It’s 1905 and Banks Are Afraid of Advertising
“A bank running advertising? That’s absurd!”
As ridiculous as it may sound, there was indeed a time when banks were afraid of advertising. This article from 1905 suggests banks were actually prohibited from advertising. It was against their “code of ethics,” or something like that. It seems hard to believe, doesn’t it?
The article reported that banks who advertised grew deposits by 22% while those that didn’t lost 7%. Why did the newspaper run a story about this? Because advertising was new and unfamiliar — especially for savings accounts — and this was news. People — especially banks — looked at advertising with skepticism, uncertainty and even fear.
Sound familiar? Sound like anything banks are wrestling with today?
(Hint: social media, blogs, Twitter, etc.)
How long did it take before advertising was accepted as a normal part of doing business? These days, you can expect new technologies and new media to be adopted in a fraction of that time.
Key Takeaway: All ideas are scary…at first. But new ideas take hold fast, and that can leave many behind.
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SO true! its takes a lot to convince staff that a blog is a great new way to communicate with customers and potential customer alike! I am going to share this post with my staff to show them that one day our social media tool will become 2nd nature just like our TVC and press advertising is today,
Hi Cas!
Everyone, meet Cas. She’s from a credit union in Australia.
Hi Cas! – That is a brilliant idea. I will also print it out to get the point accross about “new media”. I am also having the same issue, except its within my own company. Not good….
@Jeffry This is fantastic; thank you for sharing this with us.
But there’s one aspect you forgot to mention…. the newspaper had a vested interest in gaining more advertising; that’s how it makes money, naturally. We all know how numbers can be manipulated… note how there is no citation for the source of these amazing results. I mean, c’mon, did anybody really think, even in 1905, that “if advertising can increase the earnings of a bank and and conserve the earnings of the public, it is capable of performing still unheard-of feats in other directions”?
As precious as this is, the smacks of pure self-serving aggrandizement. After all, if banks can make money with advertising, surely your business can?
Morriss, I know what you’re saying — that the media can’t objectively report about advertising because their lives depend on it. The article may be self-serving, but it doesn’t change the fact that banks were once afraid of advertising, and so much so that this author felt compelled to write a piece trying to convince them. Even though the article doesn’t cut it by today’s journalistic standards, it nevertheless illustrates a milieu that is still relevant to financial institutions today.
Wow Morriss…aggrandizement is quite the word!
I also see what your saying about advertising being part of the papers self-interest. The same could be said of Google, or really any online company that relies on click-through for revenue. Who’s to say Facebook isn’t manipulating their numbers a bit to get more people to advertise on Facebook? Its all the same, but it doesn’t change the fact that there is real potential in those avenues.
Never listen to your own hype.