“The campaign doesn’t presume students want to engage with their bank.”
– Rapp for ANZ

ANZ Bank New Zealand recently launched a successful youth campaign, GettingUThru, which should serve as a model for other financial institutions pondering how to effectively target students and young adults. The campaign includes social media components and centers around a comprehensive microsite, GettingUThru.com. The site has five feature sections, including:

• Student Package – No-fee transaction account, a credit card with a $500 limit, 3 months free mobile banking, and (of course) free internet and phone banking.
• Survival Tips – Tips for those on a tight budget, submitted by students.
• Budgeting Calculator – A very creative, unusual, yet simple approach using a figurative money meter.
• Job Search – In partnership with a third-party. You’ll end up at the Student Job Search website if you conduct a query.
• Student Deals – Supposedly where students can find deals from other companies, although there’s only a handful.

The bank was very particular about avoiding cash bribes as part of the campaign. While account-opening incentives may convince students to initially sign up, they aren’t good tools for building long-term customer relationships. Instead, ANZ opted for an approach that centered around their audience’s needs. Fully recognizing that students don’t care about banking, ANZ instead focused on the single financial matter students do care about: having no money. Thus, a microsite was born that provides budgeting tools, money-saving ideas and peer-to-peer advice.

Interactive budgeting “meter” (above center), budgeting “survival tips” (lower left), and a rhetorical “survey” (lower right).

GettingUThru is very youth-oriented without trying too hard to be cool. The campaign addresses students’ greatest need – not going broke – with humorous advice like, “Brew your own beer.” The short video clips on the microsite are hilarious, and look like they were filmed by real students (agency Rapp New Zealand is actually behind all the fun). Content is partially user-submitted, facilitating interaction between the bank and its customers.

Wayne Pick of Rapp says, “Instead of a bank doing all the talking and advising, students began to talk to the bank and dishing out advice of their own. And after that, without any incentives, record numbers went on and opened accounts.”

The campaign has been successful. According to ANZ, “In just one month, over 10,000 students flooded online, over 7,000 students had opened accounts — that’s a 10% increase year-on-year.” GettingUThru also won a Bronze Lion at the Cannes International Advertising Festival this summer.

Looking to emulate ANZ’s success? Remember that offering relevant products, building rapport, fostering two-way communication and remaining genuine are key.
———————————————————————————————————————————
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.

BRANCH POSTER

EMERGENCY WALLPAPER FOR DORM ROOMS

This article © 2009 by The Financial Brand, and may not be reproduced without express written permission from The Financial Brand.

ANZ Bank connects with students on their own terms

Reviewed and written by Tony Mannor, CEO of Andermahr & Company

I always get excited when financial institutions venture out and try something new — to shrug off the hot and itchy grey flannel suit and put on some shorts, flops and sunglasses, and relax a little. This is the environment that marketers can really make their mark and prove their differentiation. That’s why I was so excited to review EDS Credit Union’s project, “The Arrival Guide.”

I have never heard of EDS Credit Union before, so my breakdown and analysis will be entirely based on my 12 years of experience in user-interface design and internet marketing, plus 10 years’ experience in credit union marketing.

So here it is: “The Good,” “The Bad” and “The Ugly.”

The Good

Any time a credit union tries to speak to the youth category, it is a good thing. You can’t go wrong trying to open lines of communication, so the prominent display of both their Twitter and Facebook accounts is a nice touch.

The design should appeal to the target Gen-Y demographic, but will also be visually pleasing to anyone else who may visit. It’s not overwhelmed by content, so the message stands out with great impact.

The video is kind of cute, but fairly typical fare from credit unions these day. Not bad, not great. However, the use of “swagger” kind of had me rolling my eyes, but it was a solid attempt and proper use of slang.

“NO CASH, NO SWAGGER”
EDS Credit Union has a dedicated YouTube page for ‘The Arrival Guide’ with four other videos.

The “Tweetbox” on the home page is also nice, assuming you have good stuff to share. Which it seems they do. They have tweets directed to specific people (members or not). EDS corporate isn’t proof-reading every tweet, and references to local concerts and other such chatter consistent with the target is what Twitter is all about. Their Twitter account is followed by over 200 people, while EDS follows over 400 tweeters. It’s a good ratio, something that is difficult for some people to manage.

The linked Facebook fan page is doing well with almost 400 fans. That, my friends, is quite the coup for a financial institution. I don’t know if it is the content that gets updated consistently, a viral marketing effect, or the incredibly attractive young ladies in the photo stream. Whatever it is, it’s working.

FACEBOOK PAGE FOR ‘THE ARRIVAL GUIDE’

The Bad

The website doesn’t really create the sale. There are no links to “become a member” or anything. I can’t understand that.

All the momentum created on the first page comes to a screaming halt on the internal pages. The copy is kind of boring, as are the internal pages. No more videos, no more pictures — just scrolling boxes o’ text. The “Old School” scrolling text box defeats any “street cred” earned on the home page.

Once in the site, I am a little lost as to what I am supposed to do. Why am I here again? Oh, because I have “Arrived.”

The Twitter profile page caries the same design as the website. The content is solid, although it can be a little salesy at times. The big faux pas here is that it was designed for a huge screen. There are links on the bottom left that many screens (including mine) will cut off, and my screen is pretty big with the resolution set pretty high. Joe Twitter will probably never see those links.

TWITTER PAGE FOR ‘THE ARRIVAL GUIDE’

And regarding the title for the promo, has the typical member of Gen-Y ever heard the expression, “You’ve arrived?”

The Ugly

After you watch the commercial on the home page, you get the typical YouTube slide shows of other videos that are similar to the content that you’ve viewed. This is incredibly dangerous and something that I recommend financial institutions do not do.

Don’t get me wrong, “remote hosting” of video content on YouTube — like what EDS is doing here — is great. It does good things for search engine optimization and helps spread the word. But streaming it from your official, branded website? Not so good…

Here’s why. One of the links that came up for me was a Sam Kinison comedy bit. Now I think Sam is funny, and I was kind of happy to get to listen to it while on the clock. But then Sam started talking about an Asian shopkeeper, using an exaggerated accent and obscenities that was pretty much, well, racist. Not cool to be watching that while still on a credit union’s official website.

If you cannot stream the video from your own server, select a content host that limits how far a user can get from your original content. This will help keep the craziness from diluting your message, and possibly save you from a major embarrassment.

Summary

Okay, I shot some arrows at this thing, some of which may seem a little harsh. But all-in-all it was a great effort by the folks at EDS, and the primary microsite is solid.

I’m guessing there’s a lot more to The Arrival Guide campaign than what we can see on the web. I get the feeling from some photos on their Flickr page that there is some serious marketing out in the real world — as there should be. (What is that in the photo? Is that a postcard? Or a real, printed guide? And are those Dum Dum pops in the background?) This is where you are going to really create buzz. A website is just a part of that real world effort.

These types of promotional microsites and various social media tools aren’t “silver bullets,” or “golden keys,” or whatever you want to call them. They should be just a part of a larger marketing campaign. Online social media is just a tool, and if you are going to build an entire house, you need more than just a hammer. You need a variety of tools that all do something specific to achieve the desired results. And it helps to know how- and when to use each tool.

——————————

Tony Mannor is CEO of Andermahr & Company — The Credit Union Marketing Agency. Tony is the chief blogger at CUHype.com and a regular writer and speaker on topics of technology, Internet marketing and credit union marketing. Andermahr & Company has been providing award winning marketing and design to credit unions for over 27 years.

This article © 2009 by The Financial Brand, and may not be reproduced without express written permission from The Financial Brand.

‘The Arrival Guide’ for Gen-Y (The Good, Bad & Ugly)

Well, for starters, Branson is exceptionally good with money. Who better to run a bank than a guy who makes money almost faster than it can be printed?

But there’s a more serious and strategic reason Branson is launching a new financial brand right now: Every financial institution established prior to the credit crisis has, in the consumer’s eyes, a somewhat tarnished brand. People are apt to lump most pre-2009 financial brands into the same category, at least to some degree, making them share equal bits of blame. Guilt through complicit complacency, if nothing else.

Why do you think consumers have responded so enthusiastically to Ally Bank? Folks don’t really know/care that Ally is simply a reskinned GMAC. People love the fact that the bank is fresh and funny. It’s a new brand, so it’s new to them.

Reality Check: The financial industry is ripe for new “challenger brands” to come in and rock the status quo.

Branson’s announcement that he is expanding Virgin Money to become a full-fledged bank — with branches! — undoubtedly shocked those in the financial industry. If you’re like any of those Branson has challenged before, you’re probably reacting with a mix of anxious excitement and fearful nausea.

The Virgin brand — in any industry — is known for shaking things up. Branson loves doing things that everyone else says shouldn’t- or couldn’t be done. He takes chances. But when it’s all done (usually with great success), everyone looks back and admires Virgin’s unique flair. It’s a stylish and sexy combination of courage and cunning that reflects the cavalier playboy behind the brand.

And the same thing is bound to happen in the financial industry. But don’t despair; there is a silver lining. A few years from now, everyone will be thanking Virgin for coming along and loosening up banking. Branson will burn banking’s figurative (yet ever so restrictive and uncomfortable) bra, and liberated financial marketers will owe Virgin their gratitude for defining the new extremes of “what’s acceptable.” Financial marketers will be able to rationalize their crazy new ideas by pointing to Virgin and saying, “See! At least we’re not that far out there!”

If you doubt Virgin’s powers of disruption, all you have to do is look at what the brand has already done in other industries. These guys are smart marketers, crazy innovators, and they know how to execute. They are creative, provocative and obsess over details. Just look. These guys bring their A-game every day, something that should scare everyone in retail banking. Their sometimes lewd nature may not appeal to everyone, but then again, the best brands never do.

Much like this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, The Financial Brand could bestow a “Breakthrough Brand Award” for what the Virgin Bank brand will likely achieve. But that feels a tad premature, so we’ll wait and see what comes next.

This article © 2009 by The Financial Brand, and may not be reproduced without express written permission from The Financial Brand.

Virgin should shock just about everyone

The CRM package automatically creates “service cases” whenever someone says something on Twitter matching a set of pre-defined keywords. A support agent can search an integrated “knowledge base” for resources addressing a customer’s query, then attach any relevant information in a reply tweet that gets logged and tracked.

SALESFORCE TWITTER DEMO
This video shows how the Twitter CRM solution from Salesforce works.

SERVICE CLOUD 2 SCREENSHOT

BofA has been helping its customers on Twitter since January, making it the first bank to use the social media tool as a customer service channel. After experimenting with the idea for nine months, it’s now clear BofA believes in Twitter and sees enough future promise to make this deeper level of commitment.

It would seem BofA’s Twitter CRM initiative addresses a concern some social media analysts have raised about financial institutions that don’t track the customer service interactions via Twitter.

BofA was reluctant to discuss details of the project until it was further developed. It’s unclear precisely when the bank will actively deploy the CRM system.

Other Salesforce clients deploying its CRM solution include Dell, CNN and Orange.

Key Questions:

• How are multiple users handled, since some financial institutions like Wells Fargo and Amex have a team of staffers manning their Twitter accounts.
• Will Twitter interactions logged through CRM systems like Salesforce be integrated into a financial institution’s broader customer data file — something all employees could view and access?

Bottom Line: If you want to prove the value of something, you have to track and measure it. How else could BofA know whether its customer service efforts on Twitter will be paying off if it didn’t deploy a CRM solution (or something similar)? Simply saying, “It seems we have a lot of happy customers” isn’t enough.

This article © 2009 by The Financial Brand, and may not be reproduced without express written permission from The Financial Brand.

BofA taking Twitter to next level with CRM

The Financial Brand sat down with Kathy Hammond, VP/Business Development, Kent Credit Union earlier this year to talk about their rebranding project. The credit union rolled out a new logo, website and brand slogan, “We Make Banking Better.” While the rebranding is mostly cosmetic in nature, it’s a major image upgrade. There are plenty of credit unions with a lot more than Kent’s $38 million in assets and 6,300 members that don’t look this good.

What was the purpose or motivation behind the rebranding?

We wanted to re-evaluate what Kent Credit Union meant to our members, our board and our staff. And also what desires, wants and needs our members have. By combining the results of a member survey, a strategic planning session of executive management and board of directors, and “brandstorming” with the staff, we compiled valuable data from all perspectives of what Kent Credit Union means to each of them.

We also wanted a fresh, more relevant look that was representative of Kent Credit Union given all the components of branding. The new brand and identity is more iconic, focused and contemporary than our previous brand. It clearly links us to our roots in the community (Kent is known as Tree City), but also represents stability and growth. New banks and credit unions are expanding into our communities and I think the brand differentiates us from them.

OLD LOGO

NEW LOGO

Kent Credit Union’s slogan is “make banking better?”
How does Kent make banking better?

At Kent Credit Union, we take away the “fear” in banking. Our members’ funds are safe and secure, and backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. We strive daily to make every banking experience a positive one, by providing excellent member service and offering a full array of products and services, many of them free.

We are committed to going beyond simply a financial relationship with our members. We are our community’s oldest credit union and have positioned ourselves to be a source for honest financial counsel; a safe place in the community that truly looks out for our members’ interests. Our new brand aligns with that. Our staff buys into this philosophy and displays it by learning names, taking a few extra minutes to chat when they can, or sending a dog biscuit through the tube at the drive-thru when they see a dog in the car. We’re committed to providing convenience, good rates and low fees, but also to giving members something extra – something better – at every opportunity.

How was the brand introduced to staff?
What are staff being asked to do to “live out the brand?”

Riding Tigers Communications did a presentation to our staff, explaining that branding is much more than a logo or a website. At the end of the presentation, they unveiled our new logo and website.

NEW WEBSITE

We also shared the results of a member survey with our staff to let them know our members’ likes and dislikes, and how they perceive Kent Credit Union. We compared that to our short-term and long-term strategic plan, all of which helped to formulate our new branding and the roles we would all play in achieving our goals.

The best thing about the rebranding is that staff was already living out the brand. The re-branding wasn’t about becoming something new, it was about better defining what we already are so we can communicate it better. The agency met with us multiple times, we spent a day taking them on a tour of our communities and our branches; they met our board, shot photos of the community, met most of our staff and talked with them about what we are. Then combined with a survey of our members, the new brand grew from our strengths as an organization. We never wanted to be something that we are not. Our staff was always making banking better.

Where are you at with the rebranding process?

We started out with changing the imagery on our glass doors and replacing wall posters in the offices, along with business cards and other paper collateral. We also introduced the new logo at our annual meeting to our members, and have had several ads in the local media sporting our new logo. Brochures and other credit union literature will be introduced as we deplete current supplies, which may not be ideal, but in this economy, we must use our funds wisely.

We’ve also done giveaways such as pens, sports bottles, keychains, etc., with the new logo that have been distributed at showcases and various other credit union events.

MISSION STATEMENT & ENTRY DOOR

This article © 2009 by The Financial Brand, and may not be reproduced without express written permission from The Financial Brand.

Q&A: Kent Credit Union rebranding

When you’re in prison, you’ve got plenty of time to learn some things. For instance, guys convicted for armed robbery quickly learn that it’s much smarter to pass notes at banks than hold up a liquor store at gunpoint. Not only will you face a lighter sentence, you don’t have to worry about someone whipping out a shotgun and shooting back.

There’s a lot one can learn about robbing banks when in prison. And who better to learn from than Troy Evans?

“You’ll only get 30-36 months if you use a note,” he says.

Back in 1992, Troy Evans was sentenced to 13 years in the Federal Correctional Complex in Florence, Colorado. He was convicted of multiple bank robberies in three states over six months.

How many banks did he rob?

“More than the five I was convicted of,” Evans admits.

Evans biggest haul: $17,000, when he caught a teller in the middle of a count.

Evans only served seven years of his sentence before being released early, but earned two degrees with a 4.0 GPA during his time.

Since his release, Evans has dedicated himself to helping financial institutions minimize their risk of robbery. Capitalizing on his experiences as a bank robber and his reputation as an ex-con, Evans has forged a successful career as a noted speaker and branch security consultant who’s authored two books.

He has been featured on Good Morning America, CNN, FOX, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Newsday, The New Yorker and more. Evans has even published a DVD/CD training tool for financial institutions, Deterring & Responding to Robberies, (which you can order here through Bankerstuff.com).

It may sound a little like the fox guarding the hen house, but Evans has achieved a truly impressive turnaround — something very similar to Frank Abagnale’s story.

A “hello” from staff can mean “goodbye robber”

For research, Evans met and interviewed some 300 convicted bank robbers, and he’s found a lot of common themes. For instance, what’s the one thing robbers are looking for when casing a branch?

“They are always looking for the path of least resistance,” he says.

Evans would always “case the joint,” as he puts it, before the robbery, sometimes 2-3 weeks in advance.

“I’d come in and ask to exchange a $10 bill for a roll of quarters,” he explains. While conducting the transaction, Evans would note how engaged staff were. Were employees paying attention? Did they say hello? Did someone extend a hand and welcome him?

“The last thing a robber wants is for someone to notice them. Someone to look them in the eyes,” he says.

“If anything makes a robber uncomfortable, they’ll move on to another location,” says Evans. “There’s just too many other financial institutions to choose from to bother with the ones who notice and acknowledge you.”

But did they even notice him? Evans apparently had no trouble finding detached and distant employees working at the dozen or so banks (and one credit union) he claims to have robbed.

“That’s why your frontline people are the most precious resource in robbery prevention,” Evans says. “And the #1 priority is to prevent your financial institution from being selected in the first place.”

Indeed what Evans is referring to are the principles behind Operation Safecatch. If staff say hello and acknowledge people as they enter your branches, not only will they be getting great service, staff will be minimizing the risk or robbery.

“There were a couple dozen banks I really wanted to rob,” Evans admits. “But they made their presence known.”

Keep it confidential

Evans says he got the idea to start robbing banks from a girl he was dating. She worked as a teller at a bank, telling him all the ins-and-outs of branch security — bait money, dye packs, policies of compliance, etc.

“I learned that all I had to do was ask,” Evans says. “Employees were told to comply, so if I told them, ‘Don’t give me any bait money,’ they didn’t.”

That’s why Evans recommends financial institutions have all their employees sign non-disclosure agreements.

“They shouldn’t ever discuss anything about security with anyone ever,” Evans cautions.

He recommends you make such a non-disclosure agreement binding beyond employment.

And in case you were wondering, no, Evans never robbed his girlfriend’s bank.

Be alert on Fridays

Evans says robbers believe financial institutions have more money on Fridays for people cashing their paychecks. True or not, it’s the reason he says banks are targeted more frequently on Fridays.

But Evans points out there can be other reasons too. For instance, if the robber has a drug problem (as Evans did), the fear of a weekend without a fix can drive them to find the nerve.

“Usually bank robberies are an act of desperation,” Evans observes. “It’s usually something related to drugs, gambling or debt — maybe foreclosure. They’d rather rob a bank than deal with an ugly weekend.”

Bullet Proof Glass

Evans says he never even considered robbing a branch that had bullet proof (or, more accurately, “bullet resistant”) glass. But, he wonders, “What’s the cost to the financial institution? Aren’t they supposed to be in the ‘people business?’ Isn’t it supposed to be all about ‘building relationships?’ How can you do that behind a two-inch thick glass barrier?”

Suspicious Activities Log

Evans says another way financial institutions can improve branch security is to keep a “Suspicious Activities Log” at each branch. Every teller and every employee is responsible for each other’s safety, so if they’re alert and pay attention, they might notice something that someone else needs to know about on another shift.

“You want employees to know what look for if someone’s been casing the branch,” Evans recommends.

If you do get robbed…

“Stay calm and pay attention,” Evans says. “It’s critical that you notice everything you can about the robber.”

“Look for identifying marks — scars, tattoos,” he recommends. “Pay attention to anything you can use to identify the robber later.”

For instance, Evans points out, “My right ear is larger than my left ear.”

“The more you notice, the better the chances are that the robber gets caught and convicted.”

Immediately following a robbery, Evans strongly urges all employees to sit down and write out every single detail they can recall. He encourages every financial institution to institute this recommendation as policy.

Evans’ Day of Reckoning

One night in 1992, Evans was staying at a hotel in Denver when the hotel’s manager gave him a call.

“This is the front desk,” the man said. “We’re all booked up, so we need you to come down and pay your next night in advance.”

After ignoring the first call, Evans was phoned again with a reminder to come down to the office to pay for his next night.

As Evans walked through the parking lot to the office, he saw a swarm of men armed with automatic weapons. They were coming for him.

How did he get caught? He was ratted out, as the expression goes, by another ex-girlfriend (not the one who was the teller at a bank, a different one). One day after robbing a bank, Evans came home expecting his girlfriend to be at work.

“I walked into the house stuffed with a pile of money, and she wanted to know where it came from,” he says.

He lied about it’s origin, but the girlfriend remained suspicious. Years later when she heard about a bank robbery, details made her recall the mysterious money incident and she immediately suspected Evans. She called the cops, and Evans was nabbed.

“It’s good that they caught me when they did,” Evans confesses. “I was strung out on drugs and in a very dark place. I had been thinking about committing suicide-by-police.”

Fortunately, Evans didn’t have his gun on him at the time of his arrest.

“I never had it loaded anyway,” Evans admits. “It was always just for show.”

This article © 2009 by The Financial Brand, and may not be reproduced without express written permission from The Financial Brand.

Convicted bank robber shares branch security insights

HSBC – “Integrity”

In this minute-long TV spot, a member of the paparazzi stalks Alex, a celebrity, to a nursing home. The photographer snaps a series of exclusive photos capturing his prey in vulnerable intimacy, weeping over her ailing father. The announcer kicks in: “For many people integrity is as important as money. At HSBC, we understand people’s values influence their financial decisions.” Cut back to the photographer who is reviewing his photos on his computer. He’s touched. He hits the delete button. It’s a spot that may bring a tear to your eye, all while screaming “BULLSNOT!” No one brave enough to wear the paparazzi label is throwing that kind of gift away. No way. Not ever. It’s pure gold. Not going to happen.

INTEGRITY :60 TV SPOT

HSBC – “Responsibility”

The fishing is bad, and the boat’s crew are disheartened in this :30 TV spot. But with perseverance, they finally land the motherload. Alas, there is a dolphin stuck in the net, presenting a moral dilemma. The fisherman are saddened, but ultimately make the (politically) correct decision. “For many people, responsibility is as important as money. At HSBC, we understand people’s values influence their financial decisions.”

RESPONSIBILITY :30 TV SPOT

Servus Credit Union – “Cash In With Your Camcorder”

Servus Credit Union in Alberta Canada has just launched a new promotion called Cash In With Your Camcorder, with help from the marketing experts at Currency. Servus is asking young adults “to create a 30-second commercial that shows why the Young & Free Chequing Account rocks.” First place gets $2,000, second gets $1,000, and the winning commercial(s) may be used in future advertising.

Clockwise from top left: Online banner ads, staff information sheets, wobblers, pamphlets, Facebook ad and mini poster. (Click to enlarge.)

Young & Free Alberta microsite transformed for the contest. (Click to enlarge.)

ANZ Bank – “The Chase”

This spot clocks in at 1:30, making it an “epic.” In the spot, it seems everyone is chasing Jack, through the streets of downtown Sydney — a baker, mechanic, chef, beautician — everyone. But Jack’s death-defying feats (of stunt work) help him allude the angry mob. Who is Jack? He’s an evasive business banker. The message: “Getting hold of a small business expert at your bank shouldn’t be hard. That’s why at ANZ, we’ve put on more small business specialists.”

ANZ – “THE CHASE” (1:30)

Centea – “Sperm”

A romantic sperm brings flowers to woo the reluctant egg. Success!! The ad’s caption: “Doing more is in our nature.” Maybe Belgians are more apt to link “biological conception” with “banking” than Americans. Or maybe this spot from a bank in the Netherlands is just plain weird no matter where you live?

ROMANTIC SPERM :30 TV SPOT

ANZ – “Happy News”

The Australian banking powerhouse asks, “Isn’t it time for some happy financial news?” The ads are invitations for people to “arrange an everyday banking review.” Even though they are intended to be parodies, they are still a little depressing.

Brookline Bank – Concept Work

The bank recently hired Shark Communications, who is working on the following concepts. It’s interesting to see a bank’s creative work before it’s been approved and finalized for the public. You’ve gotta love the “Empower Mint.”

Sterling Bank – “Make Dank”

You’ve got to admire the pranksters who modified this billboard ever-so-slightly. Their handiwork is barely noticeable. “Dank” (as if you didn’t know already) is an expression frequently used by stoners for something of high quality, usually sticky, hairy, stinky, highly-potent green bud. It’s hard to classify this as vandalism when the copy revision makes an arguable improvement. More members of the target Gen-Y audience probably thought about banking at Sterling after the billboard was edited than before.

Yep, that’s a huge doob (aka “joint” or “spliff”) hanging from his lips.

This article © 2009 by The Financial Brand, and may not be reproduced without express written permission from The Financial Brand.

Creative Showcase: Integrity, Camcorders & Sperm

On Hold: ING Direct’s entertaining pre-recorded phone messages

You Suck: Which U.K. bank gets the most complaints?

Freeze! FBI’s 2009 Q2 robbery data for financial institutions

Yucky Trend: Image of banks continues to plummet

eStatements: Raddon breaks down why consumers say ‘no’

Sausage & Mash: Who said ATM screens have to be boring?

Blog & Tell: Credit union contest seeks 225-350 word articles on anything

Shoptimism: Chase banking on shoppers with new Sapphire card

Prime + 14%: BofA’s new “Basic” credit card

Financial Literacy: American Banker outlines the business case

Self-Service Delivery: ABA says drawing from other industries has pitfalls

Financially Fit: Yahoo!’s financial ed site, sponsored by BofA

This article © 2009 by The Financial Brand, and may not be reproduced without express written permission from The Financial Brand.

In Brief: Snapshots of stories you may have missed

The campaign is built on three assumptions about consumers:

• People want help getting control of their finances.
• People are saving more and want to continue doing so.
• People are looking for ways to save when they spend.

Key Question: Are people really looking for ways to “save when they spend?” Isn’t that an oxymoron?

BofA created a table outlining how they see their key campaign takeaways aligning with consumers’ needs:

BofA’s stated objectives for the campaign include:

• Demonstrate solutions that help customers spend wisely and get control of their finances.
• Increase and maintain the BofA’s “share of media voice.”
• Continue to rebuild trust and confidence among consumers.

The campaign’s product focus is a big shift away from the brand ads BofA has been running for the last few years. Perhaps the bank is feeling pressure on its bottom line and is choosing a more retail-oriented approach in lieu of what the bank refers to as the “broad value propositions and storylines” of past creative.

The campaign, which was developed by BofA’s primary ad agency BBDO NY, includes a mix of TV, online and point-of-sale merchandising. The digital experts at Organic were also called in to provide support. It is scheduled to run through January 2010.

TV Commercials

The campaign’s showpiece is a series of six 15-second TV spots:

• Chuck shows us how easy it is to earn cash back at the pump.
• Charleen shows us how easy it is to earn cash back swiping her card for holiday gifts.
• Mary Ann shows us how easy it is to pay a bill online.
• Joanna shows us how easy it is to check your balance online.
• Melissa shows us how easy mobile banking is.
• Chris shows us how easy it is to make sure his check is deposited in the ATM.

:15 TV – “Gas”
The announcer says, “Chuck’s going to show us how simple it is to earn cash back.” Chuck swipes his BofA Power Rewards Visa credit card at the gas pump. “Talk about simple. Earn cash back on purchases to pay down your credit card or go into savings. With the Power Rewards® Visa credit card. Only from Bank of America.”

The use of 15-second spots is a bit of a departure from BofA’s previous media buys. The bank usually opts for longer spots — sometimes up to a full minute — and doesn’t often have this many spots in rotation. The decision to use 15-second spots could be a consequence of the economy, or it could simply be that BofA felt it didn’t need more than 15 seconds to communicate its “simple” message. After all, if it takes 30 seconds to explain how simple something is, how simple can it be?

Dedicated Subsite

BofA has tagged its ads with a special URL, bankofamerica.com/solutions, that redirects to the bank’s financial education subsite.

The site has six feature sections, articles, a survey, financial tools and one-click buttons for sharing the site on popular social networks like Twitter and Facebook. It’s pretty robust, and worth a look.

Pop Quiz

The subsite has a 10-question quiz to test people’s “money personalities.” Some of the questions are a little strange, but overall the quiz is better than the kind typically produced by a financial institution trying to classify one’s “financial profile.”

Q6. When I get down, a trip to the mall and coming home with something nice for myself is a great pick-me-up:

[ ] Absolutely. Spending money on a little treat always makes me feel great, at least for a while.
[ ] Sometimes, although I might feel a little guilty about splurging.
[ ] Never. The only thing that makes me feel better when I’m down is checking the balance on my retirement fund.

There’s also a 12-question quiz on the basics of credit, with questions like:

Q1. What information can be found on your credit card statement?

[ ] Your payment due date.
[ ] Your APRs for different types of transactions.
[ ] The amount of your available credit.
[ ] All of the above.

In-Branch Merchandising

This article © 2009 by The Financial Brand, and may not be reproduced without express written permission from The Financial Brand.

BofA shifts $40M campaign from brand to products

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!

This article © 2009 by The Financial Brand, and may not be reproduced without express written permission from The Financial Brand.

Introducing the “Idea Bank”

The Financial Brand has warned of the dangers of phishing attacks on financial institutions’ Twitter accounts ever since January, when BofA first started offering customer service via Twitter.

The Financial Brand now tracks over 600 Twitter accounts for financial institutions, two of which were hacked last week. As more banks and credit unions push the envelope on Twitter, as Vantage Credit Union recently did with its “Tweet My Money” service, the stakes will only be going up.

The Financial Brand has made several attempts to establish dialogue with Twitter about the urgent need to verify accounts of financial institutions and the phishing risks they face. No one from the company has responded, nor even acknowledged that the risks and need are indeed real.

Twitter has apparently promised to offer verified accounts to businesses “by the end of the year,” but that promise was made back in August. Two months later and with only two months to go before year’s end, everyone is still waiting.

If you would like to see Twitter start verifying accounts for financial institutions, here are a few things you can do:

1. Participate in the poll below.
2. Leave a comment below.
3. Click on the “feedback form” link at the bottom of this page, which tells Twitter you’re interested in Verified Accounts.
4. Send a tweet to @ev (Evan Williams) and @biz (Biz Stone) saying you want Twitter to verify accounts for financial institutions, and please include a link to this article. Here’s a pre-shortened link to the story: http://bit.ly/X1Srh
5. Check out this article on what you can do to mitigate phishing attacks in the meantime.

This article © 2009 by The Financial Brand, and may not be reproduced without express written permission from The Financial Brand.

Petition to verify Twitter accounts for financial firms

[Editor's Note: This article was submitted by Cliff Zugay, who owns Cliff’s Edge Marketing, a Chicago branding and ad agency that specializes in working with financial institutions.]

Before Leonardo DiCaprio captured the life of Frank Abagnale in the Hollywood blockbuster Catch Me if You Can, the FBI had to capture him first. Abagnale, the famous conman turned FBI fraud consultant, is now sharing his anti-fraud expertise in a series of videos on Nevada State Bank’s website.

Pictured from left to right: Frank Abignale, the conman turned fraud fighter, Leondardo Decaprio, who played Abignale in ‘Catch Me if You Can,’ and Tom Hanks, who played the FBI agent who busted Abignale. You should watch ‘Catch Me If You Can’ when you can. It’s a great movie.

Nevada State Bank hired Abagnale, who is frequently brought in to educate bank employees, to act as a broader spokesman for the bank’s fraud prevention program. There are nine videos total:

• Introductory message from Frank Abagnale
• What causes ID theft & fraud problems?
• How bad is the Identity Theft problem?
• Why every business should be on Positive Pay
• Why Frank uses credit cards to protect from fraud
• How to protect yourself from embezzlement
• How to spot counterfeit money
• What kind of shredder protects you from fraud
• How a $2 pen can protect you from check fraud

Abagnale’s fraud tips provide expertise and perspective only someone with his particular background and unique experiences can bring. He provides tips on several areas of fraud concern for both businesses and consumers, deliver insights that are inexpensive and easily implemented.

For instance, businesses that have an employee who has committed fraud, Abagnale suggests filing an IRS form 1099 for the amount of the fraud. Between the tax liability and the IRS hound dogs, it can be  enough for a perpetrator to negotiate restitution, even when criminal prosecution fails to return stolen funds.

In one of the more interesting topics, Frank walks through the simple theft of a cell phone bill payment, subsequent bleaching of the check’s written information, then how that information can be replaced — all with the original signature still on the check.He says that a $150 Mount Blanc can’t help you here. The only thing that works: The Uni-ball 207 which sells for about $2 at any drug store is the only pen with ink that can’t be washed out by any chemical.

Abagnale recommends using “Positive Pay” software to guard businesses against check fraud. The program provides a business’s bank with a list of the checks it writes, with payee, check number and amount listed. Since the bank knows what to expect, unless all three of those items on a submitted check match, the bank will not provide payment on that check.

Abagnale advocates using a credit card, not debit card for all daily transactions. It assures against purchase disputes, inappropriate use of your card, and can even boost the credit ratings of your children when they use a supplemental card off of your credit card during their college days.

He goes on to suggest that for home document destruction, the micro-cut shredder is the only style of document shredder one should consider. He came to that conclusion based on the time it took to reconstruct documents or credit cards shredded with a ribbon or diamond cut shredder. Abagnale’s FBI team was able to successfully restore such documents to recreate evidence in their Enron Worldcom, Tyco International Arthur Anderson investigations. Only the micro-cut model of home shredder shreds in a way that can’t be reconstructed.

Certainly, all banks are concerned with identity theft and fraud, and do what they can to protect their customers from such dangers. A program like this is a great example of how an institution can take an issue common to all banks and use it to position themselves as leaders in the industry.

This article © 2009 by The Financial Brand, and may not be reproduced without express written permission from The Financial Brand.

Famous FBI conman helps bank fight fraud

Some of these name changes may be due to mergers, but most frequently, credit unions change names for one of these three reasons:

1. The credit union’s primary sponsor has disappeared, or dwindled to such a point that it can no longer sustain membership.
2. The credit union feels its name is geographically limiting and/or exclusive to certain types of people (e.g., teachers).
3. The credit union can no longer use another organization’s brand name. This is typically triggered by a request from the primary sponsor’s lawyers, but sometimes by another financial institution asserting trademark rights.

From this year’s new names:

• 11 credit unions included the word “Community”: Arlington Community, Champion Community, Community, Community Driven, Memberfocus Commmunity, My Community, NMTW Community, Prestige Community, Total Community, Valley One Community and Vue Community.
• 7 reduced their names to acronyms: CEFCU, CSE, MaPS, MCT, ME/CU, NMTW and USE.
• 7 are coined names: Altana, Aventa, Cinfed, Genisys, Meritrust, TruStone and Vue Community.
• 3 use the number “one”: Alabama One, Metro 1 and Valley One Community.
• 3 credit unions ditched the word “First” in their name, while one put it in: University First.
• 2 credit unions used alphanumeric constructions: Med5 and Metro 1.

It might be time to update The Financial Brand’s list of The Top 50 Most Distinctive Credit Union Names. Which ones do you think belong in the list?

Further Reading: Anyone in the financial marketing arena should know “How to Look Up a Financial Trademark in 10 Easy Steps.” And here are some of other stories about credit union name changes as reported here at The Financial Brand:

• The do’s and don’ts of CU acronyms
• The ‘Community Credit Union’ fallacy
• The most common words in credit union names
• What does ‘Federal’ do for FCUs?
• From “America’s who?” to “ACU who?”
• Advanta forces Avanta to become ‘Altana’
• Credit union picks ‘Wildfire’ as new name
• Two credit unions merge to create ‘Genisys’
• Credit union completes transformation to ‘Centric’
• Credit union picks ‘Aventa’ as new moniker

Also, please contact The Financial Brand for your copy of “The Credit Union Guide to The Name Change Decision,” a comprehensive, 33-page analysis of the strategic renaming issues that apply to any financial institution considering a name change.

This article © 2009 by The Financial Brand, and may not be reproduced without express written permission from The Financial Brand.

75 interesting credit union name changes in 2009

The Financial Brand sat down with Tim McAlpine, president and creative director of Currency Marketing, to talk about integrated social media marketing for financial institutions.

As one of the financial industry’s most accomplished and well-respected social media marketers, Tim’s firm has developed a number of successful programs targeting niche groups, including the renowned Young & Free Spokester Challenge and, most recently, the Mommy Blogger Challenge. Currency’s programs are customized, fully-managed, and licensed to non-competing credit unions throughout North America. You can find our more information on Currency’s “Challenge Marketing” by clicking here.

Although Currency works exclusively with credit unions, Tim offers great advice for all financial institutions looking to attract new customers in non-traditional ways. You can find Tim on LinkedIn and Twitter, and check out his blog.

Note: Where Tim has responded with members and credit unions, The Financial Brand has replaced with customers and financial institutions to make the answers relevant to both banks and credit unions.

Social media is all the buzz in business marketing right now.
Is the buzz warranted?

Yes and no.

Social media advocates will tell you that traditional media is dead. They will have you believe that TV, radio and print can be completely replaced with social media and word-of-mouth marketing. The promise of Web 2.0 will conquer all. To perpetuate the myth, financial marketers are being bombarded at industry conferences and in trade publications with the notion that all they need to do is start a blog, a Twitter profile, a Facebook fan page or a YouTube channel and the millions (if not billions) of people online will find and flock to their lovable institutions.

While I agree that the social web is extremely exciting and presents an opportunity to connect like never before, I do not agree that social media is a replacement for all other forms of marketing. What’s missing from all of the buzz is the notion that social media is a great addition to other mediums that marketers have at their disposal. The real power lies in integrated social media marketing. There is a huge opportunity to marry many different marketing approaches.

What’s the business case or ROI for an
integrated social media marketing program?

Social media as an island-unto-itself offers little ROI. There is definitely a paradox at play. Unless you are selling product through your social media efforts, it is very difficult to justify the expenditure. But to-date, financial institutions that have entered the social web have primarily concentrated on listening to customers. It is widely believed that social media is only to be used to listen and to connect with customers and potential customers; by being open, transparent and conversational this will demonstrate that your organization cares about its customers and this display of caring will compel people to do business with your financial institution.

While this approach has merit, it’s extremely passive and will not satisfy your CEO, CFO and board of directors’ who want to see a return on investment. I strongly believe in listening and learning from your customers online, but let’s be honest, everyone who is online representing a company ultimately has something to sell. Why should we feel bad about that? I don’t believe that marketing and sales are off-limits.

A legitimate business case can be made when you combine “listening + engagement” executed with “care + conviction” in an open and honest way, set against the backdrop of a really relevant product offer and a really compelling social media “challenge.” Within this framework, customers and non-customers will be receptive to your marketing and sales messages. You can actually measure your campaigns by counting up the total products sold and the total deposits, loans or investments made.

What do you mean by a “social media challenge?”

You need to ignite a following and create real excitement. The basic premise of a social media “challenge” is to draw considerable attention to your financial institution by throwing down a unique challenge stoked with significant rewards, and by encouraging people to creatively participate, compete and connect.

In the case of our Young & Free Spokester Challenge, “the challenge” is to compete for a dream job with a great salary, great gear and total freedom to be creative online. This gets young people fired up and really moves the campaign beyond passive contesting and throw-away promotions.

Your “challenge” should drive a select group of people to action. Ideally, it should grow naturally from your financial institution’s focus and brand while aligning with your financial institution’s goals and objectives.

Why are you a big advocate of dedicated microsites?

It really comes down to features and functionality. To successfully host an integrated social media program, the site needs to do a lot. Your site must have the ability to embed videos, podcasts and other widgets from various web services. Your layout must incorporate various ways to reveal all of the great content within your site.

If your program will include a public vote, you site will need to allow for quick layout changes between phases and you will need to design a voting system that is easy to use and completely secure. In addition, your site will need to include prominent links to mainstream social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and others. And finally, a blog with an RSS feed is a must.

If you can do all of that on your corporate website, go for it. However, corporate IT departments prefer to keep their networks as closed as possible. Your IT department would probably not be very open to embedding third-party code from YouTube, providing direct links to Twitter, Facebook or MySpace or allowing site visitors to leave comments on your primary corporate website.

Even though the security risks for doing so are low, most IT departments are intentionally conservative when it comes to Web 2.0. I completely understand this position, as IT’s first priority is to keep your network up and running and to make sure that your customers have uninterrupted access to your online banking system.

What are the biggest mistakes financial marketers make
when launching an integrated social media program?

There are four big mistakes that I see.

1. The belief that you can just launch a website on its own. You need to use traditional and non-traditional marketing to jump start and sustain your program.
2. Thinking it’s a three-month campaign versus an on-going program. An integrated social media marketing program has the potential to last for years. It can either be year-round or it can be an annual 3-4 month promotion. Because the creativity comes from participation, the story will constantly evolve and take your program in new directions.
3. Believing that the social web is just for young people. People of all ages are participating online in niche communities. We recently launched Verity Mom. We’ve had moms from the age of 23-47 actively participating in this very unique challenge to become a paid blogger for Seattle’s Verity Credit Union.
4. The lack of a long-term, content-creation strategy. You can have a great concept, a great product offer and a fabulous reward. You can promote your initiative with your staff, your customers and your potential customers. You can have a memorable URL and a great website with plenty of ways to interact. You can have all these things, but if you do not have great content and lots of it, you can’t sustain momentum over time.

Creating a steady stream of interesting, entertaining and educational content is key, but it is sorely lacking from so many of the campaigns that I follow.

Do you have some tips for creating content?

Some social media experts will advise that you should only publish a blog post when the feeling hits you. I can agree with this advice for a personal blog, but I cannot agree with this advice for a major marketing initiative for a business. If you are investing time and money in an integrated social media marketing program with the expectation that you will attract new customers who will want your products and services, you have to be very disciplined. I would recommend approaching blogging like publishing a newspaper.

1. Establish a very regular publishing schedule with hard deadlines. Publishing regularly and often is critical to making a return on your investment.
2. Institute quality standards. Boring, uninspired content doesn’t get any better with quantity. Everything that you post to your site should meet a minimum quality standard that you are comfortable with. This definition of quality is up to you and what you feel your audience will connect with. Your site should have a consistent tone of voice and personality regardless of whether there is one author or 10.
3. Include artwork or photos within your posts from time to time. Text posts can get pretty repetitive—especially if you are cranking out new posts everyday. Including imagery will help your posts grab attention and get read, especially within an RSS reader, where all content looks the same.
4. Throw some video into the mix. You can either embed existing video from YouTube or create your own. You don’t need a professional video crew or expensive equipment. For as little as $150, you can get a Flip digital camcorder with built-in video editing software and you are in business. And with free video hosting at sites like YouTube, Vimeo, Blip.tv and Viddler, there is no excuse not to produce your own videos from time to time.

All of this sounds great, but it also sounds expensive. What advice do you have for financial marketers who want to jump in during the current economic meltdown?

You can’t sit on your hands and hope for new customers. The current unrest in the economy actually presents a great opportunity for financial institutions with a good reputation to tap into integrated social media marketing.

Create a simple business case that outlines a realistic annual budget and goals. Once you start to itemize all of the elements that you will need and the resources necessary to back your program, you will soon realize that the scope and scale of an integrated social media marketing program is much bigger than launching a corporate blog. However, when done well, an integrated social media marketing program has a much higher chance of driving an actual return on your investment.

I highly recommend introducing a new market-leading product that is directly tied into your program. You need to aim to recover the costs by attracting new customers to your financial institution that will utilize your products and services.

9 questions in 90 seconds

Facebook? I’m not entirely sold on fan pages, but I would highly recommend targeted pay-per-click advertising within Facebook to drive traffic to your microsite.

SecondLife? With two kids and a busy business, I don’t even have time for my FirstLife! From a marketer’s point of view, I wouldn’t bother. SecondLife’s 280,000 monthly visitors is paltry compared to Facebook’s 150,000,000 monthly visitors.

MySpace? Not dead yet. Rather than having your own page or paying for advertising, banks and credit unions should figure out other ways to tap into this community. Music is huge on MySpace. Our recent Young & Free SC Last Band Standing contest attracted 24 bands, all of which had MySpace pages with thousands of friend. The bands aggressively promoted their entries within MySpace and we saw huge traffic numbers coming from MySpace.

Twitter? I’ve been tweeting for close to three years and things have certainly changed in that time. My advice for banks and credit unions: be real, be helpful, be conversational and feature your employees faces. I like what Wells Fargo has done with their avatar and Twitter page. People relate to people, not corporate logos.

Podcasts vs. Videocasts? I listen to more podcasts than I watch, but both have tremendous merit. For financial institutions contemplating podcasting, make sure that it’s entertaining first and educational second.

Mobile Banking? Next big thing. Invest in mobile banking solutions before you build that next branch.

Branches? Not going away, but online banking is so much more efficient than tellers for transactions. The branch environment should be more about consultation and personal knowledge exchange.

Blogs? They are almost retro-chic now! <chuckles> People are coming to the realization that the 140 character limits of Twitter don’t allow for much deep thinking. Plus, owning your own blog gives you total control of the content that you create.

YouTube? Online video is huge and will only become more popular over time. I recommend that financial institutions have a YouTube Channel and start producing video content.

This article © 2009 by The Financial Brand, and may not be reproduced without express written permission from The Financial Brand.

Q&A: Integrated social media + financial marketing

This is a fun opportunity to flex your creative muscle and demonstrate your strategic acumen. Not only can you win the acclaim of thousands of financial industry peers, you can win a $100 Amazon.com gift card, courtesy of Digital Mailer. If you work at a CU, this is a good way to embrace the spirit of “credit unions helping credit unions.” And if you’re with an ad agency or marketing firm, why not show off your firm’s chops?

In the first round, we saw many thoughtful submissions come from readers like Brady Walen of Market Insights, Christopher Morris from CUNA, and longtime credit union professionals Jerry Sparrow and Tara Quinn.

You can see all the Round 1 submissions and CINCO’s feedback, along with an overview of the contest by clicking here. There’s also a fairly detailed creative strategy in the article.

• Download the Complete CINCO Strategy as a MS Word document

For Round 2, John O’Hare, CINCO’s Director of Marketing, found the following slogans and shared more input and guidance about what the credit union is looking for. The main themes:

• It’s all about you.
• We offer more.
• We’re innovative/creative.
• We’re different.

Abbey Bank – “More ideas for your money”

John O’Hare: “I like how they incorporated idea and money. Since we are positioning ourselves as innovative a slogan that incorporates idea and money could work.”

Coast Capital – “Here for the other 98%”

John O’Hare: “I think that Coast Capital’s slogan resonates with the consumer. They are basically saying that 2% of Canadians are wealthy, but Coast Capital cares about the other 98%. Their ads in this campaign pictured rich people doing snobby things (i.e. ringing a bell for their butler to come). The slogan is comical just like their web site, print ads, TV ads, etc. A good comical slogan could work for CINCO since that is the direction we are heading in with our marketing.”

Avis – “We Try Harder”

John O’Hare: “We are not your typical ‘vanilla’ bank so we try hard to be different.”

Burger King – “Have it Your Way”

John O’Hare: “Kind-of has that ‘all-about-you’ feel to it.”

Apple – “Think Different”

John O’Hare: “Simple yet strong. It challenges you to think differently about your computer, not just stay satisfied with the same-old solution. I think something like this could work for CUs. ‘Think Different about banking.’”

Fed Ex – “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.”

John O’Hare: “It is creative and reinforces the FedEx brand promise.”

Other Slogans CINCO Likes

Here are some slogans from other financial institutions that CINCO likes because each says “we’re different and/or we offer more” in a creative way:

• American Express — Do More
• Abbey National Bank — Because life’s complicated enough
• ABN AMRO Bank — Making more possible
• Addison Avenue FCU — We listen. You prosper
• Amplify FCU — Bank Less. Live more
• Anchor Bank — Banking beyond the ordinary
• Aviva — Forward Thinking
• Bank of Queensland — bank different
• Bank of the West — Getting Bigger by Acting Smaller
• Barclays — Now there’s a thought
• BECU — More than just money
• Citizens Bank (a) — Not your typical bank
• Citizens Bank (b) — Bank Your Own Way
• Commerzbank — Ideas ahead
• Capital One — What’s in your wallet?
• Fitzsimons Credit Union — It Fits You
• KeyPoint Credit Union — Get more. That’s the point

This article © 2009 by The Financial Brand, and may not be reproduced without express written permission from The Financial Brand.

Round 2 – Slogans and feedback for CINCO

If you’ve had any experience with Twitter lately, you may have seen one of these rather innocuous-looking messages show up in your private inbox:

Some are phrased differently, like this narcissistic temptation: “Hey is this you in this picture? http://twitter.pictures.url”

The only problem is that it’s a scam. The URL may look harmless, something like videos.twitter.secure-logins01.com (link inactive), but if you click on it, it takes you to a spoofed phishing site that looks identical to a real Twitter login screen. At this point, unsuspecting users who enter their account name and password have just handed their information over to hackers, who quickly hijack the account.

Which is precisely what happened to Hawthorne Credit Union and Brewer FCU yesterday. Some hacker started following them on Twitter a while ago. The unsuspecting credit unions repaid the courtesy by following them back. Wait a little while…then one day, a message from someone like jimbo_philly53 shows up in the credit union’s private inbox with a link.

“What’s this?” the person staffing the financial institution’s Twitter account wonders. They click on the link and assume they need to login to Twitter…to see the bait that the hacker has dangled.

Whammy! Account hijacked.

Make that two accounts hijacked.

Reality Check: For a certain period of time, hackers controlled the Twitter accounts of at least two credit unions. Remember, these are official, corporate communications channels.

If the hackers knew what they had, they wouldn’t have squandered their opportunities pushing $300-a-day, work-at-home schemes, as they did with the hijacked Brewer FCU account:

If these guys knew they were in control of official credit union Twitter accounts, they would have sent this kind of private message to all the followers of Hawthorne and Brewer credit unions:

Fortunately for both credit unions, these hackers were merely interested in perpetuating their own scams.

Hawthorne issued the following apology:

But it could have turned out much worse. Remember, these two credit unions were only caught in a wide hacker dragnet. Someday very soon, financial institutions’ Twitter accounts will come under direct assault by hackers deliberately looking to defraud consumers.

Key Question: What would have happened if some sweet, unsuspecting person coughed up their financial details to these hackers, who then cleaned out their accounts and stole their identity? How would consumers and financial institutions feel about using Twitter if/when that story breaks?

Bottom Line:

• If you don’t think this is a problem for your financial institution because you aren’t on Twitter today, think again. Someone else could be on Twitter right now, building followers using your brand name. Then...whammy!
• Never enter your account information at any website without verifying that the URL displayed in your browser window is legitimate. Make sure anyone staffing your social media accounts is careful about this too.

This article © 2009 by The Financial Brand, and may not be reproduced without express written permission from The Financial Brand.

Twitter phishing: It’s here, now

“With any name change, there’s kind of a shock to it.”
– Timothy Benecke
President and CEO
Wildfire Credit Union

“In the last few years, we have found that the Communications Family Credit Union’s name has created some confusion as to who can join,” Timothy Benecke, President and CEO/Wildfire, wrote in a letter to members. “Even though we are a community charter, our name has given the perception that our membership is still exclusive to the communications industry.”

With its recent community charter, anyone in seven counties can join the credit union.

“We wanted something that was short, memorable and distinctive,” Benecke told the Saginaw News.

Old Logo/New Logo

“Conventional credit union names follow a ‘who’+'where’ pattern, a formula that describes the geographic market and industry served,” noted Karen McGaughey, VP Client Services/Weber Marketing Group, the agency who served as the credit union’s renaming parter.

“Many credit unions find these names limiting names and outgrow them, which was true for the old Communications Family name.”

“The name Wildfire is a distinctive name that busts financial naming conventions that many financial institutions follow,” McGaughey added.

“This decision emerged from many months of research and evaluation under the leadership of our Board of Directors and executive team,” Benecke said. “Through this process, we have conducted research with credit union members, community members and credit union staff.”

In his letter, CEO Benecke reassured members that the credit union was well-capitalized, and that the name change had nothing to do with a merger.

People’s reactions to the Wildfire name span a very predictable range of human psychology, seen in almost every renaming situation — not just in the financial industry. The Saginaw News online article about the Wildfire name change has received some 50 comments since Monday. Some of the more provocative observations include:

• You bring in a national advertising firm and this is what they give you?
• I like the name…stands out and different from the rest!!
• Was the name ‘Earthquake Credit Union’ already used?
• Sounds like a steak house.
• I wonder if the marketing firm did a focus group?
• They probably paid this marketing firm $20,000 or more to come up with the name. But lets not blame them, since they offered 40 choices. That [Wildfire] couldn’t have been the best (or worst) one.
• I think the name is different, fresh.
• I will be in tomorrow to close my account.
• You are ashamed to belong to a credit union because of a name?
• Lighten up punkins, there are other things to get more worked up about…

“Everyone’s a critic,” said Mark Weber, CEO/Weber Marketing Group. “It’s the same thing as saying names like Verizon, Kinkos and Wii are stupid.”

Reality Checks:

• There is no new name that will please everyone.
• Anyone can make fun of any name.
• New names aren’t picked to resonate with historical target audiences. They are picked to appeal to future generations, looking 10-20+ years out.
• People are comfortable with what they know, and they generally hate change — it scares them.
• Name changes are subjected to a level of scrutiny and ridicule that startup organizations never endure.

What if a place like BooksOnline.com tried to become Amazon.com? What if the Java Stop tried to become Starbucks? People would scream and spew all sorts of nastiness. They would draw biased comparisons between the old- and new names, dwelling on the “obvious superiority” of the original. Then, like kids in a school yard, they’d make fun with jests and jabs: “Ewww look, it’s Icky Vicky.”

When Weyerhaeuser Employees Credit Union became Red Canoe back in 2006, the first story the local paper ran on the name change drew so many fiery comments — some 350 or more — that the paper ran a second story about the outpouring of comments the first story received. And then the second story got another 250 reader comments.

Red Canoe may have received “a boatload of ridicule.” But, Weber points out, the credit union “had is best growth year ever after strong initial weeks of media and blog attacks.”

Three years later, Red Canoe Credit Union is now an accepted- and well-respected fixture in the communities it serves.

Wildfire is a courageous choice, no doubt. Some may argue the name lacks relevancy, but at least it isn’t an acronym, nor does it try to squeeze in the word “Community.” It is unique, memorable and legally available in the financial industry.

And sometime soon, today’s fuss over the name will be forgotten.

Further Reading: Please contact The Financial Brand for your copy of “The Credit Union Guide to The Name Change Decision,” a comprehensive, 33-page analysis of the strategic renaming issues that apply to any financial institution considering a name change.

:30 TV Spot

Brochure Series

Print Ad Announcing Name Change

Branch Merchandising

This article © 2009 by The Financial Brand, and may not be reproduced without express written permission from The Financial Brand.

Credit union picks ‘Wildfire’ as new name

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?

This article © 2009 by The Financial Brand, and may not be reproduced without express written permission from The Financial Brand.

First Direct microsite serves up transparency and honesty

The credit union gave $10 to 182 people, awarding a $1,000 prize to one. For a $2,820 investment, the credit union yielded $1.3 million in tracked PR value.

Skip ahead a year, and you can see other credit unions have clearly taken note. At least three other credit unions — one in Canada and two in the United States — have recently deployed the “Pay It Forward” promotion. It would seem the “pay it forward” concept has transcended itself, creating ripples up through the industry and not just down from one credit union.

Servus Credit Union: ‘Feel Good Ripple’

The credit union then wants you to share your “feel good deeds” on their website. For each story someone shares, they are entered to win one of ten $500 donations. There’s already been over 180 “feel good deeds” submitted. You can read them by clicking here.

The initiative has its own dedicated microsite, feelgoodripple.ca. Overall, the site delivers a contemporary take on retro-70s themes, subconsciously tapping our inner-hippie. The site is rich with creative, branded language like “keep the ripple alive,” and “let’s make ripples together.” There’s even a “Ripple Counter.”

“We’re asking you to make someone’s day. Anyone’s day. All in the spirit of community. Help a stranger carry groceries to their car. Give a calling card to someone far from home. Volunteer to walk dogs for an animal shelter. Do something. Anything! Make someone feel good and inspire them to do the same for someone else.”

The site has built-in functions for people to share the Feel Good Ripple with others via popular social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Click on the hotlink to share via Twitter, and a new window will appear with an auto-populated tweet: “Join the movement. Make someone’s day and inspire them to do the same for someone else. #ripple http://feelgoodripple.ca”

“This concept of sharing reinforces our strong cooperative beliefs,” the Feel Good Ripple microsite says. “This demonstrates just how different we are from the banks.”

Servus Credit Union’s slogan is “Feel good about your money,” so there seems to be nice brand alignment with this promotion.

Tonawanda Valley FCU – Pay It Forward

The credit union is deploying an almost identical version of Seattle Metropolitan’s original Feel Good promotion.

At a special event this Thursday (October 15th), anyone who answers this question on video gets $10: “If TVFCU gave you $10, what would you do for someone else?”

A panel will select 10 finalists, whose videos will be posted on the credit union’s website. The public will vote on the best idea, and the winner will be awarded “$1,000 to use however they wish in contributing toward their cause.”

Educational Credit Union – Pay It Forward

Same basic strategy here, only it’s $20 free, with the assignment to “create your ripple and pay it forward.”

Video responses to the challenge will be posted on the credit union’s YouTube account. The video with the most comments will pocket $500 and receive a $500 donation to their charity of choice.

Source: Thanks to Market Insights Insiders for bringing these three promotions to The Financial Brand’s attention via their Twitter account.

This article © 2009 by The Financial Brand, and may not be reproduced without express written permission from The Financial Brand.

Pay It Forward: The Ripple Effect

1st Bank in Denver wants everyone to know they care about small businesses. To make the point, the bank has bought rotating, backlit displays at waiting areas in Denver’s airport, showcasing business cards from hundreds of business banking customers.

The bank bought four displays total, comprising some 500 different business cards. Cards were submitted by business customers at local branches over a three week period.

The displays are 69” tall x 139.5” around.
They are clear plexiglass over backlit duratrans.

The airport ads are 1st Bank’s latest installment in an ongoing campaign targeting small business customers. The bank ran a series of billboards earlier this year for general services like piano lessons and wedding singers, along with a phone number. Anyone calling the number would be referred to one of the bank’s customers offering the service.

The campaign targets companies of 2–999 employees.

FirstBank is Colorado’s largest locally owned bank, with $8 billion in assets, and additional locations in California and Arizona.

The campaign is by TDA Advertising & Design, Boulder.

An example of the “free ads” 1st Bank ran for its business customers earlier this year.

This article © 2009 by The Financial Brand, and may not be reproduced without express written permission from The Financial Brand.

Bank gets over 500 customers in its ads