Americans are flocking to streaming for movies and TV — and community bank marketers are following suit. With services from Peacock to Max, the average person forks over about $61 per month to pay streaming service providers, according to Deloitte’s 2024 Digital Media Survey.
While this may feel like a return to more traditional television advertising, it’s only within the last few years that streaming services in particular began to aggressively pursue advertising as a way to grow. In 2023, for example, Amazon announced that it would be integrating advertisements into its Prime Video streaming platform. Some platforms, like Hulu and Disney Plus, now offer cheaper subscriptions that include ads.
The shift from subscription models to advertising has opened up opportunities for bank marketers — particularly those at community banks and credit unions — to explore streaming as a way to reach new potential customers and raise brand awareness.
There’s a good reason why local financial institutions are flocking to these channels: streaming services can be a good way to differentiate your marketing strategy and reach big audiences. Plus, consumers may just be getting tired of social media advertising. 59% of consumers say there is too much brand advertising on social media, according to a HootSuite survey.
“From a digital marketing perspective we’re getting sensory overload,” says Amanda Swanson, senior director in the Delivery Channels practice at Cornerstone Advisors. “Consumers are seeing it and they move on. They’re not paying attention.”
Streaming services also present the opportunity to reach more diverse audiences, Swanson says. Across the board, Americans of all ages are navigating toward getting their content on-demand versus on live television. Over half of the U.S. population will watch content from at least one ad supported streaming service monthly by 2026, according to eMarketer. But, like any good marketing strategy, it’s important to understand your customers and your goals before diving in.
Banks Bet on Sports
Josh Fleming, vice president and marketing director at Bank Iowa, has been using streaming services as a marketing tool for the past few years. So far, the bank has had placements on Peacock, SlingTV, Paramount Plus, DirectTV, among others. Recently, the bank has seen some success with live TV placements for the Paris Olympics, Fleming says.
“Live sports placements seem to be the most engaged buys you can make,” he says. The bank has also run ads during local sporting events.
Sports audiences are a good bet for marketers that want to reach a large, engaged audience. About 70% of Americans consider themselves sports fans, a St. Bonaventure/Siena Research survey found. Banks can also choose to target viewers of a specific team, or a specific game, to reach more localized audiences. A Sacramento-based community bank, for example, could run an ad during a Sacramento Kings game.
“I definitely see local banks and credit unions on the streaming services,” Swanson says. “It’s not Wells Fargo, it’s not Bank of America. It’s the local banks and credit unions that are navigating to people watching sports.”
Fandom, whether it be of a sports team or a musician, has a lot of untapped marketing potential. Fans often have high engagement, and it can be a good way for marketers to target specific individuals. For younger people specifically, fandom is often an important part of who they are. Thirty-five percent of consumers said their favorite sports team was important to their identity, Deloitte found.
While sports can be a great way to reach large audiences, Swanson adds it may not be the best fit to reach every demographic. For example, while the vast majority of men consider themselves sports fans (81%), 60% of women consider themselves fans, the St. Bonaventure/Siena Research survey found. Men are also more likely to be avid fans of sports.
“You need to know who you are trying to target,” Swanson says. “I worked with a credit union that’s target segment was women aged 30-40 and they were using streaming and posting on Sports Radio and ESPN.”
- These Are the Top 3 Concerns Keeping Bank Marketers Up at Night
- When Does Personalization Become ‘Surveillance’? Chase and Mastercard Are Swept Up in FTC Probe
Explore Contextual Video Advertising
In addition to running ads on streaming services, Fleming has also been exploring contextual video advertising on YouTube. These services serve up ads to viewers based on the content of the video they are watching.
“Let’s say that you’re watching a video on YouTube about budgeting and how to best budget your family’s income and pay your bills,” Fleming says. “We can insert an ad about Bank Iowa and budgeting and present some tips to you.”
Marketers can also use these tools to target specific keywords. For example, a marketer could choose to have ads for their credit cards appear on videos that mention “Visa” or “Mastercard.” This can be a more targeted way to reach audiences that are tuning into video platforms.
“So far we have gotten a pretty good response rate in terms of click throughs,” Fleming says. “We like it, we’re going to keep doing it.”
Know What Can Be Done Internally, And What Can’t
The availability of videography technology has made it significantly easier to shoot and edit ads. It no-longer costs tens of thousands of dollars to create a well-made video. Bank Iowa, for example, uses footage that was shot previously with customers for testimonial videos. This makes it easier to update the content regularly and prevents consumers from getting tired of the ads.
“The YouTube generation understands that some of these videos don’t have to be polished,” Fleming says. “We have some of our own equipment, being able to bring a lot of that in house has been nice on the budget.”
But it’s not a good idea to be cheap when it comes to your media buying budget. Most community bank and credit union marketing teams are too small to support a robust buying strategy for TV or streaming advertising, so relying on an agency for support can be a good way to connect with experts without the cost of hiring additional staff. Bank Iowa works with an agency, Bucket Agency, to assist with its advertising on streaming services.
“People are foolish to think they can do it on their own,” Fleming says. There’s people out there that can help you do what you can’t do.”
Whatever strategy you decide to pursue, it’s important to not put all of your eggs in one basket, Swanson says. A differentiated marketing strategy that includes some digital streaming alongside social media and other forms of marketing is likely to be the most successful and will help you reach the widest variety of consumers.
“Make sure that when you’re running campaigns, if you’re going to do digital streaming, that you’re thinking about multiple marketing tactics across the board,” she says. “But also make sure that you have a strategy behind why you’re doing it.”
Caroline Hroncich is a freelance business journalist based in New York. She writes about workplace trends, HR, personal finance, banking, and more. Her work has appeared in MarketWatch, Business Insider, Employee Benefit News, the Society for Human Resource Management, and Cannabis Wire.