Say why you ‘Intentionally Left Bank,’ get a t-shirt
Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union’s “Intentionally Left Bank” campaign (see previous story by The Financial Brand here), is now moving into its second phase. The Washington-based financial institution is asking consumers to share their stories about why they’ve chosen a credit union over a large corporate bank.
When the comment is posted to the credit union’s website, www.7principles.coop, the person receives a free “Intentionally Left Bank” t-shirt in the mail (while supplies last).
The credit union ordered around 500 shirts total. One week into the promotion and the credit union has mailed out about 250 so far. Each shirt cost approximately $6.00 to produce and $2.50 for postage and packaging).
“They’re a little more expensive than traditional swag, but far more rewarding than beach balls and pens,” noted Jill Vicente, CMO/Seattle Metropolitan.
Key Insight: The t-shirt itself is remarkably unbranded. It probably took some restraint to resist slapping the Seattle Metropolitan logo on the front, but the way the shirt was executed, it’s sure to trigger more double-takes and spark word-of-mouth conversations — more so than if a logo had been conspicuously placed.
The credit union received over 150 comments within 24 hours of launching the online promotion.
Seattle Metropolitan says it is hoping that dissatisfied bank customers will take their business to locally owned and operated credit unions.
“The public obviously feels very strongly about what is going on in the banking industry at their expense,” Seattle Metro’s Vicente said. “‘The Intentionally Left Bank’ campaign echoes the frustration of people in our community.”
Many of the comments talk about impersonal customer service, difficulty obtaining loans, high fees, and problems related to awkward corporate re-branding.
One Seattle Metropolitan member, Luke M. wrote, “I left my bank because it (Washington Mutual) had such a role in the whole subprime mortgage catastrophe. The bank went bust, the CEOs made millions, employees lost their retirement funds, and people all over the country lost their homes.”
Key Insight: You have to offer people something of value in exchange for meaningful contributions to your social media efforts. All too many financial institutions think people will simply rush in to help them “build a community,” but “What’s In It For ME???” If Seattle Metro had naively assumed people would just voluntarily flock to their website to rant about banks with nothing in return, the credit union would have been waiting a long time before it saw 150 quality submissions.
Seattle Metropolitan is advertising itself as Seattle’s local, not-for-profit alternative to large, corporate banks. Last fall, the credit union handed out $10 free to 182 people with no other condition than to “pay it forward.”
BANNER AD
PILES OF T-SHIRTS READY TO GO OUT IN THE MAIL
THE SEATTLE METRO TEAM
Jill Vicente, who is quoted in this article, is hiding in the back (under the “4834″ sign).
Previous related stories from The Financial Brand:
- Giveaway $10, get big PR splash
- Pay It Forward: The Ripple Effect
- Anniversary promo nets $5 million in new deposits
- United FCU asks Gen-Y to rant, vent and complain
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Tags: Seattle Metropolitan
Filed Under: Marketing, Social Media
August 18th, 2009 at 10:22 am
“awkward corporate re-branding” haha
August 18th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
We are doing something similar with our microsite. When someone subscribes to the website, we email them a coupon redeemable for a free T-shirt. All they need to do is come to a branch to get their T-shirt. This helps eliminate the expense of mailing and drives traffic to the branch, which can result in cross-sell opportunities for the frontline staff. By subscribing, they are also entered to win a $50 gas card. Our subscriber rate has really taken off since rolling out this offer.
August 18th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Great ideas David. I like the idea of picking up the t-shirt at branches. Every branch visit is an opportunity to spark a conversation. You are also illustrating — with two separate giveaways — the key insight made in the article: the quality of participation you get is greatly affected by what you give in return.
Thanks so much for sharing. I’m sorry I didn’t catch all that in the initial write-up of getazmoving.org.
Do people have to pick up the gas cards at branches?
August 19th, 2009 at 3:04 am
I loved the T-shirt idea. I think the “intentionally left blank” can itself become recognizable and automatically associated with the credit union just like a logo or a colour
September 5th, 2009 at 6:45 am
I agree with shalini. The “intentionally left bank” phrase is very clever and distinctive.
March 5th, 2010 at 7:45 pm
[...] Here is a great write-up from Jeffry Pilcher of the Financial Brand. [...]