The Story

Back in June, Fast Company asked the question many of us have been pondering, “Can Hotshot Ad Guy Alex Bogusky Make Microsoft Cool?” In short, the cover story discussed how Apple has single-handedly rebranded Microsoft as ‘uncool’ over the years, and how Microsoft is looking to change that by awarding its $300 million consumer-branding campaign to Crispin Porter + Bogusky.

(The agency is famous for making clients step outside of their comfort zone, much like what we advocate. They’re also well known for taking unhip brands, like Burger King, and making them cool again).

So, now it’s your time to judge. Bogusky have released their first ad for Microsoft, which you can watch right here.

Find more videos like this on AdGabber

Corporate branding is tough. All eyes are on Bogusky to successfully turn around the Microsoft brand, as they’ve done with so many other large companies. So what do you think, are they heading in the right direction?

Consider this comment from Adgabber, “…it’s also appealing to see Bill Gates depicted as Ordinary Dude, platinum member of a cheap shoe retailer. Will it turn him into a quirky — but beloved! — brand ambassador a la BK’s King? It could. We’ll see.”

Bank marketing is usually boring and forgettable - but not Expobank’s. Looks like even the financial industry is learning that sex sells.

Rather than promoting its excellent customer service, Expobank is differentiating itself as having the sexiest employees. That’s right - hot tellers - it’s like the Hooters of banks. The large, full-service Russian bank made headlines earlier this year when it released a very saucy calendar featuring scantily clad female employees, aged 20-32, in come-hither poses. Models included the bank’s chief economist for VIP clients and several senior managers. (Click here to see all 12 months of the calendar). The bank was acquired by Barclays for a whopping $745 million.

Yes, the calendar is offensive, but it’s refreshing to see a bank that isn’t afraid of alienating potential customers or pushing people’s buttons. According to an official spokeswoman, “Expobank tries to find unusual and creative ways in everything”. Duly noted.

(Personally, I’m disappointed that Expobank’s differentiation strategy includes objectifying women, but I’m even more disappointed that several high-level female employees were actually willing to take part. It’s definitely a cultural thing that’s more accepted over there than it is here.)

I just learned about a new tool for credit unions on the Co-Op ATM Network where users can find their nearest ATM by sending a text message. You just text your location (address, intersection, or zip code) to MYCOOP (692667) and they’ll send you a text with the address of the nearest Co-Op Network ATM is. How cool is that!?

Cool factor aside, my question is, how will credit unions market this new free service? Or more accurately, how WELL will credit unions market this service?

Will they send out a mass communication to their entire membership, or just to their 12-30 year old members? Will they tell members about it through a printed statement stuffer or newsletter, or via their website or an email? How about texting the information?

I am really impressed by this benefit and think of it as an added convenience, but I bet my Dad (who doesn’t even have a cell phone!) could care less about this feature.

Not all benefits actually benefit all customers. Some services will benefit certain demographics much more than others. Even services that seem to be equally useful for everyone will have target markets. Credit union and bank marketing folks would be smart to tailor the promotion of specific benefits to the audiences most directly affected and impacted.

As you may or may not know, Donnie Hoyle, the tutorial voice of “You Suck at Photoshop,” is not a “real” person. And if you haven’t seen the crude but useful Photoshop videos you can find them here. They were the brain child of Creative Director Troy Hitch (and team?) and were in fact not used to advertise for Adobe Photoshop products but to indirectly advertise Big Fat Institute’s own ingenuity.

In an interview on NPR’s Pop Culture podcast Troy explained that they are “not out to sell something for a client…but to change people’s perception about their brand and to put people in a state of mind in which they’ll be more likely to buy their product.” Read this Time article to learn more about this project and the masterminds behind it.

“You Suck at Photoshop” is a word of mouth marketing success story. I learned about it from more than one friend, and have shared it with many others. People have discovered Donnie on Facebook.com and about “50 thousand people in four hours” showed up on ebay.com to talk to him through the “ask sellers questions” email feature while he was selling his wedding ring (for reference watch, “You Suck at Photoshop episode 3.”)

What a success!

I’m a big fan of metaphors and analogies—probably to the point where some of my team members, clients and partners get tired of hearing me talk about “building the foundation before you can put up the wallpaper in the bathroom,” and other of my little gems.

On his blog The Financial Brand, Jeffry Pilcher threw out a cool metaphor involving the game show Wheel of Fortune. It was good enough that I wanted to share it with you, if you haven’t seen it already, go here.

We always ask our clients an important, simple question (which we blatantly stole from our friend Joe Sullivan at Market Insights), which is “describe your brand without using the words ‘people,’ ’service’ or ‘community.’” This gets at the heart of what Jeffry is pointing out.

Having great people, nice service and commitment to community are all great attributes—and ones that you should foster and value. But that can’t be all you got, folks. That alone is not enough…it is not interesting or unique enough. You’ve got to have a more distinct and separate position. Something that is, as we call it, “ownable.” People, service and community are not ownable.

You can’t win with STRNLE alone. Although good letters, you need more. Your bank or credit union’s brand is no different.

This article in the Puget Sound Business Journal got me thinking about the lack of niche marketing of financial services. Sure, there are banks (like Plaza Bank) targeting larger minority populations, especially Hispanics and Asian Americans, but what about other demographic niches? Where is the bank that exclusively focuses on attracting a clientele base of women small business owners? Or the one marketing solely to the under-35 crowd? How about a gay and lesbian bank?

Most industries have caught on to the fact that you can’t be everything to everyone, and that it’s usually more profitable to focus on a specific, defined market segment. However, the financial services sector seems to be lagging. Sure, there have been a few attempts, such as the Young Americans Bank (only for those under 22), the now defunct G&L Bank (for the gay and lesbian community), and Citigroup’s Women & Co (for guess who… women). But I honestly can’t say I had heard of any of these before I started researching the subject.

Is focusing on one defined market segment a good idea for banks? Especially in the current economic situation, where most banks - even those that steered clear of residential mortgages - are feeling the pinch, are there any willing takers? Executed successfully, this approach could help a bank differentiate from the pack and build itself a strong, stable and loyal - albeit smaller - customer base.

Does it shock you to know that there are only an estimated 1,600 pandas left in the world? Maybe it does. But chances are, you’re like many, who naturally can’t comprehend how dire the situation really is.

To engage people in the hopes of compelling them to take action, check out what the French did to turn the number into a tangible reality. (actually, the organization was WWF, but the panda invasion occurred in Paris. If your Italian is good, you can read more about it at Bloguerrilla.)

Rather than draw attention to the cause by creating a full-length animated Disney movie (see Kung Fu Panda) that kids go ga ga over, they installed an art installation in which the exact number of all the pandas left in the world fit in a small town square.

The statement “There are only 1,600 pandas in the world” may not sound compelling, but compare that to actually seeing 1,600 pandas, fitting in a square and that might change your mind. Turns out, 1,600 ain’t a lot.

The moral of this story: Don’t just make a statement about your organization and its cause, your industry or consumer issues with words. Use experiential marketing and literally “make” your statements with raw materials, so that audiences can not only see the important information you’re trying to convey, but also touch, smell, taste and hear them. Experiential tactics will definitely generate more word of mouth for your cause than traditional marketing.

What if we showed how little Americans save on average each year? Or worse yet, what kids save? Or the amount of people who don’t know what an IRA is? In order to tell, we must show.

I love my iPod(s). I wasn’t a super early adopter, but kind of in the middle. It’s great. I have an iPhone, too, and admit I couldn’t live without them.

I was at a bankers conference the other day, and the agenda came to that ever-exciting moment when the vendors stand up, pretend the audience is paying attention, and then announce the winner of their “drawing” for whatever they were giving away at their booth. And, of course, about 2 of every five giveaways was—you guessed it—an iPod (often the Touch these days).

I’m sitting there thinking, “geez, banking vendors are just like bankers—they get stuck in a rut and can’t get out, so they just do what everyone else does.” Heck, I’ve got like 5 iPod’s in my house, so I sat there silently wondering why these vendors are still giving away iPod’s like they’re the newest, coolest thing.

Then something funny happened. A gentleman at my table (a “chairman of the board”) won one of the drawings, so he got up to collect his new iPod. When he returned, he sat down excitedly, turned to his bank’s president, and said “what is this thing?”

Holy shimolies! I thought he was joking….but he wasn’t. He really didn’t know what it was. Sure, he was an older gentlemen, so you may generalize and chalk his lack of tech savvy up to that, but he hasn’t been living a life of solitude out in the woods for the last decade.

I think this little story says a lot about the state of the banking and credit union industry. It shows how we’re 1) stuck in major ruts, and 2) way behind the times.

What are your thoughts?

As I’m sure you’ve heard (given the major advertising and promotional campaign), they’ve made the Broadway musical Mamma Mia! into a movie.

While the slew of ads and interviews on Entertainment Tonight and The Today Show wasn’t surprising, I was surprised by a unique and experiential brand collaboration with IKEA.

No news here, but the musical is based on Abba songs - and Abba is about the most popular Swedish export…next to IKEA. So, IKEA hosted sing-a-longs and karaoke contests in their stores, with participants winning IKEA gift cards and tickets to a private screening of the movie. They also celebrated the matrimonial theme of the movie by hosting a mass wedding at one store, and giving the couples IKEA gift cards as wedding gifts.

What makes this collaboration successful in my mind is the relevancy of IKEA to the movie, and the experiential nature of the promotion - it wasn’t just about slapping an IKEA logo on a movie ad, or putting up a movie poster in IKEA’s stores. It was about creating an experience for movie-goers and shoppers alike.

Many banks and credit unions partner with non-profits or local businesses in an effort to provide additional value to their customers and members - but they usually just put their logo on something or put a flyer in the branch and call it good. I recently noticed a sign at WaMu where they “highlighted” a business client - which really meant just writing the business’s name, by hand, on a pre-printed poster with a mention to call the branch’s business banking expert. I don’t even know what the highlighted business does, nor do I care…

Why not be more like IKEA and make your brand collaboration experiential? Host an event at the spotlighted business that, in turn, gets people into your branch, or give away a relevant gift from the business to the first 20 people who open new accounts within the promotional timeframe.

Be creative - but be relevant - and you might actually provide additional value to your customers or members.

We just love it when someone comes along and backs up one of our brilliant ideas with statistics. That’s what happened today as I was cruising along comScore’s website and found this press release detailing the importance of customer experience in online banking. A while back, one of the brilliant minds here at CBC wrote a blog post about how useful it would be if bank websites had live customer chat where you could get immediate help from a financial services specialist. Looks like we aren’t the only ones who would welcome a little bit of interactivity into our online banking.

The comScore study revealed that 25% of survey respondents would value the ability to chat online with a bank representative. Since the number of people banking online increases every year, I would imagine that interest in a service like this would continue to grow as well.

Other online banking services that people appear receptive to include: widgets displaying account balance and personal financial management. There was a mention that behavioral data shows adoption rates lower than the interest expressed in the services, but according to Brian Jurutka, VP at comScore, “This may be due to the fact that many banks have not yet developed capabilities to adequately match consumer expectations.” I think so too.

From a bank marketing standpoint, having live online chat would be a pretty important way of proving your story if your bank brand is built around “superior customer service”. (By the way, there are a lot of financial institutions out there waving that flag, so why don’t you try differentiating your institution with something that’s actually different).