A study from Pear Analytics revealed that 40.55% of tweets are “pointless babble.” In addition to those tweets, the report claimed, 5.85% of tweets are self-promotional, while another 3.75% are just flat out spam (I’m sure that taking it out to two decimal places lends more credibility to the statistic). So imagine my excitement […]
Saw this banner ad for a social media conference recently: I can’t believe they didn’t ask me to speak at the conference.
I was talking with a buddy of mine, who apologized for not being very active on Twitter over the past few weeks. The reason for his inactivity? Get this: He’s been busy. I nearly fell off my exercise ball. I mean, really, what kind of excuse is that for not tweeting? How in the world […]
America’s Credit Union went out and did some brand equity research. “We asked if people had heard of us,” said the credit union’s marketing director, Heidi Marzolf, in an interview with the News Tribune. “The response was ‘America’s who?'” So the credit union is changing names, and will now be known as “ACU.” Reality Check: […]
If you’ve checked your email inbox recently, then you know that you have a really important decision to make. After all, we marketers don’t have unlimited budgets and resources, do we? Nope. So you’re going to have to decide. Do you invest in: Viagra. Enhancing the size of your, um, asset[s]. Boosting your Twitter follower […]
The most abused word in marketing? It’s not “free”, “new”, or “improved” — it’s ANALYTICS. MarketingProfs ran an article recently that contained the following sentence (Here’s a link to an article about the article. The original article requires registration, and, c’mon, whose got time for that? Not me, I have better things to waste my […]
The Creative Group released the results of a survey in which they asked advertising and marketing executives: Do you believe the influence a company’s marketing professionals have on business decisions has increased or decreased in the last three years? They found that: Although the recession has hit many marketing departments hard, there is some good news […]
In an article titled “U.S. Consumers Feel Loyalty Reward Programs Not Relevant“, MediaPost reported that: … far too many mailings, emails and Facebook messages that companies send to their loyalty reward program members miss the mark. Only 32% of U.S. consumers rated reward program communications 8 or higher on a 1 to 10 scale for […]
“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 […]
In an article titled “U.S. Consumers Feel Loyalty Reward Programs Not Relevant”, MediaPost reported that: … far too many mailings, emails and Facebook messages that companies send to their loyalty reward program members miss the mark. Only 32% of U.S. consumers rated reward program communications 8 or higher on a 1 to 10 scale for measuring […]
HSBC has introduced new components supporting its Soapbox promotion, including a microsite, TV spots and an exclusive sponsorship of the New York magazine video section. The ValuesSoapBox.com (below) publishes people’s comments on education, jobs, technology and bottled water. The topics aren’t lightning rods that strike people’s hot buttons (like abortion). It would have been interesting […]
Ever since First Federal Bank in Sioux City, Iowa, rechristened itself “Vantus,” the bank had been building its brand entirely around the idea of “simpler banking.” (UPDATE: The bank has failed.) From the “about” section on the Vantus Bank website: “We believe in simplicity. It’s our job to make banking easier. Because when banking is […]
The Financial Brand sat down with Nancy Radermecher, President of John Ryan, a global retail marketing agency specializing in total store messaging systems, to talk about digital signage for financial institutions. Who’s using digital signage correctly in the financial industry? There are many good examples of financial institutions using digital signage to engage customers at […]
“Some parents will talk to their sons and daughters about the birds and the bees…but not the bills.” — GTE FCU’s U22 Account GTE Federal Credit Union’s U22 account, designed specifically for ages 12 to 22, includes parents as a segment of the target audience. The core features of the account include: Earn points on […]
This parody video is pretty funny, so it must be hitting close to home. If you can’t watch YouTube videos at work, you can (1) read the script below, and/or (2) get your financial institution to change its silly policy. Customer: I was hoping you could help me. Sales Rep: We can make that happen! […]
“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, […]
Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union’s “Intentionally Left Bank” campaign (see previous story by The Financial Brand here), is now moving into its second phase. The Washington-based financial institution is asking consumers to share their stories about why they’ve chosen a credit union over a large corporate bank. When the comment is posted to the credit union’s […]
If financial marketers spend enough time telling people their industry sucks, consumers will believe it.
Here’s the latest from Wells Fargo as they continue to rollout marketing that addresses their merger with Wachovia. What’s interesting about the first two TV spots (“College” and “Dog Rescue”) is that they bear the Wachovia name and logo. There’s no Wells Fargo logo, only a line that says, “A Wells Fargo Company.” Wells Fargo, […]
In honor of the new season of Mad Men (season three starts Sunday, August 16), here’s a showcase of financial ads from yesteryear. The ads come from a different world than we live in today — before compliance departments saddled paragraphs of legal disclosures on rate ads. You’ll notice how few of the ads targeted […]
Since January, the number of financial institutions on Twitter has skyrocketed. At last count, no fewer than 500 retail banks and credit unions had a Twitter account. With more and more of them offering to help resolve service issue on Twitter, it’s inevitable that phishing attacks will soon target retail financial consumers…if it isn’t happening […]
“SafeCatch doesn’t put bank employees in danger, but it does empower them to make a potential robber think twice about going through with it,” says Special Agent Larry Carr. Conventional wisdom in the financial industry regarding how to contend with robberies can be summed up in one word: compliance. Hand over the money and make […]
This summer, Northwest Resource Federal Credit Union launched a buzz campaign that gave hair stylists in downtown in Portland, Oregon the chance to win a gift card for their best hairstyles. To kick off its “Hot Hair Challenge,” the credit union distributed branded cameras to local hair salons, encouraging them to take pictures of their […]
“When the man came into the bank…dressed in a knit cap on one of the hottest days of the year, Nicholson [a bank teller] says he was immediately uneasy. The suspicious-looking man walked in and out of the bank, then got in the teller line, then stepped out of line.” This excerpt comes from a […]
Eastern Bank is asking high school football teams in eastern and central Massachusetts “What makes your team special?” Entries, submitted via email, can be videos, photos, audio recordings and essays. All submissions will be posted online at the promotion’s blog for the public to view. A select number of teams will be invited to send […]
From “Woe” to “Whoa” First Independent Bank of Nevada www.fromwoetowhoa.com This website is all about stimulating the Northern Nevada economy, specifically the Reno area. From the website: “Let’s kick-start our local economy. Let’s come up with ideas so good the rest of the world steals them. Let’s do more than just buy local, let’s make […]
BofA – ‘Keep Moving Forward’ This one-minute spot features an empowering, uplifting soundtrack. The message: Bank of America is powered by American tenacity. Agent Jack Bauer (aka Kiefer Sutherland) reads the script: “This is America. And no matter how… No matter where… No matter what… We… keep… moving forward.” It’s not as optimistic as other […]
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 […]