[Editor's Note: This program is about 18 months old, but it just crossed my desk for the first time last week. Have you heard of it? After generating some initial buzz, it doesn't appear to have gained any real traction. Sources at Netbanker say there was a controversial video that may have had the power to take this promo viral, but the video was offensive enough that it was pulled. Nevertheless, the program illustrates one way you can creatively link products with Web 2.0 initiatives.]

MoveOutMoveUp.com, an interactive microsite from ING, speaks with a wry voice to the unique circumstances typical renters endure prior to home ownership.

Entertainment – rather than sales or information – seems to be the site’s primary purpose. There’s plenty of amusing distractions related to the frustrations of renting, but most of the content only tangentially connects back to ING’s lending efforts.

Much of the all-Flash site is designed like a video game. In fact, the site features two actual games: Photo-Hunt, where you find the differences between two similar-looking photos, and Avoid the Neighbor, where you have to navigate an orange ball away from a swarm of irritating neighbors (Nosey Nora or Creepy Carl, for instance). Both games are fun, but only for about 5 minutes. Not a lot of replay value.

There are two videos at the site. One video depicts a woman’s frustrations as she loads and unloads groceries into and out of an apartment elevator. It’s not very interesting. The other video is a shade away from a fart joke. A gal’s hopes for a romantic dinner in her ultra-tiny loft are dashed when her boyfriend comes out of the bathroom wafting his hands – surprisingly unfunny as far as “light-a-match” moments go.

The videos are also available from a special ING account on YouTube created specifically for the promotion (here and here).

The videos merely depict renters’ motivations behind moving out (annoying elevators, pervasive poo smell), but doesn’t give a lot of advice on moving up. ING missed an opportunity to really reach out to renters with some helpful tips and information. Instead of just telling renters, “Yeah, we get it,” ING could have also said, “And here’s some things you might not have considered.” Some people call this lifestage marketing. Whatever you call it, ING didn’t do it.

Key Question: What on- and offline marketing did ING use to drive traffic to the site?

The site is pretty entertaining, fairly engaging and occasionally funny, which isn’t very common in financial services. It just lacks that certain spark or magic or cleverness required to catapult an idea into the viral stratosphere.

The interface isn’t obvious, which is part of the site’s charm. There is a sense of discovery as you explore the interface.

There are a number of little creative gems sprinkled throughout the site, like ING’s signature orange ball which makes clever cameos here and there.

Key Takeaways: Web 2.0 tools should not be deployed simply to create “engagement” and “conversation” – that touchy-feely crap doesn’t create sales. Business objectives should drive your Web 2.0 strategies. Build your Web 2.0 solutions around products critical to your success.

This campaign was a collaborative effort involving ING Direct’s Marketing team, its lead strategic agency GWP Brand Engineering, and its online creative agency Creative Priority.

With a sleek, jet-black website, and equally slick TV spots featuring a Beatles soundtrack, CommSec claims to be the first and only financial institution enabling Australians to access both cash and investment accounts in a single view with a single login.

CommSec provides an overview of the service in a snazzy Flash tour at a microsite created for the promotion. The microsite takes about 10 seconds or so to load, after which you are treated to a few floating words along with a contemporary interpretation of the Beatles “Come Together.”

Key Question: What do you think it cost to use the song?

The song was chosen to reinforce the firm’s slogan, “Better Together,” which was also the inspiration for the microsite’s URL, www.bettertogether.com.au.

There’s not a lot of meat or info at the microsite, just a few facts about and a six-question quiz CommSec calls the “Better Together Challenge.”

CommSec calls the new service a “Cash Management Account,” which includes a 7.5% interest rate an no monthly fees. You can move money quickly and seamlessly between cash, your investments and your trading account, plus you can tie your trading account to a margin loan. There’s also an auto-sweeping option.

Sounds like everything the self-guided investor needs.

There is one drawback though, and it involves a complicated system of ID verification in Australia. Apparently CommSec’s process for opening an account falls short, at least according to one expert on Australian banking who reviewed the new offering.

To support the launch of the new account, CommSec is giving away $100,000 AU to ten new customers, plus another additional $150,000 AU in other prizes. A special :15 second TV spot is used to communicate just the giveaway component of the promotion, while another pair of :30 TV spots communicate the new account’s broader benefits, including this one:

The spots use the “Come Together” metaphor and soundtrack, as clips show a series of innovations that – in retrospect – naturally go together.

The “Cash Management” aggregation account isn’t the first “first” for CommSec. They’ve also recently introduced Australia’s first trading platform for the iPhone.

Every now and then, there’s a bank that really understands the importance of having an integrated brand supporting a narrow focus on a specific audience.

Goldwater Bank, targeting upscale residents in the posh retirement mecca of Scottsdale, Arizona, is such a bank. Their website is a visually lush and stunning reflection of the bank’s equally-impressive in-branch experience.

When you pull up to their prestigious location on Scottsdale’s ritzy waterfront, you can have the Goldwater valet park your car for you. Then, when you’re inside, you can help yourself to a cold drink from the refrigerator and check your email on a new Apple Macintosh. There are no tellers, just private, sit-down transaction pods.

Everything about them is refined, sophisticated. Even the name is on-brand.

They call it “Lifestyle Banking,” and it’s built on what they refer to as “The Five C’s:”

• Common sense
• Courtesy
• Customization
• Concierge
• Courier

It’s the last two C’s – the concierge and courier – that really stand out. Yep. That’s right. They have a courier. If you’re too busy to make it to the bank, don’t worry. You can use Goldwater’s door-to-door banking services.

That’s not all. Their concierge will help you with everything from taking care of your pets to picking up your mail. They’ll also help you with such things as buying flowers, arranging dinners, booking exotic trips, getting tickets to exclusive events, and all that other stuff the rich don’t have time to do themselves.

Luxury banking with swanky pampering. Sounds pretty nice, doesn’t it?

Surprisingly, this bank isn’t just for the super-rich and mega-famous. The minimum required to open a checking account is $25,000. Maintain an average balance above that and you qualify as a member of their Elite Status program.

The only downside to the website is its music track. It gets old pretty quickly. And forgets that your preference was “no music” when you reload the site.

Key Takeaway: When you focus on a specific audience and their unique needs, it’s much easier to align every aspect of your organization around a cohesive brand — what you do, what you offer and how you offer it.

Source: Cashcow.in (thanks!)