Take a look at how Geezeo has integrated its new marketing platform into the company’s white-label personal financial management solution, and you’ll get a glimpse into the future of targeted online advertising for banks and credit unions. Geezeo is, quite simply, taking advertising behind the firewall to new levels.

First, let’s start with the basics. Online personal financial management (or PFM for short) is a set of tools that enables users to aggregate various accounts into one, singular, integrated view. Once a financial institution’s database has been interfaced with a PFM solution, it gives users the power to track expenses, create budgets and set savings and spending goals. Some systems will even show how one user’s habits compare to others.

STANFORD FCU – OVERVIEW OF GEEZEO PFM

This credit union does a nice job illustrating how Geezeo’s basic system works. There are videos and screenshots demonstrating the PFM platform in action from the end user’s perspective. If you aren’t sure how PFM works, take a look. If you already offer PFM tools, take note of how Stanford FCU is using its website to support its initiative.

As you can imagine, there is tremendous marketing potential lurking within the data warehoused by a PFM platform. Wise to this fact, Geezeo decided to integrate a system for targeting ads to users who match certain criteria. With Geezeo’s Integrated Marketing Platform 1.0, you can create segments based on demographic profile, types of financial accounts, and transaction data, so you can present high-propensity offers that are both relevant and timely. For instance, a financial institution might choose to market boat loans to every user who has a savings goal set up for a new boat, along with anyone who may have made a purchase at Bass Pro Shops. Pretty powerful stuff, eh?

“Our sweet spot has been this integrated marketing platform.”
– Peter Glyman, Geezeo
President/Co-Founder

“A one-size-fits-all strategy to banner ads typically results in very low conversions,” says Bryan Clagett, Geezeo’s Chief Marketing Officer.

According to Geezeo’s President and Co-Founder of Geezeo, Peter Glyman, “No more that 10% of financial institutions are doing any sort of marketing behind the firewall.”

“Very few do it right,” he adds. “Most of it is generic and ineffective.”

“You should be creating targeted landing pages for targeted ads,” Clagett notes.

How Geezeo’s Integrated Marketing Platform Works

Step 1 – Define a List
You start at the Geezeo administrative dashboard and select the Marketing tab. This is where you are going to create a targeted profile of users who you want to view your ad. You can specify demographic information like age and gender, geographic information like city, state and zip, or financial information like net worth and account balance.

“A lot of banks and credit unions are not satisfied with the level of control they have today,” notes Glyman.

One of the coolest features of Geezeo’s integrated marketing platform is that you can target users who have shopped at a specific store. For instance, you could target people shopping at Lowe’s or Home Depot with ads for home equity loans. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Step 2 – Create Campaign
Give your campaign a name, specify the date it will expire, then pick a size and upload the corresponding ad file from your desktop. Choose the destination URL you want your ad pointing at, and voila…Your campaign is running.

“The average marketer can get a campaign up and running in three minutes,” promises Geezeo’s Glyman.

EXAMPLE
Here you can see a crude example illustrating the location and context of Geezeo’s targeted ads.

MOBILE & TEXT ADS
Mobile ad functionality and text messaging — both push and pull — are options that can be added.

REPORTS
You can run basic reports to monitor the number of impressions, click-throughs and click-through rate.

Geezeo’s Integrated Marketing Platform 1.0 is included at no additional cost with Geezeo PFM and Community Answers Platform.

Geezeo says the beginning of the year is the ideal time to launch a PFM platform because you can tap into the vibe of New Years resolutions. It can take anywhere from 3-6 months to get the typical system up and fully running, depending on the core data system and level of customization desired. That means now is the perfect time for your financial institution’s senior leadership to be discussing PFM.

Perspective and Analysis

PFM tools like Geezeo’s not only give consumers financial information they want, bundled in a simple, powerful and attractive package, they can help you make money.

Geezeo is quick to remind financial institutions of the risks involved with using a third-party vendor to offer PFM tools. “There’s tremendous value in offering it through your own brand,” notes Geezeo’s Clagett. “You are handing cross-selling opportunities over to your competitors.”

If your financial institution has struggled to foster collaboration between Marketing and IT departments, PFM is the way to go. It’s easy for both camps to get excited and start working together.

Geezeo’s initial version of its integrated marketing platform is only in its infancy, but it’s where the future is headed. And Geezeo has ambitious plans on the horizon. The company says it will soon be adding more merchant-level marketing, with ad alerts at the transaction level. To how that works, just look at the screenshot below:

Mystery Monkey Tour Contest

Financial Institution: GTE Federal Credit Union
Microsite: www.GTEFCUMysteryMonkeyTour.com

An escaped Rhesus Macaque monkey in Tampa then evaded capture for over a year, traveling across tree tops and through backyards spanning three counties and over 400 square miles. Along the way, the wily monkey accrued a sizable following, becoming a celebrity of sorts, with around 79,000 Facebook fans.

Capitalizing on the media frenzy fueling the monkey’s fandom, GTE Federal Credit Union launched an online “Mystery Monkey Tour Contest.” The contest gave clues to the monkey’s whereabouts via GTE FCU’s Facebook account. The first person to “find” the monkey at four different locations correctly gets a $1,500 cash prize! Anyone who joined during the promotion got a Mystery Monkey of Tampa Bay T-shirt.

MYSTERY MONKEY TOUR CONTEST
Promotional copy states, “Now’s the time to get your game on
in the ultimate contest between man and monkey!”

Pros:

• Tapping the local zeitgeist is a perfect strategy for community-based financial institutions. Nothing says “We’re Local!” like a campaign referencing something the rest of the world isn’t a part of.
• You couldn’t come up with a better name.
• It’s a fun idea.
• It generates a level of name awareness that outweighs the investment.
• The t-shirts are pretty cool.
• The credit union made a donation to the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary.
  

Cons:

• There is no product tie-in or offer (note: the credit union may be sending email marketing messages to participants).
• Any connection to the credit union’s brand strategy or its identity isn’t immediately obvious.
• The contest is structured as a “race.” The contest ends as soon as someone submits the correct answer.
• Only one winner. No drawing for other participants, some of whom may have invested themselves emotionally in the contest.

Best Staycation Ever

Financial Institution: Orange County’s Credit Union
Microsite: www.staycationcontest.org

This very simple and straightforward promotion asked participants to submit a photograph and 50-word description of their best staycation ever. The sole winner of the $1,000 cash prize was determined by a public vote at the staycationcontest.org microsite. The contest was open to anyone 18 or over living in California.

James Flores, the CEO of Subcat Marketing who developed the contest for Orange County’s Credit Union, tells the story well. “This was their first foray with an online contest like this. Prior to the campaign, the credit union had no social media presence. Our recommendation was to use the contest as a way to not only cross-promote their loan products (which was the credit union’s original vision), but as a way to start an online dialog with members, and take a step into the world of social media and word-of-mouth.”

The contest yielded over 5,000 unique visitors and around 300 photo submissions. Participants’ photos represented staycations in some 190 different California communities.

BEST STAYCATION EVER CONTEST
“Just what is a ‘staycation?’ It’s that close-to-home kind of vacation –
a destination within driving distance.”

Pros:

• The concept of staycations supports credit unions’ mission of thrift (albeit a bit indirectly).
• The microsite is both well-designed and maintained.
• The site has embedded banner ads promoting loans and membership. There is one for auto loans and another asking visitors to find out how they can join Orange County’s Credit Union.
• Social networking tools for Flickr and Twitter are incorporated.

Cons:

• Some people don’t like staycations (the word and/or concept).
• There could have been a 2nd and 3rd place prize. Maybe a camera?
• They barely dipped their pinky toe into Twitter. How aggressively have they pushed their Twitter presence in offline channels?

Do Something Good Today

Financial Institution: Legacy Community FCU
Microsite: dosomethinggoodtoday.com

Legacy Community FCU spent six weeks running around the communities it serves buying people things like gas, haircuts and lunches. It’s a popular PR stunt that’s fairly effective at generating positive word-of-mouth buzz (Alta One Credit Union did something similar with its Good Deeds Done Daily promotion back in 2009.)

DO SOMETHING GOOD TODAY
The microsite features a cadre of do-good videos — lots of smiles and thank yous.

Pros:

• The concept is simple and appealing. Being nice to people is a good thing to do. The credit union left an indelible impression on those whom they surprised. Most probably thought it was the highlight of their day, maybe even their whole week.
• This kind of stuff generates the absolute best word-of-mouth buzz you could ever dream of.
• There’s great PR value in a financial institution trying to make the world a better place. News outlets are thirsty for feel-good stories to counter-balance all the negativity. Despite rampant cynicism, people still like hearing feel-good stories.
• Filming good deeds becomes great footage for TV spots.
• There’s a simple form right on the homepage so people can easily nominate a good deed. There’s also an email opt-in form so you can stay abreast of all the good deeds. Burying these forms even one page deep would reduce utilization drastically.
• The “Live Tracker” maps out where good deeds have been done in real time.
• The microsite incorporates Facebook and Twitter social networking tools.

Cons:

• There isn’t any strong call-to-action. What are visitors supposed to do? People should be encouraged to do their own good deeds for others while they are still feeling high on inspiration.
• It’s hard to link this type of initiative with the bottom line.
• You have to dig a little to find the best stuff: the gallery of videos.

When you buy a domain name for your next bank or credit union promotion, buy more than one year. Buy at least two. Better yet, buy three. At a cost of $30, there’s no excuse. When your promotion is over, put up a parking page or redirect visitors to your main website. Otherwise, this is what could happen to you…

In the fall of 2007, TIAA-CREF rolled out a massive branding campaign celebrating the financial institution’s .org web address, tiaa-cref.org. TIAA-CREF, which stands for “Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association – College Retirement Equities Fund,” felt that playing up its .org URL would draw attention to its status as a nonprofit cooperative (a sensitive discussion credit unions have quite often).

TIAA-CREF ‘POWEROF.ORG’ CAMPAIGN (2007-2009)

Advertising examples from TIAA-CREF’s campaign touting the organization’s nonprofit dot-org-ness, with lines like “O-R-G, three of the most trusted letters found after a dot on the whole World Wide Web.” There’s also a TV spot you can watch. All the ads had the powerof.org web address splattered all over them.

So TIAA-CREF’s ad agency created a microsite to support the campaign, powerof.org, as ad agencies so often do these days, then plastered the URL on every piece. In some ads, “The PowerOf.Org” is even the headline.

You can get a general sense of what the powerof.org microsite looked like in 2008 by clicking here. But when TIAA-CREF’s powerof.org domain was due to expire in 2009, someone must have either ignored the renewal notice or decided it simply wasn’t important to purchase another year.

Peter Basler, an enterprising pornographer, was paying attention, however, and snatched up the URL. Today, the powerof.org website looks quite different. Basler has turned the once-reputable site into a live online sex chat portal.

WHAT THE POWEROF.ORG SITE LOOKS LIKE TODAY

Reality Check: TIAA-CREF is one of the largest financial services companies in the world, managing over $400 billion in assets. They can afford the measly $10 a year it would take to keep their unused microsite URLs within their control.

There are literally thousands of people like Peter Basler waiting to scoop up URLs abandoned by companies who naively believed they only needed their domains for the length of their promotions. But after these companies wrap up their temporary initiatives and their domains expire, they leave behind established web addresses with valuable backlinks that spammers, pornographers and other nefarious types covet.

There is one sliver of good news for TIAA-CREF: Basler’s powerof.org expires again in September, so maybe they can get it back.

Postscript: Some might argue that it doesn’t much matter if a few stragglers stumble into a porn microsite after your promo is over. Who cares? Well, for starters, your customer, Mr. Jones, will have much to explain to Mrs. Jones when she spies a sex chat website on his computer; instead of finding the financial information he wanted, he gets an earful from his now-distrusting spouse. Do you think he’ll hold a grudge against you? You bet. But for $10, you can spare your brand and the Joneses ugly embarrassments.

To celebrate the one-year anniversary of its website redesign, Belvoir FCU hosted a virtual scavenger hunt. In its Web Hunt 2010 promotion, Belvoir FCU strategically placed what it calls “slice of life” icons — each correlating with a specific product or service — on pages throughout its website. Users who chose to participate had to register, then find all 9 “slices” to be entered in the contest’s drawing. The contest ran for 45 days.

Belvoir FCU says over 1,000 people participated in the web hunt. A total of 134,380 users visited the credit union’s website during the contest, representing an increase of almost 40,000 visitors compared with one year earlier. During the 45 days of Web Hunt 2010, a total of 255,284 pages were viewed, nearly double the site’s traffic at the time the redesigned website was launched.

Bottom Line: If you think your website is easy to use and navigate, here’s a great way to put that theory to the test. It’s an excellent example of how financial engaging can be engaging for consumers while achieving important marketing objectives for your financial institution. It’s a game. It’s fun. People will do what you ask of them — in this case, learn about your products and services — if you make it enjoyable and offer something in return.

1. Read through the great prizes to see what you could be entered to win.
2. Click the enter now button and fill out the registration form so we can properly identify our winners when the time comes. By filling out your contact information, you will also be able to sign back into the Web Hunt and pick up where your last session ended. Just in case you don’t want to search for all 9 life stages at the same time.
3. After you complete your registration form, begin your search for “slice of life” icons throughout the Web site. These slices can be found on any page on www.BelvoirCreditUnion.org’s site. Be sure to look high and low for all the icons.
4. When you find each “slice of life,” the piece will illuminate with color. Then, simply click add to place the icon in your main pie chart full of life’s stages. Be sure to scroll over the icon to read valuable information!
5. Once you have found all 9 slices and they are added to your life stage pie chart, you will be entered to win the above prizes. In addition, your pie chart can also link to various products that each life stage represents for more information. Good Luck!

REGISTRATION FORM

GAME BOARD

Chuck and Leroy are back. The two First Tech Credit Union spokesquirrels that originally made their debut in the summer of 2009 have returned in a new trio of TV ads.

In the spots, Chuck, a Western Gray Squirrel and First Tech member, explains to his dumber companion Leroy why it’s better to go to his credit union for financial needs like mortgages on burrows and checking accounts for storing nuts.

FIRST TECH – “CHOCK FULL OF NUTS”
Chuck and Leroy discuss storing their nuts at First Tech Credit Union.

The commercials are zany enough that they are likely to accomplish their main purpose — to attract attention and generate name awareness for First Tech — but it’s unclear how the squirrels fit within the credit union’s broader overall brand.

To support this new wave of ads, First Tech has created what it describes as a “engaging and interactive” microsite, NutsForFirstTech.com, where visitors can explore Chuck’s virtual treehouse. “Guests get an interactive tour of his digs and a peek at squirrel life while discovering how First Tech can help move their financial life forward,” the credit union said in a press release.

The site’s main navigation is built around a blueprint of Chuck’s treehouse, creating a virtual reality interface with 24 different nodes. You can click on Chuck’s letterman jacket for information about membership. Clicking on a shelf stacked with buckets of nuts will inform you that First Tech has budgeting tips.

Links for further information direct visitors back to First Tech’s main corporate website.

First Tech, working with ad agency partner R/West, built a real squirrel-sized treehouse for the microsite and panned a motion-controlled camera around the set to create realistic-looking visual sequences.

SETTING THE STAGE

This miniature treehouse — a make-believe squirrel burrow — was used to film sequences for First Tech’s microsite, NutsForFirstTech.com.

EXPLORING THE TREEHOUSE

There are four rooms with 24 different things you can click on in Chuck’s treehouse. Clicking on the bucket of nuts brings up this message.

“We knew First Tech wanted to highlight the benefits of being a member and what sets them apart from other financial institutions, but in a fun and interactive way,” said Sean Blixseth, president and creative director at R/West. “Nutsforfirsttech.com gives you a close-up view of what it’s like to be a part of the First Tech family.”

The NutsForFirstTech.com microsite dives so deep into the squirrel metaphor that — at first glance — it’s hard to tell the site has anything to do with financial services. There is an offer to get $50 when you switch to First Tech checking, but the offer feels overshadowed by everything else that’s going on. Take a look around for yourself and see if you think the concept works.

Key Questions: What’s next? Will First Tech’s squirrels break through to iconic- or viral status? Or will they jump a shark? And will Chuck and Leroy survive First Tech’s planned merger with fellow technology credit union Addison Avenue? Or will they get squashed on the road to a new joint brand?

First Tech Credit Union has $2.2 billion in assets, 165,000 members and 17 branches in Oregon and Washington.

“Boring is sexy these days,” says Montana 1st Credit Union on its promotional microsite, BoringIsSexy.com. The credit union’s agency, iDiz, cleverly used the promo’s URL as the campaign catchphrase — BoringIsSexy.com. The word “sexy” isn’t something you see in financial marketing very often, nor the color pink. The attention-grabbing combination is very unexpected.

If you’re going to do a “boring” promotion, there is probably no better typeface you could pick than Courier, which is what Montana 1st uses exclusively on its Boring Is Sexy microsite. The project recently won an award from CUNA for marketing excellence.

“When it comes to your money, too much excitement is the last thing you need,” reads the introduction on the microsite. “Montana 1st Credit Union has been prudently boring the socks off Missoula for more than 78 years. Just ask your Grandpa. Since 1931, we’ve been quietly doing what’s right for our members without any high-roller excitement. No corporate jets, no million-dollar salaries. Just great rates and outstanding member service, year after year after boring year.”

Now that’s great copy. It has personality, style and attitude. There’s a distinct voice with a relevant message and points-of-proof. Even the credit union’s new slogan reflects the plain-vanilla message and tone:

While some financial institutions struggle to find a way to weave even a single product into their online promotions, Montana 1st has managed to successfully feather in a full range of products on the microsite’s homepage — six, to be exact. And they all have been given wonderfully unexciting names:

• Plain Vanilla Auto Loans
• Mild-Mannered Mortgages
• Delightfully Dull Home Equity Loans
• Common Sense Checking
• Workhorse Certificates
• Safe & Stodgy Savings

Clicking on any of the product links takes visitors back to the main corporate website for Montana 1st. The two sites may look a different, but there is continuity of message and tone.

And if plain vanilla is your thing, you can swing by one of two Montana 1st branches for a free scoop of ice cream…every day.

Montana 1st is doing something else a little unusual. They are promoting their microsite with a giant banner ad right on the homepage of their main website.

Banks and credit unions typically use microsites to drive traffic back to their main website, not the other way around. Montana 1st proudly redirects visitors to its corporate site over to BoringIsSexy.com.

Very few financial institutions would be comfortable running a “teaser” billboard like this — nothing but a URL, not even a logo.

As part of SunTrust’s ongoing “Live Solid, Bank Solid” branding campaign, the bank has launched LiveSolid.com, a large-scale financial education website. LiveSolid.com takes “a holistic approach” to people’s “overall well being,” offering advice on personal interests and managing one’s finances.

SunTrust describes the website as “an online resource center to help people navigate the intersection of life and money.” Visitors can access tools to budget effectively, teach children about money, learn about retirement planning, or discover ways to balance life and manage stress.

LiveSolid.com is a robust website providing hundreds of tools, calculators, articles, guides, videos, audio recordings and tips to help consumers make smart financial decisions.

LIVESOLID.COM
A financial education website with tips, tools,
calculators, videos, audio recordings and guides.

The menu categories used in LiveSolid.com’s main navigation scheme are matched to people’s interests and lifestages:

• My Well Being – Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle, Enjoying Down Time
  Finding Life Balance, Managing Stress
• My Money – Setting a Budget, Shopping Smart, Getting Out of Debt, Planning for Life’s Surprises, Managing Work & Benefits, Financial Tools
• My Relationships – Getting Married, Managing Family & Finances, Building Better Relationships
• My Retirement – Planning for Retirement, Entering Retirement
• My Future Plans – Buying a Car, Buying a Home, Planning a Vacation, Building a Career
• My Children – Starting a Family, Parenting Effectively, Teaching Kids About Money, Tackling College & Tuition

CALCULATOR – HOW MUCH DO I NEED TO SAVE FOR COLLEGE?
One of more than 100 calculators, including “How much home can I afford?”
“How can I pay down my debt?” “How can I budget for a vacation
and other unforeseen expenses?”

The website includes an RSS feed and links to SunTrust’s Facebook fan page and Twitter account. There are also a few links in the website’s footer pointing back to SunTrust’s main website.

“The LiveSolid.com enables people to benefit from experts and also connect with and share information with other people experiencing the same life situations,” said Rilla Delorier, CMO/SunTrust. “We urge people to visit LiveSolid.com and join the conversation on the Internet, Facebook and Twitter.”

Reviewed and written by Jeff Stephens, CEO/Creative Brand Communications

In the summer of 2009, Bank of Utah knew one of its competitors, a community bank with many business customers, was struggling and facing likely action from the FDIC. Bank of Utah saw an opportunity to capture new business from the anticipated fallout, and thus was born their Find Me a Banker microsite.

FindMeABanker.com

A sample profile page shows business and personal information about one of the Bank of Utah’s business banker.

The site includes profiles of Bank of Utah’s business bankers, listing basic experience, areas of specialty and contact information. There are also personal factoids about family life, hobbies and interesting “fun facts.”

“We wanted to be positioned as the community bank for displaced business customers,” explained Greg Willis, Bank of Utah’s marketing specialist. “Our strategy was to communicate the importance of having an expert business banker, and how advantageous a good business banking relationship can be.”

Bank of Utah understands that people pick who they want to work with based on more than just credentials. Even in business, sometimes it’s small, unrelated things like shared hobbies or interests that connect people. This is why the “Request a Banker Match” page asks personal questions about hobbies and individual banking needs, (in addition to requesting information on business banking needs.) The bank states that upon filling out the form, “Matches may take up to one business day to return.”

“The emphasis was on making a personal connection. This person is more than just a banker, he or she is a fellow community member with personal interests just like you,” Willis continued.

While the site has been live since October, Bank of Utah didn’t really start promoting it until the beginning of December. Marketing tactics include:

• Web banners from bankofutah.com
• Banner ads on local websites, geo-targeted for the area where the competing bank is headquartered and has its largest customer base
• Direct mail campaign deployed by the bank’s business bankers

Bank of Utah says its site traffic has been steadily increasing, but it is still too early to evaluate results.

Analysis

Overall, the Find Me a Banker site is a strong concept and solid business development strategy, but there are a few questions the project raises:

Should the microsite look more like Bank of Utah’s website?
Microsites usually differ somewhat in appearance from the brand’s main website, but www.findmeabanker.com looks plain compared to www.bankofutah.com. They don’t need to have the exact same look and feel, but the microsite could definitely use a facelift to make it more creatively engaging. Or, quite simply, just fold the microsite completely into the main website. This project doesn’t need its own website, just a catchy marketing URL that could route you to the Find Me a Banker section of the website. Then, all the cosmetic disconnects would disappear.

Should there be a version for personal bankers?
While the dynamics of business banking relationships are certainly different than personal banking relationships, one could argue that high net worth individuals may choose a banker who handles their personal finances in much the same way as choosing a business banker. When asked about the future of a personal banker microsite, Bank of Utah’s Willis indicated there are not immediate plans for a personal banking counterpart, but that the idea may apply well to their mortgage division.

How about some customer testimonials?
Why not include a quote or comment from a happy and satisfied business banking customer for each of the business bankers? This could help soften the “take-our-word-for-it” impression many consumers get from traditional World 1.0 marketing strategies.

Could it be more intuitively searchable?
There are about 20 business bankers you can browse in the Find Me a Banker microsite. Instead of clicking on all 20+ profiles to find your banker, why not have a system to help people with their search? What if you could find a banker who “specializes in commercial real estate loans,” or “loves dogs,”  or “is active in Boys & Girls Clubs?”

Could the site be made more word-of-mouth oriented?
Advertising and direct mail campaigns will certainly drive clicks to the microsite, but will those visits result in exponentially more visits from other customers? With a few adjustments, the site would have the opportunity to spread with more viral effect. With the inclusion of some engaging value-added content on the site, and a few “tell a friend” links to facilitate the spread of the site, Find Me a Banker could increase its profile in Bank of Utah’s market.

Find Me a Banker is a good idea that has potential to become even better with some creative tweaks. Perhaps the most important thing Bank of Utah’s project points out is that developing strong relationships with customers entails connecting on a personal level. Hopefully the microsite inspires other financial institutions to develop their own customer-centric online tools

———————————————————————————————————————————
About the author: Jeff Stephens is founder and CEO of Creative Brand Communications (CBC), a full-service bank and credit union branding and marketing agency. CBC helps financial institutions find their story, tell it, and most importantly, prove it.

The Scenario

Someone feels they’ve been mistreated by your financial institution. They’re pissed off, so they launch a hard-hitting online vendetta against you, centering around a new blog or website. They pull no punches, bitterly and ferociously ripping into you. They keep pushing your buttons trying to get a response. If/when thtey do get a rise out of you, they push even harder.

This kind of situation has become an increasingly common phenomenon in recent months. Standard Bank in South Africa has been contending with a former customer taking them to task in blog posts and on Twitter since July 2009. The vendetta was launched with this tweeted declaration: “We’re putting Standard Bank in the hot seat, holding them accountable for abusing customers!”

Priority One Credit Union has been under attack from an obsessive blogger since January 2009. This person (possibly a former employee) has written some 90 blog posts. That’s an average of one every four days. Some are over 2,000 words long.

Then there’s Navy FCU. Someone name “Chris” claiming to be “a happy and loyal member” before “things changed” has been hammering away on the world’s biggest credit union with his blog, navyfcusucks.com, and a Twitter account, @NavyFCUSucks.

NAVY FCU SUCKS
A blog (left) with a number of articles critical of Navy FCU bears the slogan, “Membership Counts (For Squat).” At the NavyFCUSucks Twitter stream (right), you can find almost everything negative that everyone on Twitter has said about the credit union.

And just about every major bank in the world has a “[Brand Name] Bank Sucks” fan page on Facebook. Just take a look for yourself.

Defensive Cybersquatting Doesn’t Work

These kinds of nightmare scenarios make financial institutions wonder what they can do. “Can we prevent this kind of online vendetta by cybersquatting [ourbank]sucks.com?”

No. Here’s why.

For starters, it’s impossible from a practical perspective. A scorned customer/member/former employee will be able to find some available combination of derisive terms for their blog’s URL. There’s yourbanksucks.com, yourbank-sucks.com, your-bank-sucks.com, boycott-your-bank.com, etc. There is an infinite array of options one can come up with that require only a juvenile level of creativity.

Someone can always launch a blog at a free, third-party service like Blogspot or Wordpress, using URLs like yourbanksucks.blogspot.com or yourbanksucks.wordpress.com. This is a much more likely threat, because not everyone is willing to pony up the money to pay for a domain name and hosted internet server (around $100 per year).

The problem compounds exponentially when you start looking at all the social media platforms one would have to cover: Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, etc. It’s simply too tedious and time-consuming to run around the web cybersquatting all these names that might possibly be used against you in a future attack.

Key Question: What will people think when they perform a search at their favorite social media sites and see all these harsh and negative names?

This is precisely what concerns Jason Kincy, VP/Alternative Delivery Manager for Arvest Bank. “I don’t like squatting and allowing customers to view them in searching for your company,” he says.

Reality Check: You can’t secure all the possible combinations and cybersquat your way out of an online attack. Trying to reserve even the most basic, obvious combinations would be extremely tedious. There are just too many. You can’t cover them all.

As Brent Dixon with Filene, a credit union think tank, puts it, “That feels like an exhausting, neurotic thing for a person to do.”

Indeed, no one bent on revenge is likely to give up simply because their first choice for a URL — [yourbank]sucks.com — isn’t available.

“I would think someone motivated enough to start one of these is motivated enough to find a name you haven’t squatted,” adds Mark McSpadden, an expert in online financial technologies.

The truth is, there is no fool-proof defensive countermeasure that will thwart possible online attacks. You can provide the greatest customer service on earth, and you may still be unfortunate enough to run into someone who has the time and energy to point out your failings (real or perceived).

Reality Check: If someone wants to initiate a vendetta bashing your financial institution, there’s really nothing you can do to stop them. Someone w/a score to settle will find a way to launch their attack.

So What Can We Do?

Most experts on social media agree that you should try to reconcile differences by engaging with the upset blogger.

“Learn to be better at dealing with conflict, rather than earmuffing it and hoping ignorance will work,” advises Filene’s Dixon.

William Azaroff, head of online strategy for VanCity, a large Canadian credit union, has a number of good tips for how to best tackle angry bloggers. Read his excellent blog post about monitoring your online brand health, then check out this companion presentation, “Responding to Bloggers”:

One thing to consider is to simply invite the begrudged person to have a cup of coffee. If they are a rational, reasonable person with a real grievance, you can give it a try. If your only publicly published response on the internet is an invitation to “sit down and talk,” it will at least look like you’re trying to take the high road and make amends, even if your offer is rejected.

Remember, you’re dealing with people’s emotions. These people feel you hurt them. They probably feel unimportant and disrespected, as if they weren’t worth your time. Think about how you can address these feelings, and not just resolving the financial transaction that triggered their ire.

The good news is that if you can resolve the issue, there’s a very good chance that this person will flip from a “brand detractor” and turn into a “brand advocate.” Many times, people judge brands (just like people) by how they perform during their darkest moments. The same person who was once willing to rant about your ills yesterday may also be the same person to extol your virtues tomorrow.

As difficult as it may seem to find anything positive in these situations, just keep in mind that you may be able to turn a sour lemon into some great PR/word-of-mouth lemonade.

Reality Check: Sometimes, there is simply no way you can win.

Some people are bullies, where anything you say can (and will) be used against you. Others are plain old nutjobs, and there is nothing you can do to stop them. Don’t bother engaging with people who are downright nasty or suffer from psychosis. It’s a waste of energy.

Once a blogger has moved past their own complaint and begins adopting/echoing the grievances of others, or looks for new things to bitch about, their vendetta has taken on a life of its own and your opportunity to reach-out has probably vanished. In such cases, it may be best to just wait it out, and hopefully the blogger will someday give up or go away.

Whenever someone launches an online attack against your financial institution, you should always consider talking to your lawyers. Seek their counsel and keep them informed. If the blogger ever crosses the line with libelous comments, don’t be afraid to slap a lawsuit on them. It’s your legal right to defend your reputation when people lie about you.

The Financial Brand has learned of at least one situation where lawyers were called in after months of abuse from the virtual pen of a jilted former employee. The financial institution’s lawyers fired off a letter full of scary legal terms and the website was turned off — immediately. Sometimes, “engagement,” “dialogue” and “joining the conversation” aren’t the best ways to deal with big brand problems on the social web.

Reviewed and written by Jeff Stephens, CEO/Creative Brand Communications

San Antonio-based USAA Savings Bank, which provides financial services to military personnel and their families, recently ended two months of weekly sweepstakes to promote their new Member 2 Member forum. Within USAA’s website, members can use the Member 2 Member forum to ask and answer questions, ask for help, and to share their USAA banking experiences with one another.

MEMBER 2 MEMBER
Questions and answers by members for members. You must be a USAA member with a registered online account in order to write reviews or ask questions. USAA employees (who are also presumably members) frequently step in to answer questions about the bank’s products. (Note the “Compare” tab, which stacks USAA up against key competitors like Navy FCU.)

Those who posted questions or commented during the sweepstakes period (August 29 through October 31) were entered to win a USAA iPod shuffle or $200 Apple Store gift card in a weekly drawing. Members received one contest entry per post, so the more they interacted online, the greater their chances of winning.

While the Member 2 Member forum is only available for certain products and topics — like Personal Finances — almost every product and service offered by USAA now incorporates Member Reviews on the corresponding website page. Each product’s Member Reviews page allows members to rate the product on a five-star scale, and write/read reviews.

Some of website pages for select USAA products — like Checking, Teen Checking, Savings and Certificates of Deposit — include both components, Member Reviews and the Member 2 Member forum.

MEMBER REVIEWS
By default, member reviews are organized by “Rating – High to Low.”

AMERICA FIRST – RATINGS & REVIEWS
Members of this Utah credit union have been able to rate and review products at the americafirst.com website since at least February of 2008. The system is nearly identical to the one USAA recently deployed. The feature has survived for nearly two years — including a major site redesign — so the credit union clearly sees value in continuing with public ratings and reviews.

Members are definitely using the forum. Since the beginning of September, the Checking category alone has amassed over 3,100 reviews and 85 questions. Members rate USAA’s free checking product 4.8 out of five stars.

Reality Check: You’ve got to feel very confident in your products if you’re going to let people rate them publicly online. If you don’t get the ratings you expect, you’ll either get your act together…or kill the ratings/reviews feature — fast.

USAA is allowing negative reviews of its products and services to be posted, which is very important for building honest, two-way communication in today’s online world. Reviews are only useful if they include the full range of opinions. On USAA’s site, you won’t see any bad reviews unless you change the default “Sort Reviews By” setting from “Highest Rated” to “Lowest Rated.”

Most forums are organized by “Date Posted” so that one immediately encounters the most recent opinions shared. This helps present an honest — and less biased — mix of peoples’ experiences, not just the ones you want people to see.

Participation has not dropped since the sweepstakes period ended more than a month ago. Sorting reviews by date reveals that members are still regularly posting new comments, as well as asking and answering questions on the Member 2 Member pages. It proves that USAA members are passionate enough to actively comment whether they get a prize or not.
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About the author: Jeff Stephens is founder and CEO of Creative Brand Communications (CBC), a full-service bank and credit union branding and marketing agency. CBC helps financial institutions find their story, tell it, and most importantly, prove it.

When The Financial Brand was launched, there wasn’t much point in creating an archive of articles. But today marks a milestone. This article represents the 500th story published here at The Financial Brand.

After five straight days of combing through the archives to find the best articles that have been — up until now — lost to time, The Financial Brand is pleased to introduce the “Idea Bank.” (Note the new link added to the site’s main navigation.)

The Idea Bank organizes hundreds of The Financial Brand’s articles into eight separate categories:

• Ad Campaigns — A portfolio full of advertising created to generate awareness about financial institutions and/or their products and services. Includes a collection of “Creative Showcases.”
• Branches — Sections include Branch Strategy articles, examples of Retail Branches, and advice on creating a friendly-yet-secure in-BRANCH EXPERIENCE with Operation Safecatch.
• Brand Strategy — Articles on general brand strategy, a subsection on how an organization’s Culture affects its brand, and a special section just for credit union issues.
• Branding Campaigns — How financial institutions position their brands publicly, typically through mass media marketing channels.
• Marketing — General advice, articles and interviews about financial marketing.
• Naming — The single largest collection of articles on naming in the financial industry that you’ll find anywhere.
• Promotions — Sales campaigns and other promotional ideas, broken down by type: Loans, Deposits, Guerilla, Small Business and Feel Good.
• Social Media — Here’s where you can find articles about how financial institutions are using tools like Twitter and Facebook.

It just may be the single largest collection of financial branding, advertising, marketing and naming articles available — for free — anywhere on the web.

Now, when you’re looking for ideas, advice or inspiration about a specific topic, or when you’re looking for a story you’re sure you read, you have a handy, centralized resource that should (hopefully) make it a little easier to find what you want.

Check it out and take a look around. Please feel free to leave your comments, feedback and/or suggestions in the comments below.

Just be careful. You may find yourself spending more time in the Idea Bank than you thought. Enjoy!

[Note: This article is a guest submission from Maija Klarin from PSST! Marketing, a word-of-mouth marketing firm for financial institutions.]

First Direct, the UK internet/telephone bank and subsidiary of HSBC, is leveraging its positive word of mouth reputation with a new microsite, First Direct Live, that highlights people’s sentiments about the bank — both good and bad. The Marketing Communications Manager for First Direct, Natalie Cowen, says the microsite is “a very open and transparent way of projecting the voice of our customers.”

First Direct has built its brand identity entirely around a sleek, simple, all-black look.

The microsite gathers mentions of the First Direct brand from social media feeds, blogs and message boards, and displays them for all to see. Visitors can also post their comments directly on the site in the Talking Point area. There is no one else in the industry that is facilitating public conversation about their brand in such an honest and open manner. It is clear that First Direct is embracing the principles of social media and word of mouth marketing, and their forward-thinking approach to communication should do well to differentiate them from the masses.

Various modules at the First Direct microsite stream comments, feelings and words about the brand.

First Direct understand that their new business comes largely from customer referrals, and that referrals are more believable when people hear both positive and negative testimonials. In addition to posting them on the microsite, the bank will be taking a selection of people’s comments and using them in a print, digital out of home and online campaign.

People’s feedback on First Direct includes both the positive and the negative.

First Direct should be admired its courage, allowing the site to be a real-time aggregate source of positive- and negative public feedback. It would be daring of any company to do this, but it’s especially so for a bank because the entire financial industry has received so much criticism lately.

The First Direct brand is known for its exemplary customer service and for having a vocal fan base. This microsite is indicative of how much the bank trusts its customers to spread positive word of mouth.

How many financial institutions can say that?

<—- That’s it. Right over there. The link that says “Toolbox.”

Not long ago, the Toolbox used to just be a list of links to financial industry blogs and other websites of interest. Those links are still there. But now there’s also the most comprehensive directory you’ll find anywhereof financial institutions on Twitter, the largest collection of financial slogans, a link to The Financial Brand’s YouTube account where there are over 100 financial TV spots and videos, a link to branding presentations from The Financial Brand, as well as an archive of topics.

There is now a form at the bottom of each page so readers can submit their own taglines, Twitter accounts and blogs to The Financial Brand. [Note: all submissions are subject to review and approval.] You can also make a submission directly using the form(s) below.

This is just the first phase of the Toolbox. Future sections are planned, and some are even under development currently, like a Glossary of Branding Terms. Other potential additions to the Toolbox include a calendar of events, job listings, vendor directory, book recommendations, Facebook directory of financial institutions and a directory of financial institutions with blogs.

What do you think? What kind of resources would you like to see in the Toolbox? Take the poll or add your suggestion in the comments at the bottom of this article.

[Note to RSS Subscribers: There is a poll and three submission forms embedded in this article.]

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There are many fantastic resources available to financial professionals on the web these days. It’s simply amazing how much good information is out there — for free. But here are a few of the best sites (in no particular order) you may not have heard of, or that maybe deserve a second look. Indeed, there are many other excellent sites not included in this list, and it was built to the exclusion of no one.

BankInnovation.net

Official Description: “BankInnovation.net offers industry professionals a unique forum for sharing information, reading news, posting blogs, and e-networking with colleagues.” BankInnovation.net tracks and encourages innovation in banking. We record innovation successes and failures and we do so in a revolutionary manner, through the dynamism of a social network, where bankers of common ilk and dreams can come together to share ideas and insights.”

Review: This relatively new community is drawing an impressive and continual stream of financial executives. Any member can create a group, write blog posts and comment on articles. Take a look around. You don’t have to be an active, vocal member to get something out of BankInnovation.net.

The Bank Channel

Official Description: “This blog aims to explore the interactions we engage in with large financial and other organisations, and how we can improve the experiences we have and how innovation is given life. The co-ordinated intersection of customer experience, marketing, strategy, innovation and technology is what can make our interactions positive ones.”

Review: This site comes from Rob Findlay. Even if you had followed Rob’s blog since its inception, you could be forgiven for not knowing that he lives in Australia and works for NAB (one of Australia’s biggest banks). He bangs out one solid post after another with tremendous consistency. The “Innovation Roundups” alone make this site a must-see. And even though he has a very global perspective, the issues he explores are relevant to financial institutions of all sizes everywhere. If you had to choose only one website to follow (besides The Financial Brand, of course), this would be the one.

Filene Research Institute

Official Description: “Filene is dedicated to scientific and thoughtful analysis about issues affecting the future of consumer finance and credit unions. Through Filene, leading scholars and consultants analyze managerial problems, public policy questions, and consumer needs for the benefit of the credit union movement.”

Review: These guys consistently come up with some of the most innovative ideas in the financial industry, and share them “open source.” What’s more is that they actually find credit unions willing to pioneer many of the ideas in beta tests. But the best part is that many of Filene’s ideas can work for any financial institution — even banks. Add to that the excellent research reports they bang out on a regular basis, and Filene is one to follow.

Bank Marketing Magazine

Official Description: “ABA Bank Marketing is a carefully-designed package of “marketing intelligence,” featuring essential industry news, in-depth articles, award-winning columnists and opinions, useful case studies and time-saving advice.”

Review: At the magazine’s official website, the only things you can check out are the current issue’s cover story and table of contents. But you can read every story in every issue — without creating an account — here, at the Farlax Free Library. Unfortunately, these online articles don’t include any of the photos. What you really should do is get a paid print subscription so you can see all the excellent, real-world examples they include.

Finextra.com

Official Description: “Finextra is the leading independent newswire and information source for the worldwide financial technology community. Finextra covers all significant technology news in wholesale and retail banking, the capital markets and insurance. Finextra also publishes a wide range of research articles, features, white papers and case studies.”

Review: Finextra not only has great news, there are a number of smart bloggers from around Europe’s financial industry sharing their insights on a regular basis. It’s a large, robust community worth taking a look at.

Netbanker.com

Official Description: “NetBanker is a leading online finance and banking blog. We cover everything from online banking to person-to-person lending to mortgage lead generation in order to give our 6,000+ subscribers the financial industry news and analysis they need daily.“

Review: Odds are if you’re reading The Financial Brand, you’re reading Jim Bruene (pronounced BREEN ee) over at Netbanker. If you’re not, you should be. Netbanker covers all the latest technologies, innovations and online marketing strategies in the financial industry. Every article is smart and savvy.

The Financial Services Club Blog

Official Description: “A unique service designed for senior executives and decision makers from any firm interested in understanding and planning for the future of Europe’s financial markets.”

Review: Chris Skinner, the blog’s author is one of the most prolific writers in the financial industry. He hammers out volumes of insights every week. And don’t be fooled…The blog claims to be focused on Europe, but you’ll find tons of stuff that applies to just about any financial institution.

Also, Don’t Miss These Sites:

• EverythingCU – An excellent forum exclusively for credit union employees.
• Bruen/Bensley Blog – Odd combo of credit unions and cute animals that works surprisingly well.
• Banktastic – A forum, blog and community.

Definitely Pass on This One:

The award for the worst coverage in the financial industry goes to Brandweek. They haven’t been able to muster more than one or two stories about the financial industry in the last six months!

There hasn’t been this much turmoil affecting any single industry in history, and Brandweek can’t/won’t come up with any stories about what brand challenges financial institutions are now facing??? Come on. This should be a no-brainer. Double-thumbs down to Brandweek — one for not living up to its name, the other for missing an incredible opportunity to educate readers (in all industries) with a highly topical subject.

The articles Brandweek does have come from the la-la land of hypermegaglobal brands and their megahuge agencies. It’s very difficult to relate to unless you’re part of branding’s inner circle and steward multi-million, international marketing budgets — Weiden & Kennedy, Nike, Crispin Porter, BBDO, Budweiser, etc. For some reason though, banks like BofA and Chase aren’t included in Brandweek’s super exclusive world.

[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.