Advertising & Promotion Archives - Page 12 of 19

Wells Fargo Pushes Mobile Banking on Logout Page

By Jim Bruene Posted on July 25, 2007
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, WAP, Wells Fargo

Just two days after announcing its browser-based (WAP) mobile banking service (press release here), it's already showing up in the bank's cross-marketing efforts. When I logged out of my Wells Fargo account this afternoon, I was greeted with this message:

Clicking on Sign Up Now takes you to this topnotch landing page (here). The Take a Tour button in the lower right triggers a short animated demo of the mobile service right on the landing page:

Features
The bank is using a new, shortened URL, <wf.com> for mobile access, a huge keystroke advantage over <wellsfargo.com>. Both <wf.com> and <mobile.wellsfargo.com> go directly to a mobile phone-optimized secure sign-in page (see inset). The mobile service offers:

account balances for checking, savings, mortgage, home equity, brokerage, auto loan, student loan, and credit cards
transaction history
funds transfer between Wells Fargo accounts

Note:

1. An interesting side note to the announcement: The first result in a Google search for "wells fargo mobile" still leads to an August 2002 CNet story on Wells Fargo's decision to shutter its original mobile banking platform launched in 2001 (see inset).

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Key Bank Gives Away iPod nanos for Free Checking Accounts

By Jim Bruene Posted on July 24, 2007
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, Key Bank, Toronto Dominion Bank

From a customer's perspective, this is a hot offer. Open a Key Bank free checking account. Make two automated deposits of $100 or more and take home an Apple iPod nano worth $150. The only downside, the tax bill next April for the $150 in implied interest.

I can't vouch for the ROI of a giving a $150 premium for a free checking account, but Key Bank has run thousands of marketing campaigns, and I trust their spreadsheets say this will pencil out. And they are not the first to give it a try. Citibank aggressively handed out iPod Minis with new checking accounts several years ago. North of the border, TD Canada Trust is also using the must-have music player in its promotion running through 7 August, handing out an iPod shuffle for a new checking account, an iPod nano for new checking plus a credit card, or full 30 GB version for all of the above and $5,000 in savings (see landing page below).

I'm not crazy about the TD ad, but it's hard to miss with the huge FREE IPOD next to the in-your-face picture. However, Key seems to be missing the mark. The bank succeeds in taking one of the most-sought-after gadgets in the past 20 years and making in nearly invisible on the page, rendering the device in grayscale and using red text that blends into the other red accents of the homepage. Compare that to the graphic above from Apple's store. Why not show one of the brighter colors to grab attention? Or use an animation to show all the colors. Yes, I know the non-silver versions have twice the capacity (4 GB instead of 2 GB) and cost $50 extra at retail, but that could be handled with an optional upgrade option, either for a nominal fee, or with additional services ala TD Canada Trust.

Key Bank homepage with iPod offer (July 23, 2007)

Key Bank iPod offer landing page (July 23, 2007)

TD Canada Trust homepage with iPod offer (July 24, 2007)

TD Canada Trust iPod offer landing page (July 24, 2007)

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Citibank Goes Mobile in National Print Advertising

By Jim Bruene Posted on July 23, 2007
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, Citibank

Even though my wife tries to throw them out at least once per year, I still have every issue of Wired Magazine in a stack in my home office. It remains my favorite magazine, although I no longer devour every issue within the first 48 hours.

I still take notice when any financial services company advertises within its pages. There aren't usually many to choose from, mostly brokerages and mutual fund conglomerates. But one retail bank has consistently advertised in Wired: Citibank, who made the Wired 40 list of leading companies in 2005 and 2006, but not 2007 (see previous coverage here).

In the August issue of Wired (pp. 31-32, see inset), Citibank has a gorgeous two-page spread, featuring, drum roll please, MOBILE BANKING (see note 1). For nearly 10 years, the gold standard of online banking image advertising was the attractive 30-something guy/gal relaxing on the beach, supposedly doing their online banking from a chair (note 2).

It looks like the mobile phone is the new laptop, at least in Madison Avenue photo shoots, especially now that the iPhone is the sexiest new technology since the Palm Pilot. So expect to see plenty of advertising — print, Internet and television — showing happy 30-somethings taking care of their banking in a few seconds on their way to the beach/theatre/dinner. Sure, it's mostly fiction in 2007, but mobile will be the "sizzle" in bank advertising for years to come.

Here's the slightly truncated version of the Wired ad (sorry my scanner is only 8.5 x 14):

Notes:
1. The add also appeared across pp. 3-4 in the July issue of Wired.

2. I go to the beach every year, and I've never seen anyone with a laptop there. Even if you forget about the possible sand and water damage, there is no way you can see the screen through the glare, without risking permanent damage to your eyes. I have a $2,000+ Thinkpad tablet, and I can barely make out the screen in the shade on my deck.

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Smart Car: The Next Must-Have Banking Sweeps Prize

By Jim Bruene Posted on July 11, 2007
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, Green Marketing, Loans & Credit

Looking for an eye-catching grand prize for your fall sweepstakes? You can't beat the new Smart fortwo car hitting to hit our shores in six months. According to today's Wall Street Journal (here), more than 20,000 (make that 20,001) have already plopped down $99 for a "reservation" for the Smart fortwo (here).

Not only is this a sexy sweeps prize, it has green appeal as a less resource-intensive vehicle compared to larger gas cars. While hybrids will still be more fuel efficient for in-city driving, the $12,000 base price makes it much more affordable that the $20,000+ Prius.

With the perfect storm of higher gas prices, the rebirth of environmental awareness, and America's obsession with cars, the Smart micro is almost guaranteed to be a hit, at least in urban markets. Anyone who's been in Europe in the last 10 years knows how popular these cars already are.

Financial Institution Opportunities
There's hundreds of ways to use a coveted, and potentially rationed, consumer product in your marketing efforts. For example:

At $10,000 less than the Mini Cooper, this is the cost-conscious choice for a sweeps grand prize
Use the car to reinforce your smart banking choices such as paperless banking, auto bill pay, and so forth
Smart loans that include a preapproved auto loan along with a reservation for the car
Use the car's "CO 2 champion status" (see inset) to reinforce your green banking efforts
Paint the car with your brand and provide smart rides around town…include a form on your website for requesting a ride; for extra credit offer text message reservations
Work with Smart USA dealers in your area to offer joint promotions

And you already know we have a weakness for the car; so as an added benefit, any banking promotion involving it has a great chance of making it to the pages of Netbanker. Just give me a heads-up here.

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Free Checking in the Internet Age

By Jim Bruene Posted on July 6, 2007
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, Bank of America, Chase Bank, Deposits, Checking, Savings, CDs

Bank of America and Chase, two of the three largest U.S. banks, are putting an online spin on free checking offers using online banking, security, and other benefits to encourage applications. On the surface, Bank of America's approach appears much more effective. And with no direct-deposit requirement, it surely generates more new accounts. However, without knowing how the free accounts convert to profitable relationships, it's impossible for an outsider to recommend one approach over another.

Bank of America
Bank of America's free checking offer (see note 1) is difficult to overlook (screenshot below). The top-of-the-page banner has animations that showcase the major benefits:

online banking
bill payment
"Keep the Change" debit card savings program
SiteKey security

The teaser "We're redefining Free Checking" creates interest while the bright blue "open an account" and "special online-only offer" further entice prospect to click through the banner.

The landing page (screenshot below) reiterates the online benefits and features a large laptop to reinforce the high-tech nature of the account. Two additional benefits are added to the list:

Free debit card with security protections
Free ATM access at 17,000 BofA machines

Notes:

1. The free checking banner appeared in a visit to the homepage from a Seattle IP address at 10 AM Pacific time today. It did not appear on afternoon searches from several computers.

2. The bank uses a live chat popup after lingering on the application for a short time (click on image right for closeup).

Chase Bank
Chase's homepage banner uses the "kitchen sink" approach with an image of an ATM machine, debit card, paper checkbook, laptop, and PDA along the top. The mobile phone is a good addition, but the ATM machine and laptop are so small, they aren't easily recognizable in a quick scan (see screenshot below).

Another problem: the paper checkbook, which is centered and slightly larger than the others, seems to get an inordinate amount of attention. I'm not sure that the checkbook or the debit card add much value. U.S. consumers pretty much realize those are included in a checking account.

Chase's landing page leaves a lot to be desired. The benefits are listed in small, gray type that is relatively hard to read. And the only call to action, if you can describe it as one, is the last line in small blue type, with an underlined "apply online." No buttons + no color + no large font + no offer = no interest.

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Citi Mobile on National Television

By Jim Bruene Posted on June 20, 2007
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, Citibank, mFoundry, Mobile Banking

At the Mobile Commerce Summit, we heard Citibank is running national spots featuring its mFoundry-powered mobile banking service, Citi Mobile <citibank.com/citimobile>. (Hat tip Richard Crone).

Back in the old days, like late 2006, we would have had to request a copy of the ad from the bank. But today, everything is on YouTube, so check out the 30-second spot below (screenshot at right).

While its not as appealing as Apple's iPhone commercials, the Citi spot does a good job demonstrating the utility of mobile banking. It features a close-in shot of a couple driving down the road with the wife making a quick forgotten payment in a few seconds, while still carrying on a conversation with her husband. It is also great branding, furthering Citi's long-term positioning as a technology leader.*

What it Means
National advertising by the big banks, as well as carriers introducing their mobile wallets later this year and next, will create considerable awareness among consumers. Although, usage will be light for the next few years, mobile commerce is NOT a fad. This is one area you should address very carefully in your upcoming budgeting process for 2008.

For more information, see our Mobile Banking Report.

—-

*Citi would look even hipper if it embedded the YouTube ad in its mobile banking landing page.

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10 Ways for Banks to Leverage Apple iPhone Hysteria

By Jim Bruene Posted on June 7, 2007
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, Cingular, Mobile Banking, Service

Apple's iPhone has garnered the kind of media hype we haven't seen since Windows 95 launched Aug. 24, 1995. I don't know if people are lined up at AT&T Wireless/Cingular stores yet, but I'm sure we'll see huge crowds mugging for the cameras at midnight, June 28.

But unlike 1995, when only Wells Fargo could brag about "Windows 95 compatibility," most banks offer services that will work on the iPhone, at least to some extent. While the phone has not been made widely available to third-party testers, the built-in Safari browser provides website designers with much of what they need to make website functions "iPhone compatible." One issue: The phone is not expected to support Java (see Design Issues below).

Product & Marketing Ideas

Here are 10 ways to jump on the iPhone bandwagon:

1. iPhone loans: It costs $500 or $600, not including the monthly AT&T fee. As a promotion, you could offer term loans, specifically designed for purchases of the iPhone (see note 1). (See our next post for more info on the Prosper loan listing to the right.)

2. iPhone rebates: Offer a $50 rebate for customers who buy an iPhone with your credit or debit card, then sign up for online banking/bill pay/estatements or whatever online service you are promoting.

3. Announce iPhone compatibility: You might want to hold off on this until you can run tests on an actual phone. But if you are compatible with Safari, you will most likely function fairly well on the iPhone.

4. Create an iPhone landing page designed specifically for the 336 x 168 screen, complete with its own URL <iphone.yourbank.com> or <yourbank.com/iphone>.

5. Advertise under "iPhone" or "iphone banking" on Google: There will be zillions of searches on this term this summer. If you had some type of iPhone-related promo this could provide significant (albeit expensive) traffic.

6. iPhone giveaways: You wont' be able to give them away for new accounts, but a sweeps with an iPhone prize would be a good attention grabber.

7. iPhone compatibility FAQs: As soon as you've tested the phone with your banking services, document it all with screen captures and post to your website. You can run a link of your homepage with an eye-catching, "see how to bank at mybank with your iphone."

8. Designate one or more customer service reps as "iPhone banking" support complete with their own Web page, email address, IM address, and mobile phone number of course.

9. Use the iPhone as an attention getter in general promotions for online banking or mobile banking: You can use the name recognition to further your mainstream marketing efforts, for example, "You don't have to have an iPhone to bank with us. Any web-enabled phone will connect with our mobile site, <m.yourbank.com>.

10. Create an iPhone banking users group, club, forum, or blog: To promote banking with you via iPhone, entice iPhone owners to register their phone with you and join the club. Club participants could get a special t-shirt and special attention from the bank such as a dedicated "iPhone banking" tech support rep (see #8) and iPhone tips and tools delivered via email/RSS.

Design Issues
From a design standpoint, the main concern is how your website, and online banking area, appear on a 168 x 336 pixel screen size (3.5 inch screen). The screen is designed to display the entire webpage with users using the touchscreen to zoom in on specific areas for better readability (see below). Apple has a good demo of how it works here.

If you have a standard 800 x 600 layout, it will be shrunk to about 50% of its normal size when viewed on an iPhone. Another design complication: user's can rotate the phone 90 degrees and instantly go to portrait mode (336 x 168) (see example screenshots an Marketing Pilgrim here).

Here's how Fandango looks in full-screen mode and then zoomed in on the box-office list:

Financial Institution Action Items
Of course, step one is convincing your boss you need an iPhone right away for research purposes. Then, at a minimum, address iPhone compatibility in your FAQs as well as briefing your service reps that deal with website access questions.

Whether you go decide to ride the wave further depends is up to you. And looking back at this list, I realize I probably should have stopped at five. But the point is, banks and credit unions can use current events to drive traffic, generate buzz in your community, and let your customers/employees know that you are "with it." And please send us picture of you with your iPhone on June 29th and we'll post it here.

P.S. For those of you who want to understand the broader mobile banking trend and how the iPhone fits into it, check out the new mobile banking report from Online Banking Report.

—

Note:

1. Alternatively, you could offer an iPhone banking package with "free" iPhone. For example, bundle an iPhone with a checking account, credit card, credit line, etc. and sell for $20/mo with 3-year commitment (and early termination fee), with the customer paying the AT&T monthly charges separately.

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One-quarter of 50 Largest Online Advertisers are From Financial Services

By Jim Bruene Posted on May 21, 2007
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, Metrics & Market Research

It's no surprise that financial services companies are some of the largest online advertisers. It's been that way since the medium began accepting advertising in 1995. However, you might be surprised who was the number 1 financial-services advertiser in 2006: Experian with $128 million, 50% more than Microsoft's $82 million. Only five companies spent more online in 2006: Vonage, AT&T, Dell, Disney and GM.

The credit bureau and direct marketing company has expanded its direct web-based financial services presence via acquisition over the last few years and now owns prolific advertisers such as LowerMyBills.com and FreeCreditReport.com.

Most financial companies in the top-50 were in the brokerage and investment category with TD Ameritrade, Scottrade, E*Trade and Fidelity all in the $100 to $120 million category. Non-brokerages included IAC/Interactive parent of Lending Tree and GetSmart, American Express, Capital One, Bank of America, and the biggest surprise in the top-50: LoanWeb with $37 million, more than any retail bank in the country, except BofA.

Here's the financial services companies in the top 50. Data in from TNS as cited in Online Media, Marketing, & Advertising Magazine (OMMA) last week (here). Previous NetBanker coverage is here.

Overall Rank/Company/2006 Online Advertising Expenditures

6   Experian               $128 million
9   IAC/Interactive    $123 million (includes non-financial products)
10 TD Ameritrade     $120 million
14 E*Trade                $107 million
15 Scottrade             $105 million
18 Fidelity                 $98 million
23 American Express $80 million
25 Charles Schwab    $72 million
29 Forex Capital Markets $57 million
34 Capital One           $53 million
35 Morgan Stanley     $53 million
44 Bank of America    $43 million
48 LoanWeb               $37 million

Source: TNS, 2007

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Prosper Advertising on BankRate.com

By Jim Bruene Posted on May 11, 2007
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, P2P Lending, Prosper

After posting yesterday about the apparent traffic spike at Prosper (here),* I ran across this ad this morning at BankRate.com (here). Prosper’s excellent landing page is shown at the end of the post.

I’ve seen Prosper advertising a bit on Google (here), but this takes the lender’s marketing to a whole new, and expensive, level. At BankRate, a site littered with 5% APY come-on’s, this orange 12% rate offer will attract a lot of attention. But given the typical acquisition costs of $100+ for advertising at BankRate, it will be tough for this to pan out from an ROI perspective. With Prosper’s 1% loan fee plus 0.5% servicing charge, it would take roughly $7,000 in lending volume per new customer to break even in the first year, if acquisition costs average $100.

But after visiting with Prosper’s founder, Chris Larsen, at the recent Net.Finance conference, I have a renewed respect for what they are doing. We’re working on a Prosper 2.0 report, as a followup to last year’s initial look at person-to-person lending (here).

Prosper landing page after clicking through the above BankRate.com banner ad

* Compete told me they are looking closer at the data to see if there were any anomalies in the latest estimates for Prosper.com traffic.

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Followup Friday: More on the Bank of America & Verizon Online Billing Co-promotion

By Jim Bruene Posted on April 27, 2007
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, Bank of America, Bill payment

Little did I know when I wrote about Verizon Wireless promoting Bank of America billpay on its site (here), that the company that brokered the deal, CheckFree, along with representatives from both consumer giants, would be presenting the results of the effort at Nacha's Payments conference last week (see note 1). I wasn't there, but I was filled in on the details by CheckFree's PR director Sheryl Roehl.

First, my assumption was wrong. It was NOT a paid placement by BofA. No money changed hands. It was classic joint marketing with each company promoting the other on their websites. The exposure to each others' massive customer bases trumps any concern over who benefits most by converting Verizon customers into ebilling users (see note 2).

In the prior post, I showed you BofA's ad on Verizon's site, here's what the Verizon placement looked like on the bank's site (note 3):

Verizon banner in BofA's main online banking area

Landing page for the Verizon promo

Email me if you'd like the presentation slides, which also include more figures about ebilling adoption (note 4).

Notes:

1. The joint presentation was by: Angeline DePauw, director electronic remittance Processing, Verizon Communications; Laurie Profilio Sass, eCommerce marketing, Bank of America; and Lori Stepp, managing executive E-bill Adoption Services, CheckFree

2. It's hard to say which company gains the most in an ebill conversion. Verizon saves money by eliminating the paper and BofA potentially converts a customer into ebilling, an important retention benefit.

3. The screenshot is from the NACHA Payments presentation; it is a mockup, note the 2004 date, but presumably is an accurate representation of what the promo looked like.

4. CheckFree presented the latest penetration numbers at the conference, as determined in their Feb. 2007 research conducted by Harris Interactive. Three-quarters of ONLINE households, or about half of all households, now pay a bill or bills online with biller direct (55%) leading pay-anyone (38%) by a measurable margin (19% do both). See inset.

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Schwab Does Social Networking, Sponsors Gather.com

By Jim Bruene Posted on April 25, 2007
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, Charles Schwab

The social networking phenomena has left financial services mostly behind. Aside from a few banner ads here and there (see E*Trade's clever animated ad on MySpace here), financial institutions have stayed away. The risks of a poor brand association have so far outweighed the benefits of putting the bank name in front of millions of younger users. An added problem: Do banks have enough street cred on these sites to make even a small advertising investment pay off?

Wells Fargo is the only major U.S bank to dare try. With four blogs, a MySpace page, an early Second Life presence, and even a placeholder on Twitter, the bank is dipping its toes in social media (see coverage here).

But not all social networks are about music and dating. Gather.com, the self-proclaimed "leader in social media for adults," boasts 210,000 members across nine channels: books, food, health, movies, music, news, politics, travel, and last but not least, money. The money channel, where I became member number 9,619 yesterday, has member posts in the usual areas: personal finance, investments, real estate, taxes and so on.

Last month, the company announced strategic advertising partnerships with five companies including Starbucks, Sony and Charles Schwab who implemented an impressive branding of the website's Money channel <money.gather.com> (see screenshot below).

Analysis
According to Compete, more than 11% of the nation's online time is now logged at MySpace. Let me repeat: across all 200 million or so U.S. Internet users, more than 11% of the time is spent at MySpace. In terms of pageviews, it's even more dramatic, with the site accounting for 16% of all pageviews in December.

That level of usage is astounding. It's more than the combined total of eBay, Amazon, Google, MSN, AOL, and YouTube. Only Yahoo has anything close, with just under 9% share of time online. The only financial company cracking the top-20 was Bank of America, number 15 with 0.34% (see the full table at Compete's blog here).

Top 5 Websites in Attention
% of total time spent online in United States (Jan 2007)

11.3 % myspace.com
8.6% yahoo.com
3.5% ebay.com
3.4% msn.com
2.1% google.com

Source: Compete.com, Feb. 2007

There is no way that advertisers will ignore this much traffic. Financial institutions will eventually jump into social media sponsorships, especially as specialized areas are developed, such as Gather's Money channel. Advertising dollars follow the eyeballs so long as there is a viable advertising platform. And you can bet the large media companies that own the social networks will make sure they "monetize" the attention as effectively as possible.

Schwab "owns" the main Money page at Gather.com

Note:

1. For those of you who haven't looked at the company financials recently, Schwab has about 7 million accounts and 300 branches. Here's the details from the press release (here):

The Charles Schwab Corporation (Nasdaq: SCHW) has more than 300 offices and 6.8 million client brokerage accounts, 570,000 corporate retirement plan participants, 149,000 banking accounts, and $1.3 trillion in client assets as of January 31, 2007.

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Bank of America’s "Paid Placement" at Verizon Wireless Bill Payment

By Jim Bruene Posted on April 21, 2007
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, Bank of America, Bill payment

Update: It turns out that this was NOT a paid placement, but a joint marketing program. See April 27 post here.

Here's an interesting twist on marketing bill payment services, Bank of America's presence on the Verizon Wireless post-login account page (see note 1). Here's how it works, according to a long-time reader and Verizon customer:

When Verizon wireless customers log in to their Verizon account online, the main page has a banner encouraging them to pay their bills at Bank of America's online billpay site (see below). Verizon also hosts a page on the benefits of paying through Bank of America and a link to the bank's login screen (see below).

I haven't seen this before, but since it all takes place behind Verizon's login, it's not visible to the outside world. I checked out the Verizon website this morning and Bank of America is not mentioned in the public areas. Has anyone seen this at other merchant sites? Leave a comment or email jim@netbanker.com.

Analysis
Everyone assumes that merchants want the bills paid directly on their site to maintain full control of the customer relationship. But evidently, even large merchants can be convinced to share the payment relationship if given proper incentives.

Bank of America Banner on Verizon Main Account Page

More-info Page Hosted by Verizon Wireless

Note:

1. I am assuming Bank of America is paying for the linkage; but it could be a joint marketing relationship where the bank pitches Verizon Wireless services in return for the exposure. The screenshots were submitted in early April.

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