Since I began blogging in 2004, I’ve usually run a year-end post looking at the holiday marketing efforts of the top-20 U.S. banks (links below). This year, only 7 of the 20 banks are using holiday or seasonal imagery on their homepages. That’s a decrease of 3 over last year.
As usual, PNC Bank is the gold standard for holiday bank promotions, with its long-running (25+ years) “cost of Christmas index” which quantifies the cost of procuring all the items mentioned in the famous song, “12 Days of Christmas.” Following is a quick overview of the promotions, including a 1-to 5-bulb rating.
Previous posts: 2010, 2009 part 1, 2009 part 2, 2007, 2006, 2006, 2004
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Big banks in the holiday spirit
(rated 1 to 5 bulbs)
PNC: Christmas cost index
- Cost of Christmas based on the song 12 Days of Christmas
Score: 
Homepage
Landing page: Amazing microsite, wonderful graphics, and slow loading (link)
Fifth Third: holiday sweeps
- Pay Your Bills sweeps with holiday graphics
- Small ad with a card wrapped with ribbon which directs users to branches for “holiday shopping made easy,” presumably for gift cards, but neither the ad nor the landing page make that clear
Score:
ING Direct: Mobile usage sweeps
- 12 Days of Mobile sweeps
Score:
Landing page
Chase: sweeps and car loans
- Winner Wonderland, credit card sweeps with one entry for every credit card purchase and 5 entries for every donation put on the Chase card
- Add joy to your wallet, car refinance promotion
Score:
BB&T: Visa gift card
- Small advertisement in lower right
Score: 
Homepage
TD Bank: Visa gift card
- Small advertisement in lower right (below the fold on my laptop)
Score:
Homepage
Key Bank: gift cards
- Very small gift-card promo, below the fold on my laptop and rotating with a half-dozen other items
Score:
Homepage
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Notes:
1. No holiday imagery on the homepages of BofA, Wells Fargo, Citibank, HSBC, US Bank, SunTrust, Capital One, Citizens, Regions, Harris, Bank of the West, Union Bank, Comercia
2. Screenshots taken from Ft. Myers, FL, IP address, between 7 and 8 PM, 20 Dec 2011
3. Credit: Happy Holidays animation from LayoutSparks.com