BofA Targets College Crowd With ‘Morris On Campus’
Bank of America’s Morris on Campus,™ Life According to an Upperclassman™ is designed to “educate and empower students to take control of their finances and bank with confidence in this new academic year,” the bank says.
Unlike other Gen-Y online promotions, “Morris” is not the product of a “spokester contest,” but is instead a 23-year old actor from Teaneck, New Jersey, the bank hired for the promotion. You can view his MySpace profile here, where he goes by the pseudonym “Lo Profile.”
The campaign includes a microsite embedded within the B of A mastersite. The microsite includes a series of 7-8 video webisodes, some tips, tools and a glossary. Here are the highlights:
College Tips
13 financial tips (although #2 and #13 are the same)
7 dorm room tips (although #1 and #7 are the same)
9 food tips
7 class tips
5 random tips
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“Be Money on Campus” Contest
There’s a contest to submit your own tips too, but you have to be 18-25 years of age and going to college. Five finalists will be selected by B of A late next month. Each finalist will receive $5,000, then compete for an additional $25,000.
The finalists will have 14 days to use social media tools — including video, PowerPoint, third-party endorsements and a mandatory essay of 500 words (or less) — to argue why their tip is the most helpful and relevant their peers.
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Student Financial Handbook
A 65-page guide to basic financial services. Chapters include budgeting, checking, savings, investing, online banking, bank fees, credit cards, identity theft, a quiz and a glossary that’s 10 times better than the one at the On Campus website.
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Student Package
Includes CampusEdge Checking, with a check card, online banking and a Stuff Happens card that gives you a one-time bank fee refund, no matter what.
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B of A will also be taking its On Campus promotion on tour, with stops at colleges and universities across the country in coming weeks.
This is at least the third high-profile social media initiative from Bank of America this year. In April, B of A launched an online competition to support its Olympics’ sponsorship called America’s Cheer. And in June, B of A introduced Mo Rocca on Banking. (Note: there are blimps in both the Mo Rocca promotion and the Morris campaign. What’s up with that?)
You can read B of A’s press release about Morris on Campus here.
This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.
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I’d advise college students to research their choice of bank carefully.
Thieves targeted my Bank of America account. On seven separate occasions, Bank of America’s TELLERS gave away a total of $12,000 from my checking and savings account to thieves…thieves armed only with a fake driver’s license in my name with the wrong expiration date. This happened out of state and in a remote area in my state where I have never been and probably never will go. Totally off pattern for me. No bank card was required. No PIN was required. The signature was not verified to be mine.
If this happened once, I’d say, teller error. Twice? Maybe the second teller had a fight with her boyfriend. But SEVEN TIMES? With only a fake driver’s license in my name with the wrong expiration date?
Bank of America should be making a little bit more than a P.R. effort, don’t you think?
SEVEN times? Well, in fairness to BofA (and in jest!), I would say seven times DOES make a pattern.