.
In a news conference Thursday outside the Pabst Theater box office, Jay Mack, president and chief executive officer of Town Bank, said the partnership is intended to increase awareness of both brands and the city itself. He said as a community bank, Town Bank is “strongly invested in the community" and being part of it.
“So this is just for us a perfect opportunity for us to expand on that strategy and that mission that we have,” Mack said. “In Milwaukee, we’ve been growing and adding locations in and around the downtown area.”
Mack added: “The Pabst Theater Group provides a great entertainment product and a high level of service, so linking our brand to The Pabst Theater Group box office opportunity was very attractive to us.”
Gary Witt, CEO of The Pabst Theater Group, said Town Bank was recommended to him when he spoke with John Kersey, executive vice president of Zilber Ltd., the Milwaukee real estate development firm that owns the Riverside Theater, about a new banking relationship.
“What we tried to do here is marry two very, very community-minded, Milwaukee-centric groups together, and I’m pleased to see this has gone this far,” Kersey said.
Witt said his company’s theaters attract people to downtown Milwaukee, which has been undergoing a wave of construction and renovation.
“On an average, over 25 percent of our customers come from the northwest suburbs of Chicago, so on a daily basis we’re inviting people to come downtown and experience Milwaukee,” Witt said.
The Pabst and Riverside theater box offices have been redesigned to be sleeker and include exterior digital display screens, new counter tops, new light boxes and updated signage.
The core venues of The Pabst Theater Group, which books more than 650 events a year in and around Milwaukee, are the Pabst Theater, Riverside Theater, Turner Hall Ballroom and The Back Room @ Colectivo, in partnership with Colectivo Coffee.
Earlier this year, Hartland-based Town Bank announced plans to establish a downtown Milwaukee headquarters office for commercial banking at 731 N. Jackson St. In addition, Town Bank has been opening branches in Milwaukee.
The parent company of Town Bank is Rosemont, Ill.-based Wintrust Financial Corp.