The fairfees.ca microsite has a petition signed by as many as 6,000 Canadians.

ING Direct is trying to ignite a populist revolution in Canada over big bank fees. The project, built around a microsite at www.fairfees.ca, is something the online bank describes as “an active and growing community dedicated to challenging and improving the fairness of Canadian bank fees and service charges.”

“Together we have the power to change things for the betterment of Canadian savers,” the microsite says.

ING Direct’s microsite has three primary sections: Listen, Speak Up and Act. In the “Speak Up” section, there’s a petition that you can sign. It has apparently been signed by over 6,000 Canadians.

ING Direct is keen to point out that its “Fair Fees” initiative is “not a sales pitch, it’s a knowledge pitch.” However, there is a subtle marketing message sprinkled here and there; ING Direct wants “Canadians to know they have a choice” when it comes to banking.

This is the second time this year a financial institution has launched a major campaign targeting bank fees in Canada. Three weeks ago, The Financial Brand wrote about Coast Capital Savings tongue-in-cheek “I Love Fees” promotion which had a similar populist take on big bank fees.

“The national banking fees system seems ripe for a takedown. But such a takedown won’t come from one bank launching noisy, imprecise volleys against other banks.”
– Matt Shepherd, Writer

This isn’t the first campaign from ING Direct with shades of a revolutionary political campaign. Last year, the online bank created its “We The Savers” manifesto and microsite.

Key Questions:

• Should a populist revolution have a corporate sponsor?
• As writer Matt Shepherd wondered, is this a “paper-tiger diversion that lets people feel like they’re taking action but has no real effect,” ?

“Listen”
Peter Aceto, self-described “fee crusader” and CEO/ING Direct Canada, delivers this speech in a video.

“Speak Up”
Tell ING Direct how you feel about bank fees, then view the “FEElings” of others.
(Note the Facebook, Twitter and YouTube icons at the bottom-right of the window.)

Full Page Ad
The campaign was launched in mid-May with this ad (click to enlarge)
in newspapers like La Presse, The Globe and Mail and the National Post.

ING Direct Canada has at least four different accounts on Twitter. There’s the Superstar Saver stream, plus two accounts for the Fair Fees project (one in English and another in French). ING Direct Canada’s Aceto has over 1,500 followers on Twitter.

ING Direct Canada has its own YouTube account where you can watch the inaugural video for the “Fair Fees” initiative.

How does $35 million in deposits and 800 new members sound? That’s what Advantis Credit Union just did… in two days.

A recent grand opening sales event helped fuel one of the best first quarters ever for Advantis, with membership swelling by more than 4,000 in just the first three months of 2009 — impressive results for a credit union with $700 million in assets and around 40,000 members.

Most financial institutions usually have fairly limp grand openings — tea and cookies with the mayor and maybe a few giveaways. Not Advantis. Together with their ad agency partner Weber Marketing Group, Advantis took the grand opening of it new Orenco Station branch — the credit union’s sixth — very seriously. The campaign’s major components included:

• Offers — 5% 11-month CD up to $50,000, 2% cash back on auto loans and Fusion Checking, a “rewards checking account” that paid 4% (currently 3.5%).
• Major Sweepstakes — Trip to Hawaii.
• Two Day Event — Friday 9-6 and Saturday 10-2. Free food, drinks and “thousands of dollars in instant prize giveaways.”
• Newspaper Ads
• Direct Mail - Targeted to members and non-members. Included “match-and-win” instant prize numbers to help fuel traffic back to the branch.
• Radio Broadcasts — Live from the event to help drive traffic.
• Coordinated Staff/Planning

And here’s the campaign’s scorecard:

• $35 million in new deposits
• 804 new members
• 1,125 visitors attended the two-day event
• 579 11-month promo CDs
• 409 savings accounts with a $694 average balance
• 25% increase in loan volume

This isn’t the first grand opening sales event Weber Marketing Group has produced. They’ve been perfecting their strategy for the better part of a decade. Weber Marketing says branch traffic at these grand openings is phenomenal. Thousands of people show up, and some credit unions have had to hire off-duty policemen to direct traffic on the streets and in the parking lot.

Despite staffing the event with around 20 employees. Advantis didn’t have enough time to get accounts opened for everyone interested in the CD offer. “They had to hand out rain checks and scheduled appointments out for five straight weeks out,” Ruth Kapcia, Advantis Account Manager at Weber Marketing told The Financial Brand.

Location, location, location

“It takes most new branches over 3 years to attain results of this magnitude.”
– Ruth Kapcia
Advantis Account Manager
Weber Marketing

A huge factor in this branch’s success is its location. No matter how good your offers are, you won’t get the big numbers if you have the branch in the wrong spot.

Reality Check: Most credit unions don’t use much more than gut instinct when picking future branch locations.

Many financial institutions think they know where their next branch should go: “Right here, at this busy intersection.” Some credit unions have even used member polls to ask, “Where should we locate our next branch?”

Advantis didn’t use their intuition or rely on their knowledge of the market when locating its latest branch. They partnered with the financial facilities experts at Momentum, who deployed highly sophisticated software that maps out ideal potential locations based on traffic patterns/volumes, proximity to retail centers, density of existing financial providers, residential growth/decline, retail growth/decline, home prices, median income, ratio of owners/renters, etc. It’s called geodemography.

This kind of plan is usually good for around five years out, and can map out where you should put your next X-number of branches. It also looks at your existing branch network to see which ones might need to relocate or close. Sometimes, a branch only needs to be relocated as little as a 1/4-mile down the road to improve its performance 4-5 fold, which more than compensates for the cost of relocating it.

Momentum also performed an extensive breakeven projection for the brand eight months earlier. “Our process, developed with our partner CEO Advisory Group, creates an ‘eyes-wide-open’ benchmark for management,” Jim Haack, President/Momentum, told The Financial Brand. “We utilize up-to-date market data, demand-side assumptions and expense projections that include both capital investment and operating expenses to yield our performance projections”

“The results at Orenco relative to projections were outstanding, exceeding the first year’s goal during the event,” Haack said.

Bottom Line: The average branch doesn’t usually reach breakeven until around its fifth year, no sooner than the third. By picking the right location and using a robust grand opening sales event, Advantis’s Orenco Station branch will reach profitability 1-3 years sooner. $35 million in deposits for one branch and 10% member growth in one quarter is phenomenal by any measure.

Direct Mail Piece
The front of the DM piece (when folded) is shown above.
The inside of the DM piece is shown below.

Two-Color Print Ad

Weber Marketing Group worked closely with the financial facilities firm
Momentum to create a new, branded branch prototype for Advantis including branch
architecture, interior design and merchandising.

“You could win $1 for every friend you have on Facebook.”

That’s the hook in the latest promo from TD Canada Trust. The bank is using a daily giveaway tied to Facebook in an effort to draw attention to its new automatic savings product, the Simply Save program.

The Giveaway

If you’re a Canadian citizen, you can enter the Facebook contest by visiting the campaign’s special microsite, dollarforeveryfriend.ca. The winner of the daily draw wins $1 for each of their Facebook friends (up to $200). The bank will be picking one winner every day for the next 58 days.

TD Canada is using a classic promotional strategy. As with all giveaways, people can get one entry without condition. But TD Canada is rewarding customers who take specific actions with additional entries, thereby increasing their odds of winning.

The strategy — in theory — is both smart and effective. However, some of the things TD Canada is asking contestants to do to get extra entries could be considered questionable. For instance, TD Canada will give an additional entry to those who share the following on either Facebook o Twitter:

“I could win $1 for each friend I have on Facebook, with help from
TD Canada Trust. You could win too at http://dollarforeveryfriend.ca”

Some people might not be comfortable junking up people’s Facebook walls and Twitter timelines with a bank promotion.

Five extra entries for watching a demo video. Two for trying the online calculator.
And one a piece for shilling on Twitter and Facebook.

Even though TD Canada’s promotion asks people to send ads to their friends and family, it is still more considerate of people’s Facebook friends than the stunt pulled by Burger King recently. Burger King would give anyone a free burger if they “unfriended” 10 people on Facebook.

The ‘Simply Save’ Product

The Simply Save program is intriguing, and looks well-thought out. Simply Save transfers a pre-specified amount of money from the customer’s checking (or chequing, in Canada) account to a savings account when they use their TD Canada Trust Access Card.

It’s similar to Wachovia’s Way2Save product where $1 is automatically transferred to a savings account after every swipe, except TD Canada lets customers choose the amount that will be transferred — any amount from 50¢ to $5.

Customers can also choose what kind of transactions trigger a transfer: debit purchases, ATM withdrawals (or ABM, in Canada), or both kinds of transactions.

One nice feature: There’s no need to worry about overdrafts. TD Canada won’t make a Simply Save transfer if there isn’t enough money in a customer’s checking account to cover it.

Promotional Sweetener: Customers who sign up before July 24th will get a bonus. TD Canada will match $10 for every $100 each customer saves using the Simply Save program.

To help customers figure it all out, the bank has an online calculator that estimates how much you could be saving with the Simply Save program. If you give the calculator a whirl, TD Canada will give you two extra entries into its daily Facebook giveaway.

The dollarforeveryfriend.ca microsite includes a multi-chapter demo video about Simply Save.
All the different chapters create a lot of starts-and-stops, but if you get through it,
TD Canada will give you five more chance to win the daily draw.

Anyone with a dry sense of humor will love the “I Love Fees” campaign from Coast Capital Savings up in British Columbia. The tongue-in-cheek promotion makes fun of Canada’s big five banks for charging billions in fees every year.

The campaign mocks a genre of ads that feature cheesy, cliché, slice-of-life moments. You know the ones — chock full of feel-good testimonials that are all nauseatingly contrived. The overall tone is wry, sardonic and dripping with sarcasm. And it’s all terribly funny. The truth always serves as the best source of humor.

The campaign includes TV commercials, print ads, out-of-home advertising and a microsite (all shown below). The microsite features videos, a simple calculator and even a store where you can buy cheeky “I Love Fees” schwag.

The Financial Brand wrote earlier about this campaign when it kicked off with a giant, 8×10 foot greeting card to banks “thanking” them for the billions in fees they charge to Canadians every year.

What makes this a particularly smart strategy is how Coast Capital is laying claim to the “fee” issue in Canada. They are trying to “own” the subject of “fees” by pushing a competitive advantage and promoting their “Free Chequing, Free Debit and More” account. They are aligning themselves with a critical consumer issue, and taking a stand for one thing: fees. It’s smart marketing… and good branding.

An interesting question concerning social media ethics

One component of the promotion raises an interesting ethical question, one that many online marketers have certainly wrestled with before. At the campaign’s microsite, members of the public are encouraged to upload their own videos explaining why they (sarcastically) “love fees.” Of the 20 videos uploaded, more than half come from employees of Coast Capital’s ad agency, Rethink Communications. Here are three examples (sorry, you have to go to the microsite to see the actual videos):

Testimonial Videos by Rethink Employees
These are three Rethink Communications employees who uploaded submissions.
The black-and-white action figures come from Rethink’s company website.

Rethink invited any of its 60+ employees to consider uploading a submission to the “I Love Fees” site. Around a dozen employees grabbed their cameras and went to work. The agency didn’t script or professionally produce any of the videos. There was no bigtime copywriter or film crew helping these folks out behind the scenes.

According to Rethink, the employee submissions reflect the genuine feelings and creativity of each individual, and no one was pressured into participating.

“These are people who voluntarily chose to express themselves,” Ailsa Brown, Coast Capital’s Account Director at Rethink told The Financial Brand. “They are consumers of financial services like the rest of us. They’re upset about all the fees charged by Canada’s big banks, and they felt like this was a fun, lighthearted way to voice their opinions.”

It’s understandable why an agency/client would want to “seed” their microsite with a few pre-populated videos. The motives are pretty obvious. No one wants to have an online marketing campaign that looks bare and “uncool” when it’s launched. And providing a few sample videos can be helpful and instructive for those considering uploading something of their own [video, picture, essay, whatever].

The hitch is that Coast Capital doesn’t disclose the relationship between their credit union and the people offering their tongue-in-cheek “testimonials.” There are some social media purists who would argue that this violates core principles of the Web 2.0 world — namely “authenticity” and “transparency.”

Rethink’s Brown said neither the agency or Coast Capital had any reservations about using agency personnel to jump start the microsite’s video library. Rethink says there was no cause for concern because the employee submissions were voluntary, unscripted and reflected the perspectives of real financial consumers.

What do you think? Is this okay? Or does it cross the vague and oft-unwritten ethical boundaries of online/social media marketing? Take the poll, and/or share your point of view in the comments below.

Note About the Poll: You can select all the options that reflect your point of view.

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“I Love Fees” Store

Print Advertising

“Eyes Wide Open”
SCRIPT - Woman #1: “Banking fees are like nice little surprises on every statement. And who doesn’t like surprises.” Woman #2 “I get a lot for my banking fees. Like deposit envelopes.” Woman #3: “The banking fees are here!” Mom: “Fees are great. Because when I buy something, I want to pay full price, plus a little bit more.” Son: “I want to pay fees too.” Coast Capital Teller: “Nobody really likes fees. So stop paying them. With The Free Chequing, Free Debit and More account. Only at Coast Capital Savings.”

“Whistling Kisses”
SCRIPT - Woman: “Yeah, I’m okay with banking fees. I mean, you tip your waiter. Why not tip your bank?” Man: “Fees are like paying rent on my own money. I like that.” Wife: “We love fees.” Husband: “They’re a constant reminder that we have less money than we think.” Retiree: “Finding all those bank fees on my statement keeps my mind active. And at my age, that’s important.” Coast Capital Teller: “Nobody really likes fees. So stop paying them. With The Free Chequing, Free and More account. Only at Coast Capital Savings.”

Out-of-Home Advertising

[Editor's Note: This is a follow-up piece to yesterday's article from Freddy J. Nager, "The post-WaMu blues: Chase has lost ‘that lovin' feeling." Chase just recently completed remodeling WaMu's branches which has triggered an outpouring of emotion from former WaMu customers and employees. This will likely be the last story about WaMu here at The Financial Brand.]

The Financial Brand hopped on Twitter to see what people were saying now that the WaMu brand has almost been fully devoured by Chase. If you don’t yet “get” Twitter, don’t worry. You’ll get a sense of why it’s important after reading this, even without any prior experience with the popular social networking tool. Here are selected excerpts from a day-long scan of tweets mentioning “WaMu” (the bank, not the radio stations with the same call letters), which included about 30 in all:

WaMu is becoming Chase. I am becoming annoyed.

@KiltedDad (Seattle, WA)

In case u didn’t know, WaMu sucks now!!!

@dubyabejay (Seattle, WA)

my local wamu is now a chase bank. boo!
I liked the wamu brand

@bensonlee (National City, CA)

WAMU now Chase - you really screwed up. As a small business owner you really screwed us. Customer lost.

@enjaysauce

Looking to switch banks. I loved Wamu dearly,
but Chase is not cutting it for me!

@kgandstuff (New Jersey)

The Chase makeover of the Seattle WAMU branch is fugly. Time to switch banks.

@evermeire (Seattle, WA)

WAMU/Chase just lost a customer today. I loved the customer service at WAMU. So sad that it went away with the name.

@PlumCrazyRE (Duvall, WA)

You don’t have to know how Twitter works at all to find such an outpouring of emotion over the loss of a financial brand fascinating. These are people who took time out of their day to share their feelings with their friends (called “Followers” in Twitter)… about a bank. And these aren’t whacked out nut jobs, or digruntled Gen-Y types with nothing better to do. These are regular people.

Key Question: Would people mourn the loss of your brand if it went away? Would anyone pen a eulogy in song for your brand? Has any common consumer ever voluntarily mentioned your name and the word “brand” in the same sentence?

You’ll notice that four of the seven tweets above come from people in the Seattle area. If you are in sales or marketing with a financial institution in Western Washington, wouldn’t you be interested in reaching out to these people?

@coachandrew Have you ever considered switching to
[your bank]? We’d love to have your business. Send me
a message and I’ll give you a call.

Think about it. Four people a day, 365 days a year. That’s over 1,400 qualified leads a year. And we’re only talking about monitoring Twitter for conversations referencing one financial institution. Here’s the key thing: These people are at that critical moment when inertia in their financial relationships is weakest.

Using the advanced features at search.twitter.com, you can perform super robust scans of Twitter conversations. You can look for people who are talking about “banks,” “fees,” “switching,” “WaMu,” “Chase,” “BofA,” “Wells Fargo,” or any number of your competitors. You can limit your search to a targeted geographic area. You can even search for people who have a negative attitude. And the best part is, you can automate your Twitter searches, like this RSS feed that will give you almost-realtime updates for people mentioning “WaMu” within 100 miles of Seattle.

What makes this particularly interesting is that Chase has an active Twitter account. They use it around three times a week. But they don’t talk to- or acknowledge anyone. Why aren’t they in Twitter playing a little defense, responding to people’s questions and concerns?

Compare these tweets for Chase (shown left) and Bank of America (shown right). Again, you don’t have to know squat about Twitter or how it works to tell who is using the medium more effectively.

Chase vs. BofA on Twitter
Notice @chasebank only publishes a one-way, self-serving stream of tweets,
while @BofA_help is actively engaging other Twitter users with “@ Replies”
(a way to respond to a specific person directly in Twitter). Also, notice the highlighted
tweet in Chase’s Twitter stream making the announcement that “Chase is now in California.”

[Editor's Note: Look for an upcoming report on Twitter from Jeffry Pilcher, publisher of The Financial Brand. The report, titled "A Comprehensive Guide to Twitter for Financial Professionals," will be available for purchase through Online Financial Innovations, publishers of the Online Banking Report and Netbanker.com. Send an email if you have any questions or would like to reserve your copy today.]

Columbia Credit Union is just about as green as financial institutions get. They have green business practices, an E-Go Green Auto Loan, a Living Green Mortgage and they have tips for greener living on their website. They even gave away a Mercedes Smart Car last year. So the decision to go green with branches was an easy one for this eco-conscious credit union.

Originally designed to the goal of LEED Silver, Columbia’s first green branch project ultimately attained the higher level LEED Gold certification, making it the first financial institution in Washington state certified at the Gold level.

To meet strict LEED standards, 75% of construction waste must be diverted from landfills. Builders must carefully separate scrap metal, wood and concrete for transport to certified recyclers in the nearby area. Construction sites must also be contained to protect drainage systems from soil runoff. Builders and subcontractors have to review material lists to ensure supplies contain the right percentage of post-consumer recycled content. For example, the recycled metals that makes up the siding on the Washougal branch may have come from recycled soda cans or automobiles.

For the new green branch prototype, Columbia tapped EHS Design and Weber Marketing Group. (Weber Marketing has its own LEED Gold certified headquarters in Seattle.)

The architects and interior designers at EHS Design developed a new green prototype branch prototype that leverages several abundant local resources — harvesting rainfall, maximizing natural daylight, and interacting with the temperate climate through auto-sensor controls and operable windows.

Weber Marketing created an “Eco-Tour” of the branch’s green features, where members can read about Columbia’s environmentally-friendly ways at different “stops” throughout the space (see the list of descriptions at the bottom of this article).

Weber Marketing’s financial merchandising team designed features that relied on sustainable hardware, green inks and completely recycled materials. Use of laminates and adhesives was minimized to reduce the impact on the environment. Some displays were made by applying water-based coatings directly to recycled substrates, thus avoiding harmful inks and pulp-based papers.

Columbia COO Steve Kenny says, “We’ve created a healthy environment for our members, a productive atmosphere for staff, and invested in a sustainable future that benefits everyone.”

Columbia expects its green branches will save up to 50% in energy costs along with 13,500 gallons of water every year.

The Washougal branch is just the first of multiple branches to come. Columbia has already completed its second LEED-certified branch.

Here’s an excellent 2-minute video detailing Columbia’s green branch prototype.

“Iconic Pyramid Skylight”
A skylight lets in natural sunlight, reducing the need for interior lighting.  It’s always a good idea to have signature architectural elements incorporated into the design of your branch exteriors.

“Porous concrete”
Porous concrete in the parking lot aids proper drainage of the site prevents runoff from contaminating local bodies of water.

“Rainwater recycling”
A cistern harvests rainwater for landscape irrigation and non-potable plumbing indoor use. This reduces the need for public water and lowers monthly water bills.

“Native plants and local materials”
Native landscaping requires less frequent irrigation and fertilization. Stonework came from local quarries, requiring less energy to get to the construction site.

“The right stuff”
All wood was certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, ensuring it was harvested in a way that protects the environment. FSC-certified lumber is used throughout the building.

“Fresh air”
Vented windows provide natural ventilation, reducing the need for air conditioning and the amount of energy used during warmer days.

“A bright idea”
Auto-dimming lights cut electricity use. Dimmers and compact fluorescent lighting (CFLs) drastically reduce the need for electricity. Columbia also purchases 100% of its energy from the local public utility’s‘Green Lights’ program, which supports the development of renewable energy.

“Breathe easy”
Ensuring excellent indoor air quality is a key component of LEED certification. Paint, flooring and other finishes and materials should emit no- or low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can irritate the eyes and respiratory system.

“Recycled and sustainable furniture”
A table in the waiting area was made of lumber salvaged from urban parks and neighborhoods. Lounge chairs feature 100% post-industrial recycled fabric. Guest chairs were made from recycled seat belts. The staff’s furniture system is up to 69% recyclable at the end of its useful life. Most of the furniture was certified by Greenguard, ensuring high standards for indoor air quality.

“Corn cubes”
The fabric on workstation panels comes from 100% renewable, corn-based fiber, making the fabric completely biodegradable. It’s naturally stain resistant, and it doesn’t hold odors. When finished with it, the fabric can be completely composted in just three days.

“Sustainable casework”
Casework features Kirei board made from the leftover stalks of Sorghum plants, a food crop grown around the world. Other parts of the casework were made from wood industry waste and recycled wood fibers.

A new, free web-tool from ING, INGCompareMe.com, uses peer data to let people see where they stand on a wide range financial matters including savings, spending, investing, debt and planning. (See screenshots below.)

When you’re done answering questions, you can ask ING to generate a PDF report with your results (shown right). If you answer all the questions, your report will be about 10 pages, including graphs showing how you compare. You can see a sample report here.

ING’s CompareMe was initially populated with data from a survey conducted by ING. The survey polled over 5,000 adults who participated in workplace retirement savings plans. These individuals were asked more than 150 questions on various financial matters. The goal was to identify characteristics that might affect personal savings behavior, and find patterns about why some do better or worse than their peers.

The CompareMe tool should become more powerful over time as more visitors have their information incorporated into the database. ING will remove older data so that user comparisons remain current.

Some people have suggested a more accurate way for consumers to do peer-to-peer comparisons is to use Mint, because Mint compares data only from real users. However, one would have to have to sign-up and enter their data into Mint in order to make the comparisons worthwhile. ING’s tool is accessible to anyone anonymously at any time.

ING also created a special Twitter account dedicated to the CompareMe tool (although the background image in the account profile includes a confusing, non-functioning echo of the Twitter interface).

Besides just merely satisfying one’s curiosity, the tool does offer users a chance to take action. If someone wants to ask a question or simply discuss their unique circumstances, they can call or e-mail ING specialists.

“Ultimately, we want to help more Americans save for their retirement,” said Richard Mason, president of corporate markets for ING U.S. Retirement Services. “If visitors are encouraged to do that through this tool, then we’re getting them one step closer to their goals.”

The CompareMe homepage.

Users who log onto INGCompareMe.com create a profile by entering some simple background
information, along with optional details, such as their hobbies and interests. No names, email
addresses or identification is requested, so the process is completely anonymous.

“Approximately how much do you think you will need for retirement?”
One of the many questions you can use to compare yourself with others.

A casual lunch turns into a massive overhaul

“The single biggest thing to happen to us this year has been the rebranding of our kids savings account.”
– Roger Sundermeier,
FAB&T VP/Marketing

One winter day a few months ago, Roger Sundermeier, VP/Marketing Officer for FAB&T, was having lunch with some of his coworkers. The group was discussing things they wish they had time to do differently around the bank when the subject of the kids account came up.

For years, FAB&T’s kids’ savings account had been the “First Bucks Savings Account.” This account had a huge dollar bill (named “Buck”) for a mascot. The idea was that every time a child made a deposit, they would receive some trinket — pencil, crayons, activity sheet, etc. The problem was that branches would run out of items to give to kids, or the kids would wind up receiving the same item over and over again. How many times can getting a pencil be fun, right?

Over lunch, Sundermeier, along with FAB&T employees Larry Daniel, SVP/Director of Retail Banking, Staci Bock, and Sarah Pike, did some quick brainstorming. They soon realized they had a new financial superhero to replace FAB&T’s “Buck.” They wanted a dog. After all, dogs personify many of the bank’s values: loyalty, compassion, trust.

Cash in, Buck out

FAB&T set out for the local animal shelter to find their new spokesdog. They found a yellow lab/retriever mix that was a little more than a year old. It appeared that she had been hit by a car as she favored her back left leg. “Just spending a few minutes with her, we knew that she was the one,” Sundermeier told The Financial Brand.

When FAB&T adopted “Sheila” (now named “Cash”), the bank made a
special announcement in the media to draw attention to overcrowding in
animal shelters, especially during these difficult economic times.

“We were immediately blown away by the response to our teaser campaign.”
– Roger Sundermeier,
FAB&T VP/Marketing

The bank launched a teaser campaign, both internally and externally. “It was hilarious to listen to people trying to figure out what Cash was all about,” Sundermeier said chuckling.

“The plan was to take ‘Cash’ into schools, nursing homes and community events,” Sundermeier said. “She would reinforce the FAB&T message, as well as be a great icon for our brand.”

FAB&T partnered with the Build-A-Bear Workshop for a Valentine’s Day promotion called “Give Cash 2 the 1 U Love.” FAB&T sold plush lab dogs from Build-A-Bear Workshop — with branded FAB&T t shirts, of course — in branches. The net proceeds from the promotion were then be donated to local animal shelters. After a week of sales, FAB&T had over 240 dogs, with over $2000 dollars being donated to local shelters.

FAB&T isn’t the only financial institution to realize the iconic power of spokesdogs. Late last year, The Financial Brand wrote about USA Fed’s scrappy brand bulldog, Spike.

Cash & Crew

FAB&T has expanded the idea into a fully-blown kids marketing campaign, including a new kids savings account built around Cash and “The Crew.”

“The Crew”
Farley the Pug, Austin the Husky, Barksley the Westie, Andy the Chihuahua and
Tiffany the pink Poodle. Combined, the initials of each dog’s name spell FAB&T.

When kids open an account, they receive a plush Cash dog and a card that is stamped at each subsequent deposit. After the appropriate number of deposits, their card can be redeemed for an item. The first card is redeemable for a plush carrier tote (in either denim or pink crown). They then receive the next card in the set, and so on.

“The hope is to create a ‘Happy Meal’ type of excitement,” Sundermeier said. “Where the kids hound parents and grandparents to go to the bank.”

Cash also sends out birthday cards to kids.
FAB&T has a custom paw print stamp for Cash’s “signature.”

Taking it to the next level

FAB&T has gone so far as to organize its Customer Appreciation Events at branches around dogs. The first one, which was called “Dog Daze” was held in March at the bank’s Austin, Arkansas branch.

There was grilled hot dogs, complimentary pet grooming and pet photography. PETCO set up a tent. Radio Disney was broadcasting live. And, of course, FAB&T had mobile adoption set-up for four separate local animal shelters.

“Never would we have thought it possible that a little community-style bank with 28 branches in Arkansas would have the ability to partner with national brands such as these,” Sundermeier said.

There was a nice bonus from having a pet photographer. All the photos came back to the Austin branch, giving employees (1) a chance to call customer’s, and (2) a chance to cross-sell them once they came into the branch.

“The event exceeded even our wildest imagination!” Sundermeier exclaimed. “The police in the town had to block off streets and direct traffic because of the response!”

FAB&T plans on doing four or five more similar events this year throughout its markets.

“Our employees are excited, our customers are excited,” Sundermeier beamed. “Life is good at FAB&T!”

Tip of the Hat: To Roger Sundermeier, for his time and cooperation on this article, and to FAB&T for doing good by dogs in animal shelters. [Editor's note: I have seven dogs, three from shelters.]

On Wednesday, April 15, United FCU will be launched a new campaign targeting the much-coveted Gen-Y crowd. The project, dubbed “Matter,” invites those between the ages of 18 and 30 to rant, complain and express their feelings about financial matters.

The campaign aims to position United FCU as being an alternative banking experience. The credit union says its primary goal is “to create an opportunity for interactive dialogue with Gen-Y, as opposed to pushing a one way channel of information.”

The credit union says the Matter campaign revolves around three primary elements:

1. The Matter microsite.
2. Rants - Rants about Gen-Y’s frustrations with the banking industry will be videotaped on college campuses will be uploaded to the campaign’s website.
3. The t-shirt design component - Presumably an interactive t-shirt design module at the microsite where the most clever anti-bank creation wins something.

The core of the campaign is a microsite bearing the bold, aggressive, arguably hostile URL www.theantibank.com. At the microsite, United FCU encourages the Gen-Y crowd to “share your thoughts about all things financial. Everything from what’s up with those Washington bailout packages to why some people have pictures of kitties on their checks.”

“United FCU really is the Anti-Bank”
The credit union attacks Gen-Y’s lack of confidence in the banking system, while simultaneously
distancing itself from banks by aligning tightly with classic credit union messages.

The Rants section of United FCU’s Gen-Y microsite.

To promote the credit union’s products and services, the site’s sub-navigation includes links to “Personal,” Business,” “Loan Specials,” “Savings Specials,” “Today’s Rates.”

You can also “Join,” “Talk to Us Now,” or check out “My Account.”

The site has some pre-recorded rants and musings, some of which feel a little forced or staged. The credit union sequenced many of the rants together in this 5-minute long video included as part of its press release.

The campaign’s overall design is slick, with a moody, black-and-white graffiti feeling. Slogans scattered on the website make statements like “Always Be Moving,” and “You Are Tomorrow.”

All the videos are shot in a B&W testimonial style. Here’s what some of the pre-recorded participants had to say:

• “Interest rates are a joke. 0.5%? So what? I can make like $2 a year?”
• “Yeah, they give back a lot of sh*t.”
• “They make me feel stupid every time I ask a question.”
• “They piss me off.”
• “Overdraft charges rock!”
• “I think the bailout sucks.”
• “I hate ATM fees. They screw you every time.”
• “What the hell’s up with that?”

Heads Up: A bank in Australia invited folks to rant about banking last year. The online social media campaign backfired big time. People started railing against the bank hosting the website, which then spiraled out of control after employees bungled their attempt at damage control. However, this is less likely to occur in United FCU’s case because it looks like they will be limiting their rants to video submissions, which should be easier to moderate than comments at a blog or forum.

Key Questions: Besides being able to vent and express one’s feelings, what incentives are there to participate in the campaign? What’s at stake? What product offer(s) are tied to the campaign or targeted at Gen-Y? Where will “the dialogue” United FCU seeks to create take place?

Take a look at the Matter microsite, then swing back by and leave a comment with your thoughts.

The credit union will be targeting college campuses with what it calls “a highly interactive guerrilla marketing experience, [providing] a blank canvas for Gen-Y to creatively speak their minds.”

The campaign kicks off with visits to colleges in Arkansas and Michigan, and will continue throughout the country this fall.

United Federal Credit Union has 80,338 members and $849 million in assets.

To promote its new contactless payment technology, Barclaycard made a TV spot featuring a fantasy water slide. Conceived by creative agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty and shot in São Paulo, the TV spot features a man leaving work via a slide and passing various contactless payment sites on his way home.

According to a press release, the TV spot became an internet sensation on YouTube, with over 1.3 million views and a further 60,000 views for the ‘Making of…’ video.

For those who aren’t familiar, contactless cards allow people to make payments quickly and securely, saving shoppers the hassle of paying with cash or entering PIN codes into terminals. A secure sensor at the checkout counter senses an RFID chip on a contactless card, then immediately withdraws the purchase total.

The water slide metaphor works well as the campaign’s central creative device. It suggests using a new, potentially scary technology is actually fun and fast.

To extend the promotion, Barclaycard came up with a YouTube contest challenging people to make a water slide video of their own. The contest wrapped on April 5.

The winning video was a spoof of an 8-bit video game from the 80s. All of the artwork for 8-Bit Water Slide was built and animated in Flash, then printed and cut out and reanimated in real life.

The winning entry has been criticized as being an entertaining display of animation but not the wildly creative “water slide concept” called for in the contest.

The winner received a “once in a lifetime trip” around the world to the five coolest water slides ever built.

Key Takeaway: If you’re going to run a contest seeking User-Generated Content, this is a good way to go about it. Barclaycard set the strategy and established creative guidelines, not the contestants. You risk making a big mistake — one you might really regret — if you start handing over strategic decisions to the general public. Barclaycard gave people the basic framework, then asked people to take the idea and run with it. What Barclaycard didn’t do is ask folks to “submit creative ad ideas for a new contactless payment card.” The best brands are based on strategy and built very deliberately, not through a hodge-podge collection of various polls, drawings and contests.

Barclaycard’s campaign included a Flash-based game supporting the campaign.

This Flash-based game is a creative extension of the overall promotion. Unfortunately, the game itself is only so-so. There is a lone, solitary “level” that takes a little as 5 seconds to solve, giving the game almost zero replay value and greatly diminishing its viral quotient.

Earlier this year, The Financial Brand rated and reviewed other Flash-based games from financial institutions. Barclaycard’s Waterslide game would have got two stars out of five. The graphics and concept are good, but the game designers stopped too soon (or were cut short by budgetary constraints). There were unrealized opportunities to make the game much more cool, challenging and fun.

The Financial Brand sat down with James Flores, head honcho of Subcat Marketing. Subcat specializes in helping financial marketers reach “sub-categories” such as kids, teens, young adult and family markets. The agency develops fully-custom youth marketing and education programs for financial institutions across the country, and also offers a turnkey program for teens called The Elements of Money^TM, a kids club called, M3 Money Club^TM, and a financial newsletter for Gen X parents called, Family Money.

What’s the business case or ROI for a youth marketing program?

It’s really a matter of long-term survival for many financial institutions, particularly credit unions, where the average age of members sits somewhere around d 47 years old.

Although youth marketing ROI must be seen through a long-term lens, there are cases where financial institutions have seen an immediate return on their efforts. This usually happens when targeting the older end of the spectrum — the 18 to 25 market.

It’s unrealistic to think you’re going to recoup marketing and education expenses for a kids or teen club within the first year. This is a slow process that must be nurtured over time. But if a company is serious about building long-term growth, this shouldn’t be an issue.

What are some vital financial lessons that kids aren’t learning these days?

I don’t see anyone helping kids and teens deal with financial peer pressure. I think this should be a standard part of any financial literacy outreach program. We’re actually developing an educational module right now to address the issue.

There was a fantastic documentary on HBO a few months ago called Kids + Money that illustrates the role money plays in the lives of young people. After I viewed it, all I could think about was the immense pressure kids and teens have to spend money on clothes and the next “cool thing.” In many instances, a teen will spend hundreds of dollars needlessly on things like purses and shoes, just so they won’t be ostracized at their school. In my opinion, a class war has overtaken the race war in many youth cliques. It doesn’t matter what ethnicity you are, but it does matter how you spend your money. I wrote about this in my blog at subcatmarketing.com.

What are the biggest mistakes financial marketers make when targeting young people?

The biggest mistake we see over and over again is talking down to younger members. Sometimes you don’t even need to say a word to talk down to them. For example, if you offer a youth section on your website, don’t lump the kids club with the teen club. Teens don’t want to be associated with kids and will be turned off by this. Instead, make sure your kids club and teen club are separate.

Another mistake we see is developing programs that are too young for their intended audience. The youth market is age aspirational, and even though they may be 14 years old, they’re already thinking about what life will be like when they’re 16. And remember, the media that these teens consume is dominated by people in their 20s. If anything, err on the side of older representation.

Another mistake we see is companies trying too hard to be cool and cutting edge. We get quite a few requests to develop Gen Y programs that are edgy and extreme. This approach was probably more relevant when Gen X were teenagers back in the 90s. Contrary to popular belief, Gen Y is not an “extreme” generation.

When should a financial institution market to parents vs. directly to kids?

Parents are extremely influential in regards to marketing financial products to young consumers. Ask anyone under 25 why they opened an account in a particular financial institution and they typically cite their parents. I constantly hear things like, “my mom opened my account,” or “my dad had an account at the bank, so I opened an account there.” Targeting parents must be at the forefront of any youth marketing initiative. A few credit card companies are savvy to this, with teen cards marketed to parents such as the Visa Buxx program and Discover’s Current card. Bank of America also does great work with reaching out to parents of college students.

As a matter of principle, we never market financial products to kids under 13 years old. For kids under 13, it should be about education. Instead, the marketing efforts should be directed toward the parents and/or grandparents. This shouldn’t pose any problems for financial institutions since it’s highly unlikely that an eight-year old is going to stop by their branch and request their own ATM card. Once the individual turns 13, however, I believe it’s appropriate to market directly to them. The parent will still be the gatekeeper, so efforts should shift to co-marketing — targeting both the tween and parent simultaneously with two separate message platforms.

How important is it to make financial services fun and engaging for kids?

Two things are necessary when dealing with the youth market: fun and humor. Although kids and teens love money, learning about financial concepts can be a bit dry. Anything you can do to engage kids is critical. This isn’t an easy task, but definitely possible. An understanding of child development really comes in handy when creating a strategy for engagement.

For instance, kids retain more information when it’s delivered through storytelling. Something we’ve done with the M3 Money Club is create a story arc with characters and exciting adventures. We weave the education and storytelling throughout the main program components: the comic strip, podcast and blog. Kids can then follow their favorite characters as they learn about money. When they read about a concept, they can then play a game that reinforces that topic.

How does the current economic meltdown affect youth programs?

As most marketing professionals know, marketing budgets are typically the first to get cut. Programs that don’t immediately contribute to the bottom line are even closer to the axe.

Financial institutions must recognize that this economic crisis has brought the topic of money front and center. Whether kids are hearing stories at school about a friend’s father who lost his job or teens are watching news reporters predict total economic collapse, exposure to the world of finance and the economy among youth is at an all time high. The current situation creates what some may call a “teachable moment.”

What’s the difference between a turn-key youth marketing program and a custom one?

I recommend a client utilize a custom program for one of two reasons: (1) they create local/regional competitive differentiation, or (2) they offer something a turnkey program doesn’t. A custom, proprietary program will cost more to develop, and many financial institutions can’t handle that, in which case the only option may be to go with a turnkey program.

My issue with the turnkey programs is that there are some out there that could actually generate more harm than good. In most cases, it’s a matter of wrong messaging or an outdated look, which will torpedo any youth marketing effort. When it comes to this audience, it has to be authentic and credible.

The youth market is a moving target. Unfortunately, most turnkey programs aren’t equipped to evolve that quickly. A few programs still use the same photos as they did five years ago. That’s a horrible strategy.

In what ways can financial institutions help moms and dads?

There is a huge opportunity in this arena. Our research has shown that parents by and large want their kids to practice better financial skills. Parents just don’t know how to do it. Financial institutions must provide parents with the tools needed to instill positive money skills in the home. They need to show parents that they’re on the same team and they both want the same thing-money-smart kids. Providing financial education is a point of differentiation between traditional financial providers (banks and credit unions) and alternative financial providers (payday lenders and check cashers).

We publish a cooperative quarterly newsletter that is targeted toward parents called Family Money. The goal of the publication is to help media-savvy parents — specifically Gen X moms — by providing relevant financial advice. It helps them raise money-smart kids and manage their household finances.

Rapid-fire, free-association questions.

Facebook? Never the same since mom and dad became your friend. Maybe Bebo instead?

SecondLife? The jury is still out, but teachers and parents are leery about this one. This gives me reason to pause.

Branches in schools? Takes a lot of work, but worth it. Just make sure it’s about education (i.e. teach to the standards) and not just marketing. Treat teachers with respect. They have a lot to do and don’t have the time you think they do to deliver your financial education. Be nice to the custodial staff. You will need them when you lock your keys in the branch office.

Podcasts? Another way to deliver financial education. Some people like them, others are ambivalent. Put it out there and let your members decide.

YouTube? Video is the future, but the future is also about content. Just don’t know if YouTube is the final content frontier. Check out Hulu.com.

Twitter? We just asked 10 teens if they knew what Twitter was. They didn’t know what we were talking about. With that said, you can follow me at twitter.com/SubcatJames.

This year, credit unions across the country are offering “savings challenges,” reality-based contests in which selected finalists compete to achieve specific savings and debt reduction goals (see 8 examples below). Participants work with a financial planner on a set of realistic yet ambitious financial goals. Over the next 10-12 months, their ongoing progress is made public.

The concept, originally developed by Filene’s i3 credit union think tank, uses a mix of reality television, online interaction and individual planning to encourage members to reduce debt, increase savings and get control of their financial lives.

One of the credit unions deploying a savings challenge this year is AMOCO Federal Credit Union, a $500 million financial institution outside Houston, Texas. They are calling their promotion the “Earn or Burn Money Challenge.”

Tina Linquist, Marketing Director/AMOCO FCU believes people are curious about the private financial lives of others, and could benefit from getting vicarious advice during a down economy. “Layoffs, bankruptcies, foreclosures — it’s all around us. People are afraid and they need help, they need advice, they need someone they can trust,” she said.

“Some people will probably think we are nuts, but our goal is PR,” Linquist said. “We want to build credibility in a time of financial uncertainty. If we do this right, people will learn to trust us and make the switch to us.”

Reality Check: These contests take a ton of time and energy, and they don’t necessarily lead to major, direct increases in business. They are primarily brand-building promotions.

The Earn or Burn Challenge kicked off in January. People were required to submit video entries to be considered for one of the four final spots. At the end of the year, the contestant who most improves their financial situation will win $20,000.

Each of the four finalists — three families and a single woman — have been assigned at least one “financial coach.” The credit union has seven total financial coaches working with the competitors.

Contestants have to be comfortable having all their personal financial details shared publicly.

In addition to a financial coach, each finalist gets a laptop equipped with a camera so they can create video diaries, or what AMOCO calls “confessionals.” They will be encouraged to share their thoughts and struggles as they work to make good money decisions.

“We have promoted the challenge heavily and generated a good amount of traffic to the challenge website,” Linquist told The Financial Brand.

The credit union sent out 2 or 3 email blasts promoting the launch of the savings challenge to 11,500 of its members, about 20% of the overall membership.

When asked how the competition will be supported over the course of the year, Linquist says, “We hope social media will help us attract and maintain interest. We want people to become engaged with the challenge and the four families, much like they are with reality shows.”

Reality Check: Creating a campaign with any kind of viral quotient is extremely hard. These promotions are just like any other. It takes time, money, energy and commitment to sustain people’s interest and attention.Many of the tools are cheap (or free), but just because “you built it,” doesn’t mean “they will come.”

AMOCO Federal Credit Union partnered with a number of co-sponsors for their savings challenge, including local TV station KHUO, the YMCA, a fitness center, a medical center, an IT consulting company and the creative workhorse that built the Earn or Burn website, PTP New Media.

All the finalists were featured in 30 second spots on KHOU, a local CBS affiliate, helping fuel interest and drive traffic to the website.

With its partnership with KHUO, Linquist says the plan is to “broadcast vignettes every month featuring a different family and the progress they are making.”

Bottom Line:

• A savings challenge can be a good strategy if you want to build your brand around financial counseling and “advice you can trust.” But if those aren’t part of your strategic plan or components of your core brand, this kind of campaign probably isn’t right for you.
• Savings challenges take as much time, money and energy to plan an execute as any other major promotion. If you aren’t comfortable with the (arguably vague) ROI with this type of campaign, then perhaps your financial institution should stick with more traditional sales-oriented promotions.
• To make this work and backup your implicit brand promise that you are a smart financial institution, your entire staff needs to have a high level of financial knowledge.
• A year is a long time for any promotion. It takes a lot for both the marketer and the audience to remain engaged over that period of time.

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The website is essentially divided into two columns. On the left side, the latest video sits
atop an omnipresent Twitter stream. In addition to monitoring the financial details
and progress of the four contestants, the site offers viewers financial tips that can be
implemented in their own lives. They have five different RSS feeds, one for the credit union
and four others so you can track each family individually. There is also a blog embedded
within the Earn of Burn site.

AMOCO’s branded Twitter page supporting the Earn or Burn Challenge has over 400 “Followers.”
There’s also the Earn or Burn Facebook page that currently has 21 “Fans.”

GECU — “Savings Challenge ‘09 College Edition”

First Tech Credit Union — “U-Turn Challenge”

Community America Credit Union — “Financial Makeover”

Florida Commerce Credit Union — “WeLiveFIT! Challenge”

Kemba Financial Credit Union — “Biggest Saver”

E Federal Credit Union — “Lose to Win!”

Connex Credit Union — “$aving$ Challenge 2009″

NCUA quashing any form of finger pointing

Last month, a credit union lodged a complaint with the NCUA about a rival credit union’s website. The credit union wasn’t happy that Glendale Area Schools FCU had publicized an unflattering rating from Bauer Financial.

The NCUA promptly fired off a letter to Stuart Perlitsh, CEO/Glendale Area Schools FCU. In the letter, the NCUA requested that Perlitsh remove the ad from their website as soon as possible.

Initially, Perlitsh ignored the request, citing free speech. But after a follow-up call from the NCUA, he finally decided to give in, saying he had “other battles to fight.”

“We’re operating in a low-testosterone environment.”

Perlitsh isn’t happy about it. He feels strongly that he did nothing wrong, And his board fully supports him. When Perlitsh showed the board the NCUA’s request, he said they were incredulous. They firmly believe it’s within their rights to exploit competitive weaknesses, certainly when drawing off public data.

“All I did was republish information that’s already out there. Yet the NCUA came down on us like we did something sacrilegious.”
– Stuart Perltish, CEO
Glendale Area Schools FCU

“I didn’t say ‘close your accounts,’” he told The Financial Brand. “All I did was republish information that’s already out there. Yet the NCUA came down on us like we did something sacrilegious.”

“I did the homework for people, and let them draw their own conclusions,” he added.

Perlitsh wondered why the NCUA was picking a fight with him when they could be concentrating on poorly-performing credit unions instead. He seemingly answered his own question by noting that “we’re operating in a low-testosterone environment.”

To paraphrase, he feels the NCUA is picking the fights they can win rather than winning the fights they should pick.

The safety and soundness of other financial institutions may be in question, but not Glendale Area Schools FCU. Perlitsh  — who can see branches for WaMu, Wells Fargo, Citi and BofA from his headquarters — said Glendale Area Schools FCU has a cap ratio above 12%, and paid 48% of last year’s gross income to members in the form of dividends.

“GASFCU is proud of it financial strength and will market this competitive advantage,” he said. “It is all about capitalism, free enterprise, and freedom of press.”

The NCUA isn’t afraid to flex its muscle

This isn’t the first time the NCUA has put the smackdown on one of its own.

Last fall, the NCUA and Texas Credit Union Commissioner Harold Feeney ordered Resource One Credit Union in Dallas to stop running an ad that said:

“What is safer than money in the bank? Depositing it at Resource One Credit Union. Your bank may be failing but Resources One is NOT! Don’t take chances with your money.”

And last October, TDECU elected to pull the plug on a “Safe & Sound” campaign after the NCUA sent them a similar request.

“Public confidence is the cornerstone of the financial system. Maintaining this confidence is the responsibility, and should be the utmost priority, of all financial institutions.”
– Harold Feeney,
Texas Credit Union Commissioner

In its campaign, TDECU said, “Many banks and mortgage lenders made questionable loans that have gotten them, and their customers, into trouble.” TDECU was keen to point out that they didn’t “get into this kind of trouble.”

That may be true, but TDECU landed itself in hot water with financial regulators. TDECU’s campaign rankled both the ABA and FDIC something fierce, prompting a letter of concern from the FDIC. In the letter, Kelsey asserted that TDECU was implying — not stating, merely implying — that “deposits with banks are not safe and sound.”

The letter went on to say that “by casting aspersions on the health of the banking industry and implying that bank deposits are not safe and sound, TDECU has made irresponsible and misleading statements that could generate unwarranted public anxiety. Such statements may violate both federal and state laws, including the Federal Trade Commission Act and deceptive trade practices laws.”

The NCUA responded promptly, sending a firmly worded request to TDECU to kill the campaign immediately.

Does NCUA have the regulatory authority?

It appears that the answer is no, not necessarily. In all three cases, the NCUA has only “requested” the marketing be removed. Not once have they cited a regulation or portion of code governing their actions. And nowhere in the NCUA’s compliance guidelines is there anything about “finger pointing,” “fear mongering” or “playing nice with others.”

In an interview with The Financial Brand, an NCUA spokesperson said that there were indeed no specific guidelines concerning the issue, but they did cite other laws concerning deceptive advertising and unfair trade practices.

Nevertheless, the issue has created a bizarre allegiance of interests, including the NCUA, FDIC, ABA and various leaders in the credit union industry. All seem to be in agreement that anything that could be construed as an attack on the “safety” or “soundness” of any financial institution is unacceptable without exception. They are ready to kill any threat posed — big or small, real or imagined — to the insured deposits of America’s financial institutions, no matter what.

“Credit unions don’t need to criticize another financial institution regardless of its charter.”
– Michael Fryzel/NCUA Chairman

Whatever threats — real or implicit — the NCUA may be sending, they have proven to be exceptionally effective. Each of the three of the CEOs contacted by the NCUA have quickly backed down, basically saying they had “bigger fish to fry” and thus weren’t inclined to engage in a fight that could take a lot of time and energy.

According to one source, the answer is much more simple: “No one wants to piss off any regulators. Not right now.”

Bottom Line: Financial marketers will find themselves walking a fine line when they talk about their strength and stability, especially when you start drawing distinctions. If you feel tempted to succumb to your natural marketing instincts by attacking the safety and soundness of any financial institution (or just generically “those other banks”), be prepared for the wrath of regulators — backed by the full force and fury of the U.S. Government — to come raining down on you like a ton of bricks. Sure, they may just be playing a game of legal chicken…but then again, maybe not.

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Coast Capital Savings is collecting hundreds of signatures of Canadians in what the credit union
is describing as “B.C.’s biggest greeting card.” The tongue-in-cheek card thanks big banks for
charging Canadians $3 billion in fees annually.

Big banks, big fees, one big ‘Thank You’ card

Canadians are being invited to make a big statement — literally — about ever-increasing banking fees. Coast Capital Savings, a credit union in British Columbia, is asking people to add their signatures and messages to an 8′x10′ greeting card that “congratulates” big banks for the $3 billion in fees that they charge Canadians annually.

Coast Capital will have an “I Love Fees” street team collecting signatures on the mock greeting card over the next week.

Key Question: Will Coast Capital actually send the thank you card to one of the banks? Or a trade organization in the Canadian banking industry?

The tongue-in-cheek card is part of a wider campaign from Coast Capital Savings highlighting “ridiculous bank transaction costs.” The long-standing campaign, running for years now, includes TV and outdoor signage urging consumers to question the fees that they pay why they continue to pay them. Ads use satirical statements such as “Banking fees are like paying rent on my own money,” and “Banking fees are exciting because you never see them coming.”

“I Love Fees 1″

“I Love Fees 2″

“Vending Machine”
A marvelous concept, where the credit union gave away free crap (their word) in vending
machines simply to prove “people like free stuff,” like Coast Capital’s free accounts.

Coast Capital has a ton of commercials about fees and what’s free. Here are some of the others, all very funny:

• “Free Research 1″
• “Free Research 2″
• “Free Research 3″
• “Free for All”
• “No Fees = No Stress”

They even take on fees in Punjabi and other languages frequently spoken around the highly-cosmopolitan British Columbia province.

A recent Ipsos Reid survey commissioned by Coast Capital Savings found that on average, Canadians pay $14.30 monthly in service fees on their main personal chequing account (that’s a “checking account” for you Yanks). Added up, that is an average of $171.60 per Canadian annually, and a combined total of $3 billion each year.

“Now is the time to be questioning every penny that we spend.”
– Mike Bushore, CIO
Coast Capital Savings

“We are all dealing with the fallout from the ongoing recession, and now is the time to be questioning every penny that we spend — banking fees included,” says Mike Bushore, CIO/Coast Capital. “While we’re having a bit of fun with this at the banks’ expense, we know banking fees are a serious pet peeve with Canadians.”

Bushore thinks it’s outrageous that the big banks are charging people fees for the ‘privilege’ of accessing their money. “It’s your money,” he says. “It doesn’t make sense that you have to pay to get at it.”

Coast Capital Savings touts itself as the first full-service financial institution in Canada to offer free chequing (back in 2005). But perhaps the credit union is best known for “Julie,” the talking greeter who plays a witty hostess at the Coast Capital website. If you haven’t seen Julie yet, stop by and say “hi” to her (and her friend “Lisa” while you’re at it).

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New York Life is just one of the financial institutions continuing to see value in ratings agencies like Moody’s, S&P and Fitch. New York Life continues to tout their triple-A rating as an indicator of their safety and soundness.

Reality Check: A good rating was once viewed as a badge of honor. Not anymore.

A glowing rating from Moody’s or S&P is anything but a “stamp of good health” these days. For some people, it has the opposite effect. It says, “We shovel out big bucks to total fraudsters who will gladly give us whatever grade we paid for.”

“A deal could be structured by cows and we’d rate it.”

Remember that little gem? It was a text message sent from an employee at one of the large ratings agencies, and last fall it became a symbol for their gross negligence in evaluating mortgage backed securities.

Key Question: How can ratings agencies be trusted when they failed so miserably at their purported “core competency?”

Rating agencies today have zero credibility. The only reason that they aren’t out of business is that the commercial paper market has no substitute for them (yet). But anyone smart enough to know who Moody’s or S&P is knows they are a joke. They come along and drop a firm’s rating months after its share price plummets, or after the firm announces it’s on the brink of bankruptcy. They are always late to the party. They don’t do anything more than tell the market what it already knows.

Bottom Line: Financial institutions need to look from within to find proof that they are safe and sound. Paying a third party to tell you — and your audience — “we’re okay” is a concept outmoded by the economic crisis, and simply isn’t worth the money. If you want to say you’re safe and sound, you’ve got to drum up real proof, not the hollow claims of some shill. You need to start talking about capital ratios, default rates and loan loss provisions. People may not understand all that stuff, but at least it’s real, credible and tangible.

(No Ratings Yet)

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When financial marketers bring up new media tools, it’s quite common for CEOs to ask questions like, “What’s the ROI of having a blog?” Marketers say, “It doesn’t cost anything” (which isn’t really true). From there, the argument often devolves into subjective differences and a matters of opinions.

Reality Check: When someone asks about ROI, they are often looking for the quickest and easiest way to kill an idea dead in its tracks.

In the old days, you could spend money on ads and calculate what it cost to make an “impression.” If the metrics weren’t totally accurate, at least the math was pretty straightforward and the data was available. These days — especially with social media — marketers struggle to figure out how much their various marketing efforts are really worth.

The trick lies in being able to measure the Value of Awareness + Engagement. Some call this “PR Value,” but it goes beyond that, specifically regarding the level of “engagement.”

On a scale of 1-to-10, someone typically engage with TV commercials around a 1 to 3. Social media is typically around an 8-10. Sure, more people will see a TV ad than a blog or a Twitter timeline, but which is worth more?

Key Question: Would you rather have 10,000 people barely notice your TV ad? Or would you rather have 100 people hang on your every word? Or have 10 people take action and make a purpose?

One of the troubles with marketing metrics is the amount of “waste.” How many people see a TV ad or look at a website that is irrelevant to them. Perhaps they are find a website for a financial institution in another part of the country. Or they see a credit union’s ad but can’t join.

So… Maybe the theoretical formula for calculating marketing ROI looks something like this:

[(Users - Waste) x Engagement] ÷ [Cost + Time]

Users = people exposed to the marketing effort
Waste = people for whom the marketing message does not apply
Engagement = average level of Users’ captivity, actions and mental activity with respect to the marketing effort, including (but not limited to) purchases
Cost = the quantifiable hard costs of the marketing effort, including internal and external expenses
Time = the cost of employee time spent on the marketing effort

Now for the tough part: Actually measuring and quantifying the variables.

Bottom Line: The disagreement about marketing “ROI” hinges on how each side defines the “R” and the “I.” The “return” is not always about sales directly stemming from the marketing. The “investment” is not always about how much money is involved. It all depends on what your organization needs to achieve strategically, and the opportunity costs involved.

For instance, what is the value of communicating your financial institution’s strength and stability? Can you measure the amount of run-off and defections such a campaign might prevent? If not, does that mean a message of reassurance is unnecessary?

Reality Check: Your CEO probably can’t demonstrate an ROI on the charities they support. Does that mean the time and money is a waste?

How would you rate this article? (8 votes, average: 4.38 out of 5)

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Piggy banks are an international symbol for “savings.” They have been
used as fun, friendly creative devices by financial marketers for years.

If piggy banks weren’t dead at the outset of the economic meltdown, they were probably on their way. With the relative value of loose change dropping in the eyes of today’s youth, it looked like it might be time to say goodbye to good old Mr. Piggy Bank.

Then the recession hit.

Now you have to wonder if piggy banks won’t come off life support. Deflation combined with a renewed focus on thrift will could give new hope for this venerable but weary financial icon. It could be a “Recession Resurrection,” kind of like layaway, which has also made a comeback recently.

Financial institutions can’t “own” piggy banks as a brand symbol. It’s impossible. Piggy banks are “public domain.” But that hasn’t stopped financial institutions from milking piggy banks to death in their marketing.

It sure seems like you see piggy banks everywhere these days. Take these examples:

• HSBC’s piggy bank represents “fat money”
• Two bankers in suits are real pigs
• BNZ’s herd of 3D-animated piggy banks
• One of Natwest’s many utilizations of piggy banks
• The Italians have their reliably bizarre slant on piggy banks
• Piggy banks are even popular in India
• And then there are all the other industries using piggy banks, like Toyota

Maybe it’s time to stop exploiting the coin bank cliche, regardless of whether or not piggy banks remain relevant through a recession. Perhaps the ubiquity of piggy banks precludes their use? Maybe they’re just harmless creative representations fit for any financial marketer? What do you think? Take the poll and leave a comment below.

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Currency Marketing has just launched the third iteration of its Gen-Y financial program Young & Free, this time in South Carolina.

South Carolina Federal Credit Union joins two other credit unions already running Young & Free. Texas Dow Employees CU has Young & Free Texas and Servus Credit Union in Canada has Young & Free Alberta.

MY Checking, one of Young & Free South Carolina’s three free accounts, includes Oops Refunds - one free fee refund per quarter. There’s also free mobile banking and a free budgeting tool from FinanceWorks powered by Quicken.

The MY Whatever account is a goal-based savings program. The MY Savings account can be used for overdraft protection.

The latest Young & Free product line-up from South Carolina FCU is the strongest yet. It builds off the free checking product introduced in Alberta back in 2008. TDECU, on the other hand, didn’t do anything special for the “25-and-under crowd.” They basically repackaged their basic checking account.

Young & Free Alberta (left), and Young & Free Texas (right). The Young & Free model adheres to
a consistent, tightly controlled style and design. Young & Free franchisees are allowed to make
a few customizations and a handful of small modifications to the overall look, but in each deployment,
the general overall formula remains unchanged.

South Carolina FCU will be offering online account opening in a week or two. It plans to have this option live by February 10.

Tim McAlpine, head of Currency Marketing, says the media plan for Young & Free SC consists of a heavy emphasis on Facebook and radio advertising. “We are also doing some college newspaper ads and campus posters,” McAlpine added.

McAlpine partnered with hit music station 95SX, who will be following Young & Free SC and promoting it daily. “The station put together an awesome package,” McAlpine said. “The morning show is promoting it like its their own thing.”

Currency Marketing pre-populates its Young & Free websites with sample applications for
the spokester positions. This one stars one of Currency Marketing’s own employees, the
charming and effervescent Cheryl Doerksen. These sample applications layout the prototypical
personna that Currency is trying to recruit for its clients, while also laying down a high bar for
creativity and production values. The message to applicants is clear: It better be good.

As with the previous two Young & Free programs, the first phase of South Carolina Fed’s promotion is to find a “spokester,” a term popularized by the first Y&F spokesperson, Larissa Walkiw.

Kimberly Riggs, South Carolina Federal’s Public Relations Manager, was on 95SX’s 2 Girls & a Guy morning show this morning to launch the credit union’s spokester search. She was on for over half an hour, and you can listen to 7 minutes of it here. She sounds appropriately “cool” for a morning show and does a good job.

Presently, there are no plans to bring the Young & Free “Guitar Hero” dueling truck to South Carolina.

When asked about working with South Carolina FCU’s team, McAlpine described the launch process “awesome.” McAlpine said South Carolina Fed executives visited every location in the last two weeks to fully explain the program. The site even went live secretly on Friday to ensure staff had a chance to check it out before the campaign’s official launch.

McAlpine also says there is an aggressive incentive program in place to reward sales for each of the three new Gen-Y accounts.

Currency Marketing’s franchise model for the Young & Free program is in its second year. Only one credit union in each state and province in North America can buy the Y&F program. If you’re credit union covers more than one state or province, you need to buy additional licenses. At Currency’s choosing, banks cannot participate in the Y&F program.

As a Young & Free franchise licensee, Currency mandates a significant investment in offline, traditional media.

Recently, Currency Marketing launched a master site, Living Young & Free, to help build, manage and coordinate the Young & Free community growing across North America. The site aims to facilitate dialogue and discussion among those participating in the Young & Free program, as well as prospects who are interested.

“If there’s anything that could dislodge a customer, a merger is it.”
– Anita Gentle Newcomb
Banking Consultant

Economic turmoil and the crisis in the financial industry has created an upheaval in deposits of epic proportions. Many financial institutions smell blood. But to others, the idea of trying to gain from a competitor’s downfall is a bit unsavory.

When WaMu got absorbed, BECU in Seattle chose not to take the fight head-on because they “didn’t want to be perceived as dancing on WaMu’s grave.”

Reality Check: In the war for deposits, there are no prisoners. You gotta go for the jugular. Snag every deposit dollar you can. No one will fault you for taking advantage of the situation.

Despite exercising some marketing reserve, things worked out well for BECU anyway. “Daily membership doubled since the severity of WaMu’s problems became known,” said a BECU spokesman. Things went “gangbusters.” But you have to wonder how much more BECU could have gained if it adopted a more assertive strategy?

Key Fact: When banks merge or get taken-over, they lose somewhere between 10 and 20 percent of their deposits within a year.

Here are some typical examples of the losses in deposits these banks saw within a year after their acquisition:

• Mercantile Safe Bank lost 12.5% of their deposits
• North Fork Bank lost 17.1% of their deposits
• Fleet Bank lost 19.7% of their deposits
• World Bank lost 26.1% of their deposits

Within an hour after the announcement that Wachovia had been forced to sell itself, the phones started ringing at local banks. Wachovia customers wanted to move their accounts.

Right now, about a third of all the deposits in the Washington D.C. area are changing hands due to mergers.

Billions and billions of dollars, just floating around…

“If there’s a lot of glitches in the transition, that dramatically increases the potential for customer defections,” Greg McBride, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “And competitors are happy to scoop up those customers.”

That’s why many banks started running ads attacking PNC’s takeover of National City the very next day after the merger closed. Two weeks later, some banks are stepping up their efforts. Now what does that tell you?

“2008 was difficult for us. Our competitors did take advantage of our situation.”
– Sam Schreiber, Wachovia

An aggressive strategy worked remarkably well for Sonabank, whose 9-month effort added $20 million in deposits — pulled straight from Wachovia. Not bad for a bank with only $400 million in assets.

The recent tsunami of mergers sweeping over the financial industry has triggered much discussion among industry experts about the best way to approach them.

Direct Mail - In an eBrief from CreditUnions.com, Ray Springsteen suggests sending targeted direct mail pieces within the immediate vicinity of the merging bank’s branches. It can’t hurt to tailor your message specifically to the situation. You might also want to think about sending a DM piece specifically to those existing customers or members who don’t have a deposit relationship with you already. The chances are reasonable that they could have deposits with the merging bank.

PR - Springsteen also recommends contacting the local news outlets. If you’re healthy, well-capitalized and making loans, tell them your side of the story. When journalists report about failed banks and mergers, they are frequently happy to report the flip side about other local financial institutions that aren’t struggling.

Staff Awareness - It’s critical all staff know which financial institutions are struggling or merging in your area. Tell them their ears should perk up when they hear someone mention these financial institutions. This is an easy opportunity for your staff to have a switching conversation. Sonabank gave employees weekly updates on the bank’s strength to help them persuade Wachovia customers to switch. “It used to be that loan officers and branch managers didn’t need to know our capital ratios,” a Sonabank representative said. “Now they do, and they spend time educating clients about it.”

Ads - One ad from Sandy Spring Bank read: “Another bank is about to change names. But as a customer you could be faced with more than just a new name - new account numbers, changes in personnel and higher fees. Why not change on your terms?

Conclusions

Key Takeaway: Your constituents expect you to do what’s best for the organization. You are obligated to capitalize on competitive opportunities as they present themselves.

Bottom Line: The unprecedented volume of mergers in the financial industry creates massive opportunities for financial institutions to grow deposits. But you have to act now. The window of opportunity closes quickly. If you don’t go after the deposits of failing banks you’re leaving a lot of money on the table.

“Deposits are the lifeblood of banks.”
– Bob Chapman, President
Bank of the James

These days, you hear about a lot of financial institutions seeing huge increases in their deposits. Some financial institutions are seeing their deposits double over last year. Even JPMorgan Chase, an international megabank, was able to take in an extra $87 billion.

Reality Check: Now is not the time to pat yourself on the back. Everyone’s deposits are up (well, not everyone, but most). This is money just walking in the door.

A survey last fall by the ICBA showed that 70% of community banks were seeing deposits grow year-over-year. More than a quarter of the banks surveyed saw deposits grow by at least 11%. And a recent survey by CUNA found that one-fourth of credit unions were enjoying above-average growth.

One in five people said they were likely to move at least some of their funds to another institution soon. Nearly one in 10 were likely to move all their money.
– Nielsen survey

Key Fact: In a recent Nielsen survey of 3,000 consumers, one in five said they were likely to move at least some of their funds to another institution in the near future, with nearly one in 10 likely to move all their money.

Key Questions:

• What are you doing to keep your existing deposit base from defecting to other financial institutions?
• How much more could you be gaining if you had an aggressive deposit growth strategy?
• What are you doing to retain your newly-won deposits over the long term?

Both Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, and Cam Fine, chief executive of the ICBA, both agree: The movement of money we’re experiencing in the financial industry is something we haven’t seen since the Great Depression.

From August to September last year, bank deposits rose by more than $158 billion, as investors yanked money out of stocks, bonds and failing financial institutions. $50 billion poured out of the stock market in the month of September alone. Where did people put it? In the relative safety and security of liquid deposits.

“People are panicked, and they want something as close to the mattress as they can find,” says Moody’s Zandi.

And that’s why many institutions are touting their financial strength.

“Banks’ emphasis on safety certainly scratches where it itches for consumers in this current environment,” says Greg McBride, a senior analyst at Bankrate.com.

McBride says deposits have always been a competitive business for financial institutions. But at a time when bank capital has been whittled away by loan losses, and banks are scrambling for low-cost funding, growing deposits has become more important.

That certainly helps explain why competition for deposit dollars has become as fierce as its ever been.

RBC Bank is gearing up for March Madness with its Shoot for Loot promo where one lucky winner gets a trip for two to the 2009 ACC Tournament and a chance to shoot for up to $1,000,000 cash. The winner also gets tickets to all 11 games, complimentary accommodations and invitations to post-game coaches’ news conferences.

At the tournament, the winner will be able to show off their own hoop skills for a chance to win $1 million. This is the third year RBC Bank has sent fans to the tournament.

Other prizes include:

• Five 50-inch plasma televisions
• 20 electronic basketball hoops
• Team gear including t-shirts and ball caps

Here’s how it works:

1. Customers go to any of the bank’s 440 branches to pick up a unique “eDecoder” game piece.
2. Customers go online to a special microsite where they surrender a ton of valuable MCIF information before they can use their eDecoder to see if they’ve won.

RBC Bank is using the sweepstakes to draw extra attention to their MMA products. The bank is offering a special 2.25% APY on its MMAs as part of the promotion.

You have to enter your name, address, email address, phone number, gender and DoB in order to play.
This arms the bank with valuable MCIF information — and entrants’ consent to market to them further.

Bottom Line:
This is a brilliant marketing strategy. The $1,000,000 grand prize creates a big splash, but the winner would need to make a miracle basket to win it. The eDecoders drive traffic to branches. RBC Bank captures a ton of data about customers and prospects that can be used for direct marketing purposes. It doesn’t matter if product-uptake is low. The MCIF data alone makes this promo a winner.

The sweepstakes, launched January 2, will end February 28. Rule’s for the promo can be found here.

Interactive promotions company ePrize is managing the online contest for RBC Bank. They have managed similar campaigns centered on “eDecoders” for both Fifth Third and Nationwide Bank.

RBC Bank, a division of Royal Bank Canada, is the 40th largest U.S. bank by assets. The bank has 440 branches.

Key Takeaway: Don’t use the term “March Madness” in your promotions unless you are an approved, official sponsor of the tournament (as RBC Bank is). The NCAA will sue you. And win. (FYI - Fees generated from the licensing of “March Madness” are used to fund college scholarships for Illinois high school boys and girls.)

To see more ways sweepstakes can be integrated into your deposit-building initiatives in 2009, check out this invaluable 72-page reference manual, Growing Deposits in the Digital Age.

FirstOntario Credit Union recently launched a classic guerilla marketing campaign to reinforce a message of safety and strength. FirstOntario placed everyday items — such as bikes, park benches, fire hydrants and bubble wrap — in unexpected ways around key communities to drive home the message that the credit union’s short-term investments are “Extra safe.”

“Backup Fire Hydrants”
The signs all bear the headline “Extra safe.” Subheads say, “Guaranteed investments.”
The signs also bear the URL ThinkFirstNow.com.

“Bench with Seatbelts”

“Extra Bike Locks”

“Padded Tree”

The “Think ‘First’ Now” Website
A simple microsite with advice about how to save money on taxes.

“We anticipated we would
have some push-back
from the city.
We didn’t think
it would be out there
for too long.”
– Mandy MacPhee, FirstOntario

FirstOntario deployed all four displays in three communities, and three of the displays in five others. They also plus extra bike diplays in GO service stations.

In an article about the campaign, Mandy MacPhee, Director, Marketing Communications/FirstOntario, says the campaign was intended to show they are an “extra safe” choice in a time of economic turmoil.

After inquiries from a local reporter, the city investigated and told FirstOntario to remove the items promptly.

“We anticipated that we would have some push-back from the city,” MacPhee said. “We didn’t think it would be out there for too long.”

“Most displays were kept out for approximately one week before city officials contacted us,” Macphee told The Financial Brand.

The credit union went ahead with the campaign without city permission to get their message out “as quickly as possible.”

“We believe in communicating our message in a creative, fun, and interactive way in our communities” said Christine Zalzal, AVP Marketing/FirstOntario. “Since we are a community-based organization, we can reach out in a more interactive and personal way.”

A city communications officer said FirstOntario Credit Union won’t face fines.

In an interview with The Financial Brand, MacPhee said the main objective for the campaign was “to garner media attention and create buzz in our marketplaces, which in qualitative terms, achieved this successfully.” The credit union plans on conducting brand equity research later.

According to The Spectator, MacPhee says this is the first time her company has tried this form of marketing, but it likely won’t be the last. She says they’ll continue trying different “interactive” ways to get publicity.

FirstOntario has over $2 billion in assets, 68,000 members and 17 branches.

The campaign is the work of TBWA\Toronto. They have been FirstOntario’s agency of record since August 2008.

Key Takeaway: This kind of marketing shows how a radical idea can cut through the clutter, clatter and din in today’s marketing-saturated world. Some experts say we see as many as 3,000 marketing messages every day.

“What we tried to do is replicate the surprise and delight tactics that happen within each TD Bank store.”
– Greg Siano,
EVP/Tierney Communications

After a few naming hiccups earlier in the marriage, TD Banknorth and Commerce Bank have just christened their first major branding campaign under the name TD Bank.

The campaign is built around Commerce Bank’s slogan, “America’s Most Convenient Bank,” something it had been using for years. TD Banknorth decided to retain the Commerce slogan post-merger.

A launch promo, running through this month, expresses the “convenience” theme by providing over a million free services to those ranging from Connecticut to Florida.

Some will win a personal chef, chauffeur or house cleaner in the “At Your Convenience” sweepstakes. In guerrilla “Random Acts of Convenience,” thousands of people will be handed a free cup of coffee or an umbrella on a rainy day, while mall shoppers, from Thanksgiving to Christmas, will receive free gift wrapping, gift consulting, and premium shopping bags.

The “Random Acts of Convenience” guerrilla launch includes:

• Street or mall “Convenience Crews” will give away 20,000 umbrellas on rainy days in NYC and Philadelphia
• 25,000 cups of coffee in NYC and Philadelphia
• 150,000 premium shopping bags at 22 malls
• Free gift wrapping for all at 22 malls (11/28-12/24)
• Free gift consulting for all at 22 malls (11/28-12/24)

TD Bank will also be partnering with over a thousand pizza parlors and dry cleaners to offer “Convenience Surprises,” pies and laundry to your door — at no charge.

“We tried to explore things that were convenient,” a representative with TD Bank’s ad agency said. “We’re doing anything that makes people’s lives more convenient.”

Brand ads in newspaper and outdoor will concurrently emphasize TD conveniences like seven-day banking, extended hours, free coin counting, free lollipops and doggie treats. TD has ads dominating New York’s Grand Central Station and Philadelphia’s 30th St. Station.

Advertising media includes:

• 8,400 spots featuring Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa
• 3,900 spots promoting the “At Your Convenience” sweepstakes
• 1,500 outdoor units, including highway, urban, phone kiosk, and bus shelters
• 220 full-page or page-dominant newspaper insertions

“Regis & Kelly”
Initial brand advertising TV and radio features a nervous Regis Philbin struggling to cope with change, and an unperturbed Kelly Ripa. The bank is running 8,400 TV and 9.000 radio :60s of the “Regis & Kelly” spots.

The campaign is the first for TD Bank produced by Tierney Communications out of Philadelphia.

Tierney Communications started as Commerce Bank’s agency when it had just 55 locations, twelve years ago. At the time of the merger there were 575. Tierney Communications, Philadelphia, part of the global Interpublic network, is a full-service advertising and public relations agency.

The brand campaign will be ongoing.

“Convenience Surprise” Retail Partnerships
400 parlors will give away 20,000 pizzas in special gift boxes. Free dry cleaning and delivery will come from 620 dry cleaners.

“At Your Convenience” Sweepstakes
Prizes you can win for a full week: personal chef, personal limo, groceries (including delivery), dry cleaning (including delivery), and house cleaning.

Online “TD Bank Theater”
A JibJab-style interpretation of the “Regis & Kelly” spot.

[Editor's Note: This is a guest article from William Quinn, an associate at Callahan & Associates.]

No matter how the financial rescue plan unfolds, the financial industry as a whole will not go back to the way it was. This challenging economic climate provides a historic opportunity for the credit union industry to step out from the shadow of banks and take a prominent place in Americans’ financial futures.

With this in mind, credit unions need to decide today where they want to be when it all shakes out. They must position themselves correctly to succeed. Let’s look at the three ways to reach your market:

1. Marketing to existing members
2. Marketing to potential members
3. Member-employee interaction

1. Marketing to Existing Members

There is opportunity in enhancing relationships with existing members, and current statistics certainly show room for much greater penetration:

It looks like a fresh-baked biscuit. But it’s really a direct mail piece sent out by Countybank down in South Carolina.

This clever campaign, targeting businesses in the bank’s area, offers new business customers a free biscuit breakfast for up to 13 people — delivered right to your doorstep — as long as you’re willing to meet with a Countybank representative.

Countybank kicked things off in late September with teaser billboards with a picture of a biscuit and a simple question: “How do you like yours?” The billboards bore no name, no phone number, no Countybank logo.

The bank then updated the billboards with a URL, howdoyoulikeyours.com. Earlier this year, Chemical Bank in Michigan used a similar tactic with its teaser billboards.

Finally, the bank updated the billboards with its logo and slogan, “Business banking the way you like it.”

The howdoyoulikeyours.com microsite invites businesses to “enjoy a fresh biscuit breakfast or lunch,
for you and your employees, just the way you like it. If you’re a business owner or manager, just tell us
how you like it and we’ll get cooking.” (click to enlarge)

The microsite is super simple. There are only two pages — the landing page and the ordering page. All you have to do is give your name, title, company, address and phone number. Then you can order up to 13 breakfast biscuits, with four different kinds to choose from:

• plain
• sausage
• sausage, egg and cheese
• bacon, egg and cheese

You can even specify what time of day you’d like your breakfast delivered.

“That’s it, no purchase requirement, no strings,” the website says. “Just mouth-watering biscuits, the way you like.”

Countybank’s business services include cash management, employee benefits, insurance, payment processing, succession planning and wealth management. They are all bundled together under the name BizKit.

BizKit. Biscuit. Get it?

As Countybank explains on its microsite, “We thought it’d be a nicer way to say hi and introduce the BizKit, business banking custom-made to your business.”

“Bank ads all look similar”
– Bill Jenkins, Marketing Director/Countybank

Bill Jenkins, Marketing Director/Countybank, understands the value of standing out in an industry plagued by me-too look-alikes. In an interview with the NY Times, Jenkins said, “Bank ads all look similar. They’re great… if you suffer from insomnia.”

Bottom Line: The campaign — including direct mail, online, outdoor and print ads — cost $20,000 (biscuits not included).

Agency: Zlotnick Group

The inside of Countybank’s diecut biscuit mailer. It looks long on copy, but when you think about how creative
this promo is, it’s safe to assume most recipients will spend some time with it. The offer for the free biscuit
breakfast could be a little more obvious though — see how long it takes you to find it.

This holiday season, Industrial Credit Union in Bellingham, WA is going to randomly swap 100 $20 bills in one of its ATMs with $50 bills. The promo starts December 1.

According to Matt Vance, the credit union’s marketing chief, the credit union is sending a DM piece about the promo to 5,100 households within a 2-mile radius of its Barkley branch.

The outside of the mailer has no copy, but looks like a Christmas card that could contain something like a gift card.

The mailer unfolds like a Christmas gift.

The credit union isn’t doing the promo at all of its ATMs, just the one. Industrial Credit Union opened its Barkley branch only a few months ago and is looking to boost traffic and awareness.

This will probably do it. In this economy, any free extra cash — especially during the holidays - is sure to generate warm-fuzzies for the credit union’s brand.

The best part about this promo is that it taps people’s gambling nerve center. People are going to walk up to the ATM thinking, “Come on, big money! Big Money!”

Key Question: If you got a $50 bill out of an ATM when you were expecting a $20 bill, how many people do you think you would tell about it?

The credit union is going to stock the ATM with the $50’s the day the mailer hits, and expects that they’ll burn through their allotted budget of $50 bills in about three weeks. We’ll see. It may take less than three weeks.

You can also get pictures with Santa at the branch on December 13th.

Bottom Line: Giving away free money is a sure-fire formula for free PR and word-of-mouth marketing. You get a big marketing bang for the bucks. In this case, all it takes is a postcard and a stack of $50 bills. In this case, the total cost is $3,000 (plus costs for the mailing), since people are already withdrawing $20 from their account and getting a $30 bonus.

Note: You don’t have to do this promo just at Christmas.

To better understand Gen X and Gen Y’s current and future financial situation, the American Savings Education Council and AARP commissioned a survey with members of these two generations. The online survey of 1,752 Americans ages 19-39 was conducted back in January 2008.

This research found that:

• Many young adults have yet to align their actions with their financial values and goals. While 91% report having financial goals for themselves, only 53% report sticking to a monthly budget. And while 62% have given at least some thought to their own retirement, 61% feel their retirement savings is behind schedule. 42% give themselves a grade of D or F to describe how well they are saving.
• There is a lack of financial sophistication among younger generations. Respondents were more likely to say they are very knowledgeable about their iPod (40%), than about how to file their taxes (26%), buy a home (21%), invest outside of the workplace (15%), or save for retirement (15%).
• Four out of five young adults report having some type of non-mortgage debt. This includes 63% with credit card debt, 48% with car loans, 31% with student loans, and 27% with medical debt.
• Workplace benefits are valued by employed young adults. At least three-quarters of employed young adults say it is important for their employer to provide health insurance, a retirement savings plan, matches or contributions to a retirement savings plan, a wellness plan, and education and/or advice on how to save for retirement.
• Many young adults feel things are harder for them than previous generations. Roughly half of those surveyed believe it is harder to support a family (54%), save for the long-term (52%), save for a child’s college education (50%), and buy a first home (47%) than it was for previous generations.

Key Question: If they think things were going to be hard for them back in January, how do you think they feel today?

Westpac Bank in Australia took a plain-looking red booth, something it calls the Truth Pod, around to various locations across Sydney. People who ventured into the unbranded booth were asked what annoyed them about banks. Apparently, the answer was fees. Fees, fees, fees.

Westpac filmed the whole process and made a commercial out of it. It’s a little like conducting the research for an ad while making it.

Aussies vent their frustrations about banks in Westpac’s Truth Pod.
If anyone said anything other than “fees,” you wouldn’t know it by watching this spot.

The ad announces a new offer from Westpac where the bank will waive its $5 fee on checking accounts when you make at least $2,000 in monthly deposits.

The bank concludes the spot by making a rather unusual promise: “We’re lowering the cost of banking.” Maybe checking accounts with no monthly fee are somewhat of a novelty in Australia?

Westpac’s head of retail and business banking, Peter Hanlon, said the new ad campaign reflects the bank’s more customer-centric strategy. That may be true, but the fee-free checking account was probably planned well in advance of the ad itself. Even though it might look like the Truth Pod was used as a research tool that lead to the bank’s free checking product, the ad agency’s Truth Pod concept was probably just the creative approach used to launch the offer.

The idea of marketers using a confessional booth isn’t entirely new. As Charis Palmer over at Better Bank Marketing notes, the Truth Pod is pretty similar to JetBlue’s Story Booth which was used to gather customer feedback. The material JetBlue collected via the booth was then used in a series of advertisements for the airline.

No one said you always have to be original and there are very few truly new ideas. Westpac’s use of its Truth Pod is one of the first — if not the very first — in the financial industry.

Ad Agency: Lavender* out of Sydney.

*The asterisk is part of Lavender’s name. According to the agency’s website, it means they “put consumer self-interest first.”

For the grand opening of three new in-store branches, OnPoint Community Credit Union held a supermarket sweepstakes. One person at each location won a 3-minute free-for-all, grabbing everything they could fit into a shopping cart.

One of the three sweepstakes winners filled his cart with $2,359, the biggest haul of the day. OnPoint matched the total in grocery giveaways, $5,769, with a donation to a local food bank.

“On your mark…set…go!”

A mostly-meat strategy landed this guy $2,359 in free groceries.

The promo was the brainchild of the folks over at Weber Marketing Group.

Mazuma Credit Union in Kansas wants to know, “What Are You About?”

From September 1 through November 30, people are invited to submit a 25-second video answering the question “What Are You About?”

At a microsite the credit union created for the promo, the credit union says, “Tell us what you care about, but do it in your own way. Your essence, your style, your sense of originality. Infuse your video with these qualities and you can’t go wrong.”

Presumably, the design of the promotional website is an intentional deviation from the more conservative look of the credit union’s primary website, in order to appeal to a younger audience:

The main Mazuma website (shown left) and the “What Are You About” microsite (shown right).

The design of the microsite is nice, the interface is fairly intuitive, and the prizes aren’t shabby at all:

• Grand Prize - Premium A/V Studio Package Valued at $9000
  Mac Pro,  Canon MiniDV Camcorder, Samsung 24″ Monitor, condenser mic, Sennheiser headphones and studio speakers.
• First Runner Up - Prosumer A/V Studio Package Valued at $4000
  Apple 24″ iMac, JVC Camcorder, condenser mic, Sennheiser headphones and studio speakers.
• Second Runner Up - Basic A/V Studio Package Valued at $2000
  Apple 20″ iMac, Samsung Camcorder, condenser mic and Sennheiser headphones.
• All three prize winners may have their video aired on TV as an official Mazuma commercial.

In a press release, Rob Givens, President/Mazuma, said, “The site is meant to open up discussion within Kansas City. We want to get in touch with today’s younger people in our community, to hear their stories and see how we can help.”

Currently, there are 48 registered users and seven video entries.

The most-watched video, “Mashed Potatoes,” has been seen 445 times. It’s like clay-mation, only it’s “mashed-mation.” A talking pile of mashed potatoes says, “I’m all about my masher.” The video’s creator also bought the URL mashyourownpotatoes.com which redirects to Mazuma’s microsite.

“Mashed Potatoes” (0:29) has been viewed 445 times.
How would you react if you saw this spot on TV for a credit union in your area?

Not all the entries are quite so cheeky. Another video titled “Serve” is all about one person’s commitment to Jesus. It has been viewed 88 times.

Oddly, the videos are only available at the microsite and not on YouTube. Only Mr. Mashed Potatoes has uploaded his video there, where (at the time of this writing) it had only been viewed once.

A panel of Mazuma judges will determine the top 10 videos, which will be announced on the site on November 3, 2008. The 10 videos will then be featured on the site where registered users can vote for and determine the top three videos.

Tip: Requiring registration to vote for videos is a good way to prevent entrants from “gaming the system” and voting for their own videos over and over. This also presents additional marketing opportunities.

To be eligible for the video contest, the contestants have to maintain a valid residential address in the Kansas City metro area and be 14 years of age or older at the time of submission. Official contest rules can be found at the promotion’s website.

Mazuma Credit Union has over 51,300 members and around $350 million in assets.

Beyond Marketing assisted with the promotion.

Source: Callahan & Associates “Peer 2.0 Software” – June 30, 2008

Key Insights:

• The country’s largest credit unions spend, on average, the least per member, but they may also be gaining media efficiencies with their marketing budgets.
• A marketing budget of $350,000 is not enough to support and sustain a billion-dollar credit union. That represents only .035% of total assets.
• Similarly, a $150,000 marketing budget is inadequate for a $500 million credit union. That’s only .03% of total assets.
• A $40,000 marketing budget is dismally low for a $250 million credit union. That’s about .015% of assets.
• A marketing budget of $2.8 million seems excessive for a $500 million credit union, as does $1.2 million for a credit union with $250 million in assets. That’s around .05% of assets.

Key Questions:

• How can any credit union at any size have a marketing budget of $0?
• What is the average cost of marketing per new member?
• What is the average growth in assets per marketing dollar spent?

Bottom Line:

• The average marketing budget for most financial institutions (bank or credit union) at any asset size should be at least 0.1% of total assets. (Case in point: BofA, whose $2.0 billion marketing budget is almost exactly 0.1% of its $1.9 trillion in deposits.) Many factors affect this guideline — up or down — including, but not limited to, growth goals and media costs in specific markets.
• Now is not the time to cut your marketing budget (as tempting as that may sound to some among your senior management team). First of all, as market conditions get tougher, you need to ramp up your spending — just to stay where you’re at. Second, it’s easier to “cut through the clutter” when there’s less clutter.

Everyone’s hearing about how “money is tight” and we’re in the middle of a severe credit crunch. So if you’ve got money to lend, tell the world. It’s a much more effective way to reassure people that you’re safe and sound than simply saying “we’re safe and sound.”

It doesn’t matter if you’ve tightened your lending requirements. So what if you require a minimum 700 credit score now? People will think“You’ve got money to lend, so you’re okay.”

“I actually had people stop me on the street and say, ‘Great ad!’”
– Kevin Jones, President/MidFlorida FCU

MidFlorida FCU bought a full-page ad saying it is still lending money, it is financially sound, and doesn’t need a bailout. They say they’ve gotten more reaction to the ad than any other they’ve ever ran.

You can get tons of good, free press by simply calling the local news media (newspapers, radio, TV stations) and letting them know you’ve got money to lend. They’re eager to run some good, reassuring news:

• Coast banks: ‘We are lending’
• Regional banks say they have money to loan
• Credit unions ready to lend as banks tighten credit
• Credit union says, “We’re still lending!”

This worked back in July (when The Financial Brand first reported about it), and it’s a strategy that’s still working today.

You don’t even have to run an ad. Community Financial Credit Union put the message on their phone system: “Welcome to Community Financial, where we have millions to lend.”

SharePlus Bank in Plano, Texas just celebrated its 50th anniversary with a $50,000 promotion that netted 500 new customers and generated over $5 million in new deposits.

Note: The grand prize cost the bank an average of $100 per new customer.

The 1950s-themed promotion which ran during August, included a promotional direct mail piece with a unique prize code. Recipients were invited to play for the $50,000 prize at a special website, shareplus50thanniversary.com.

Both the website and the grand prize giveaway were hosted by SCA, a third-party promotional management company. One of the firm’s specialties is a turn-key “prize code” promotion that can be easily “re-skinned” with your brand.

SharePlus invited the community to visit their local branch and register for FREE gas cards and vacation packages.

The promotional campaign included direct mail, web ads, newspaper print ads, and in-branch activities. A decorating contest had team members outfitting their branches in a 1950s theme.

To launch its new cash-based rewards program, Zions Bank created an offbeat microsite, Cash Back Boulevard, built around a challenging online game.

Putting the total cash rewards on a live meter on the site is brilliant.
It adds credibility to the abstract and indirect concept of a rewards program.
As of this writing, the meter read $2.14 million.

The game is original and fairly complex as compared to other games developed by financial institutions. They give you a “shopping list” of items you’ve got to locate in a specified amount of time. You must find the items by exploring stores within a virtual world.

You can choose from 6 different characters (avatars). If you’re any good, you can beat all three levels. (Warning: You only get 40 seconds. And it’s hard.)

This is the screen you see when the game starts.
You click on the various stores around the virtual town and
look inside to find items on your “shopping list.”

Screen shots from inside the virtual stores.
When you spot an item on your “shopping list,” you click on it and move on.

It looks like those who finished the game were eligible for a lot of pretty good prizes, but there doesn’t seem to be any information available on that component of the promotion (perhaps because the promo has ended).

Reality Check: No matter how cool you think your online game is, most people won’t care. But when you give people actual prizes, you’re giving them a real reason to go to your microsite and play your online game. It also makes marketing the site (that, in turn, should be promoting your product or service) easier and more effective.

The game requires you enter a ZIP code to play, but Zions pre-populates the game with a valid ZIP code, so you don’t have to go Google a ZIP code in their service area just to play. It’s a little detail, but it shows how thorough they were with their UI and design.

Branding the rewards program with Zions’ own, unique name, Cash Back Boulevard, is smart. As a financial marketer, you aren’t doing yourself any favors by trying to differentiate with a rewards program that looks and sounds like everyone else’s: RewardsPlus, Choice Rewards, etc. Plus, using an original name makes it easier to find a URL you’ll like. In this case, www.cashbackboulevard.com works well.

Bottom Line
In ABA’s Bank Marketing magazine, Zions Bank claims the campaign generated the following results:

• 9,000 registrants*
• 248,000 contest entries*
• 70% increase in website logins
• 27% increase in new accounts
• 25% increase in existing card usage

* Presumably people who finished the game.

Here’s an example of how one credit union, Sharonview FCU, is utilizing all the good press credit unions have been getting lately.

They took snippets from articles shared here at The Financial Brand and created this simple – yet highly instructive – piece about the Five S story (safe, sound, secure, strong, stable) that credit unions have to tell.

Sharonview’s Business Development team has printed and PDF versions of the flyer.
The PDF is hyperlinked to the original stories.

Heck, why not email it to members too?

Sharonview also has a “safe and sound” PDF
linked off a banner ad on its homepage.