“Kasasa?” What is it?

If Bancvue is right, it’s the weapon smaller financial institutions need to successfully compete with big banks for demand-deposit accounts (DDAs) like checking and savings products.

The firm has recently announced a combination of accounts specifically for community banks and credit unions, all unified under a single, national brand: Kasasa.

It may sound strange — the idea of banks and credit unions cooperating with one another — but Bancvue believes collective scale is the only way smaller financial institutions can fight the massive marketing muscle of megabanks.

“Think about it,” said Gabe Krajicek, CEO/BancVue, in a press release. “When a community bank or credit union prints Visa or MasterCard on its debit card, accountholders know with confidence their transactions will clear. Similarly, when a community financial institution associates with the Kasasa brand, customers will know with the same kind of confidence they’re opening the best checking accounts in the country.”

Reality Check: It takes a long time and hundreds of millions of dollars to create a brand as well-known and as trustworthy as Visa or Mastercard.

Kasasa launched with four components:

• Kasasa Cash – A checking account that pays a higher-than-average interest rate (say around 4.0% APY).
• Kasasa Saver – An interest-bearing savings account where ATM refunds + interested earned in their Kasasa Cash account are automatically deposited.
• Kasasa Giving – A high-interest checking account that directs earned interest to the accountholder’s selected charity. In addition, extra money is donated with every qualified debit card purchase.
• Kasasa Tunes – Every month consumers earn free iTunes downloads, usually in lieu of earning interest on their checking balance.

KASASA PRODUCTS
Each of the three checking accounts — Cash, Giving and Tunes — are strong products in their own right. Giving consumers the flexibility of choice is what makes the Kasasa solution so powerful.

Consumers can only earn the benefits of these accounts by meeting monthly qualifications such as using their debit cards, accepting e-statements, and making electronic transactions.

Financial institutions deploying the Kasasa line-up get a dedicated page at Kasasa’s secure website. The page helps consumers select which Kasasa product they want, then guides them through an account opening process.

Here’s an example of how Kasasa works at First Arkansas Bank & Trust:

FAB&T’S KASASA
The bank promotes Kasasa products on its website (left). Customers wishing to open an account are
then redirected to an FAB&T-branded page at the Kasasa.com website to complete the process (right).

KASASA VIDEOS
Bancvue has a series of videos on a branded YouTube channel, including some sample :30 spots that might run in your market… should you — or one of your competitors — choose to deploy the Kasasa solution. This one here is for “Kasasa Giving” and “Stand Up to Cancer.”

From the Makers of…

A few years ago, when Bancvue and FirstROI launched their revolutionary REWARDChecking concept, they lit the financial industry on fire. The idea was simple: If you could get consumers to adopt the right combination of services — primarily direct deposit, e-statements, online banking and bill pay — you can offer significant premiums in exchange, like a higher-than-normal interest rate or free iTunes downloads.

The product didn’t just require consumers sign-up for these services though. They had to actually use them. To qualify for the higher interest rate — sometimes upwards of 6.0% — people had to do things like make debit purchases, log into online banking and pay bills every month. It’s something called “right channeling” in the financial industry, and in short order, the two firms quickly chalked up over 600 clients.

The original model licensed the REWARDChecking product to various financial institutions who would then give it their own proprietary name and marketing support. Kasasa is Bancvue’s next-generation of REWARDChecking, requiring use of the Kasasa name and marketing materials.

Bancvue estimates that its REWARDChecking clients spend about $100,000 each marketing their proprietary checking accounts, or an estimated $60 million total.

“Despite this huge marketing budget and truly megabank-sized network, community financial institutions are not capturing the consumer’s attention because each has been promoting its individual brand of checking account,” said Krajicek.

“I Kasasa. You Kasasa. He/she/they Kasasa.”

To capture consumers’ attention, BancVue wanted a very different name for its new product.

“They wanted something with fun energy that could be either a noun or verb,” Susan Sierota, CMO/BancVue, said in an interview with The Financial Brand.

And they specifically wanted a coined name, “one that had no meaning so Bancvue could build its own meaning behind it,” explained Sierota.

But, Sierota said, not everyone was behind “Kasasa” immediately.

“The first time BancVue executives presented the name at one of its board meetings, the chairman said, ‘On a scale from 1-to-10, my gauge isn’t even quivering above 0,’” Shaprio recalled. “For the next five minutes the entire board began teasing them, saying, ‘Do you Kasasa?’ ‘I only Kasasa in the privacy of my home.’”

When the jests stopped, the BancVue team asked, “When was the last time anyone talked about our REWARDChecking account that way?”

According to Sierota, that’s when “the light bulb went on.”

“The name has been a huge asset and has helped drive phenomenal success,” Sierota added.

“Don’t Try This At Home”

On the surface, it looks pretty easy for financial institutions to simply “reverse-engineering” the Kasasa/REWARDChecking model and go it alone without the help of Bancvue or FirstROI. But Bancvue insists they have the secret sauce essential to making this product hum.

“There have been those that have tried to replicate REWARDChecking, but have come to realize it isn’t as easy as it looks,” Sierota said. “Some clients have left and tried it on their own, but they have come back.”

“It isn’t just the product. REWARDChecking comes with marketing support and consulting that makes the whole thing work,” noted Sierota.

“Kasasa takes it up even to a higher level of inability to emulate it. The research and design of creating superior products. The marketing creative and scale of a national brand. The consulting to ensure that accounts are profitable. Nobody in the market today can duplicate Kasasa.”

Who’s Already Doing the Kasasa?

Kasasa is being offering on a limited exclusivity basis per market. Currently, there are ten banks and one credit union that have deployed it so far, including:

• Bank of Little Rock (Little Rock, AR)
• Bank of Idaho (Idaho Falls, ID)
• Countybank (Greenwood, SC)
• First Arkansas Bank & Trust (Jacksonville, AR)
• First Robinson Savings Bank, N.A. And First Vincennes Savings Bank (Robinson, IL)
• Founders Bank (Sugar Land, TX)
• Legence Bank (Eldorado, IL)
• Southern Bank (Poplar Bluff, MO)
• Seasons Federal Credit Union (Middletown, CT)
• The Bank of Marion (Marion, IL)
• Wood & Huston Bank (Cape Girardeau, MO)

The results so far have been promising. In just two months of offering Kasasa as a pilot program, participating financial institutions are reporting positive numbers:

• First Arkansas Bank & Trust increased gross new checking account openings per month by 150%.
• Bank of Little Rock (competitors with First Arkansas Bank & Trust) reported a 16.2% jump in deposit dollars over the first 75 days on Kasasa (78% annualized).
• Countybank doubled accounts and deposit dollars in an expansion market in less than four months (which took three years prior to launching Kasasa).
• Bank of Idaho reported a 40% increase in account openings in just two months.
• Legence Bank reported an 81% increase in accounts per month, 70% of which are new customers.

300 banks and credit unions attended “Kasasa Nation” in Dallas last month, an event hosted by Bancvue to debut the new DDA solution, so there seems to be significant interest.

But Kasasa isn’t for everyone. Megabanks need not apply. Of the six that have inquired, all have been turned down.

“We believe in the idea that retirement, vacations and optimism are still very doable, and we’re
initiating the ‘Save Hard, Spend Smart’ movement to prove it.”
– Umpqua Bank

The centerpiece of Umpqua’s “Save Hard, Spend Smart” initiative is a sprawling, multifaceted website that the bank describes as “a virtual financial support group for you, and an online documentary for our featured savings heroes.”

The microsite — if you can call it that — is about as robust as any you’ll see, with (1) plenty of things to do, (2) lots of ways to engage, and (3) generous servings of product specials. There’s so much going on, it’s a little mind-boggling.

• “Savings Heroes” – Follow along with three different savers as they try to reach their goals. They share their progress in separate blogs.
• “Click 4A Cause” – People vote for their favorite community organization — YWCA, Boys & Girls Clubs and KidsUnlimited — where one vote = $1. The winning charity gets $15,000. Each of the three participating charities tell their stories in separate blogs, complete with an RSS feed.
• “Savings Tips” – About 40 supershort blog posts with money saving advice.
• “Pass the Cash” – Umpqua’s name for the “refer-a-friend” component of the promotion. If you get someone to open an account, they can get a $10 savings bonus.
• “Pass the Cause” – Umpqua will give $5 to the participating charity you choose if a friend you refer opens an account.
• “Register” – People can register and create an account with personalized user-profiles so they can share their own savings tips and stories with the “Save Hard” community.
• “What’s Your Savings IQ?” – A series of questions that makes you think about the different ways in which you could be saving money.
• “Educational Events” – Educational workshops and community events on topics ranging from FDIC coverage to first time home buying.
• “Spread the Word” – Embedded social media networking tools that make it easy to share the “Save Hard” promo with others online.

There are three separate offers showcased at the microsite, what Umpqua has labeled “Save Hard Specials”:

Product offers are omnipresent throughout the microsite. There are constant reminders to “Put $10 In Your Pocket,” and “Open an Umpqua Bank Sweet Saver Account.” There is a banner ad for finding an Umpqua store. And there’s another one linking to Umpqua’s online e-SwitchKit.

Reality Check: This site is massive. Huge. Ginormous.

The overall tone of the microsite is playful, but not at the expense of brevity. All the copy is kept crisp and focused with a refreshing voice that is decidely unbanklike. For example, in the refer-a-friend section, it says, “Help out a friend, a long lost friend—or even that cute neighbor you just met.” It’s lighthearted and pleasant without trying too hard.

Overall, it’s an excellent promotion, and one worth studying if for no other reason than it’s sheer ambition. Go check it out. Just leave yourself enough time to really explore.

CLICK4ACAUSE

SAVINGS HEROES

Looking to capitalize on Americans newfound infatuation with personal savings, Regions Bank has launched a new savings initiative, most notably including TV ads and a “Save with Regions” microsite.

“SAVE WITH REGIONS” MICROSITE
The campaign’s main visual hook is undeniably similar to Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture. Even the typeface was carefully chosen to match the pop icon’s design.

“LOVE” BY ROBERT INDIANA
The sculpture stacks large, slab serif letters “LO” on top of “VE,” with the O canted sideways. The letters are red on their faces and blue on their sides. Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” sculpture is installed in numerous locations around the world, but is probably best known as the centerpiece of Love Park in Philadelphia. Originally a design for a Christmas card in 1964, the “LOVE” sculpture was first exhibited in New York in 1966. This particular picture is of the New York installation (notice the BofA in the background).

The microsite has three main sections:

1. Personal Savings Review — After asking you three questions — what deposit products you currently have, which services you currently use (like online banking), and in what ways you are currently saving — Regions suggests what products you might want.
2. Savings Tips & Advice — This section includes three articles, one of which is “5 Easy Tips to Save Money on Laundry.” There’s also advice for people in various lifestages (e.g., “Starting Out,” “Empty Nester”).
3. Savings Game — You get 60 seconds to catch as many falling piggybanks, coins, dollars and APYs as you can in this Flash-based game. There are no obstacles or penalties, just grab everything you can. (The Financial Brand’s high score: $16,631.77.)

“SAVINGS GAME”
Not much strategy to playing this game, but it can be kind of fun and has some replay value. The game’s visual concept — a savings “jar” that catches valuable items — is certainly relevant, but there isn’t much of a point to catching piggybanks and cash. It’s not much more than an entertaining diversion that may lure folks into “interacting with the brand.”

There are a few other sections of the microsite. “Quick Tips” offer more ideas for saving time, saving money and saving for the future. The “Products” section breaks down all the various savings products out there in an interesting system. You may be a “Beginner Saver,” “Intermediate Saver” or “Advanced Saver” depending on which- and how many savings products you have.

The campaign has its own slogan: “Save time. Save money. Save for the future.” Regions’ brand tagline is “It’s time to expect more.”

This ad campaign comes on the heels of Regions last big ad push for it’s “LifeGreen” checking and savings product.

The campaign is the work of Region’s ad agency, Luckie & Co.

“CENTER STAGE”
People shake a piggybank bearing Region’s “SAVE” artwork like a tambourine in rhythm with the bank’s distinct folksy, easy-going, down home jingle.

“FAMILY”
Shaking the “SAVE” piggybank tambourine is fun for kids, grandpa and the whole family.

“GOOD BUSINESS”
This one promises that doctors, carpenters and architects will enjoy remote deposit capture and a free “business financial review through Regions Cash Core Analysis.”

“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.

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.

[ratings]

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″

Wachovia is making it easier to save money with an automatic savings system similar to Bank of America’s “Keep the Change” program.

Way2Save transfers $1 from a customer’s Wachovia checking account into a new, special Way2Save savings account each time he/she makes a purchase with his/her Check Card or makes a payment via an online bill payment or automatic debit from his/her checking account.

In addition, customers can choose to transfer up to $100 a month from their Wachovia checking account to the special Way2Save savings account to see their money grow even faster.

The savings account will earn 5% in their first year, with an additional 5% bonus (up to $300) paid on the full balance after 12 months.

The interest rate drops to 2% in subsequent years, as does the annual bonus (also capped at $200).

After that, the account will pay “a standard savings rate.”

Assuming 23 check card transactions, four online payments, and a recurring transfer of $25 per month, a typical customer can expect to save the following:

In this article, Kathryn Black, savings director for Wachovia Bank, says the product will be supported with TV, radio, print and online media.The program will also be promoted through savings seminars at branches and through its Wachovia at Work program.

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