Guerilla Good Deeds Promote New Branch

By Jeffry Pilcher

Published on November 17th, 2009 in Marketing Strategies

In the weeks leading up to the grand opening of AltaOne Federal Credit Union latest branch, the credit union sent out a street team to conduct random acts of kindness. The hitch? No one knew AltaOne was behind the good deeds. AltaOne waited to uncloak themselves until the night of the grand opening.

good-deeds-iconFor four weeks, the credit union’s street team traveled a 3-mile radius around the new branch location, anonymously conducting "good deeds," such as paying a family’s dinner bill, or surprising a local fire department with a free lunch. The only information the street team provided was a simple printed card with little more than a web address, GoodDeedsDoneDaily.com.

good-deeds-car
COMMUNITY PRESENCE
The ‘Good Deeds’ street team in uniform, and wrapped vehicle graphics.

Simon+ Associates, the marketing firm behind the AltaOne promotion believes it is imperative marketers focus less on advertising and more on creative ideas that provoke real interest.

"The promotion was designed as a viral campaign to engage the community and residents on a personal level, while generating increased interest by concealing the client’s name," the agency said.

-- Article continued below --

The promotional microsite was updated often with the street team’s latest good deeds. Visitors could read about good things the street team had done, and request a good deed for someone else in the community.

All the credit union’s marketing materials included reminders to "check back at the microsite often for the invitation to the ‘big reveal.’"

Three days prior to the grand opening, the credit union used its social media channels and created special printed pieces to invite people to the event.

The Good Deeds Done Daily campaign included a Facebook page, Twitter account under the name @DoGooders, and a YouTube channel. All accounts have been deactivated, and the microsite pulled down, which is a bit disappointing. The credit union did all these good deeds, and now there’s no public record. Even if the site only attracted a handful of visitors after the promo concluded, it feels like a missed opportunity to build goodwill and foster positive brand perceptions.

According to Simon+ Associates, the results of the campaign include:

  • 500+ attendees at the grand opening event
  • Over 6,000 Unique Hits to MicroSite
  • Total new deposits of $1,214,714.24
  • ROI of 809.8%

If you like AltaOne’s Good Deeds campaign, check out these other promotions. There are some similar ideas financial marketers might want to explore further:

good-deeds-microsite

good-deeds-inside-pages

MICROSITE
The site (above) shows the invitation to the grand opening after AltaOne revealed its involvement. The two screenshots (below) show how the site looked prior to the reveal. Notice the map showing the route of the ‘Good Deeds’ street team. Total visits: 6,000. Unique visitors: 4,000. Average time on site: about 3 minutes 30 seconds.

good-deeds-direct-mail
DIRECT MAIL
Postcards were mailed within a 2-mile radius of the branch
for four consecutive Mondays before the grand opening event.

-- Article continued below --

good-deeds-twitter

TWITTER ACCOUNT
Cleverly named @DoGooders.

good-deeds-facebook

FACEBOOK PAGE

good-deeds-print-ads

PRINT ADS
Newspaper insertions on the four consecutive Sundays before the event.
Inserts were placed in the largest circulating newspaper in the area.

good-deeds-grand-opening-event

GRAND OPENING EVENT
Tents set up outside the branch to handle additional extra capacity.

The Financial Brand is your premier destination for comprehensive insights in the financial services sector. With our in-depth articles, webinars, reports and research, we keep banking executives up-to-date with the latest trends, growth strategies, and technological advancements that are transforming the industry today.

© 2025 The Financial Brand. All rights reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of The Financial Brand.