Succession planning and finding employees were other common concerns, and bankers in a few states mentioned population decline in some rural areas as a significant issue driving the consolidation trend. The Five Questions interviews provide a wealth of anecdotes about industry trends, and I would encourage researchers to consider utilizing the detailed interview approach in exploring the causes and effects of community bank consolidation.
The research also found that the message had a particularly strong impact on men, with awareness among males increasing nearly six times and the number of males taking action increasing by 114 percent. A separate study was conducted by the University of Wisconsin to gauge the impact of the National Crime Prevention Council's anti-crime campaign.