The Story

A lot of banks offer iPods with new account openings, but TD Banknorth took this strategy a step further. Their agency, VIA, realized that the promotion would make a lot more sense if there was music paired with the iPod giveaway. Enter Pandora, the website that allows users to create their own unique […]

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When I spoke yesterday at the 2008 Forum Partnership Symposium about brand positioning (see part of the presentation above or click here), one of the points I made is that when building a brand position, it’s more effective to focus on being different than being better. In fact, I blogged about […]

What, did you think we wouldn’t remember? Bank marketing and acquisition amore at its finest.
Props to The Financial Brand for posting the original ad.

Well, almost no one. The virtual game, Wallet World, created by Doner, lets players compete for the chance to win from among hundreds of prizes… if they live in the right state. But as it turns out, only residents of seven states and the District of Columbia are eligible to participate. Why […]

Thank you, local Portland Funeral Home, for sending me a solicitation letter asking me to pre-plan my death and buy my future grave site today! Thank you for reminding me that, even though I just turned 31, impending doom is near. Here I was foolishly thinking that my thirties are a great time in life […]

Actually, not so novel. Finland, for example, does not have bank-specific ATMs. In other words, you can walk up to any ATM (Otto) on any street in Helsinki and conduct a transaction without worrying about incurring a fee. The ATMs themselves are all owned by one company, Automatia, and all look exactly […]

Our latest episode of Blow Up Your Marketing is brought to you straight from the 2008 ABA Bank Marketing Conference in Denver, CO. Jeff Stephens and guest Brady Walen from Market Insights chat with attendees to find out what they’ve been learning and what their most important takeaways from the conference have been.

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Here’s my 2 cents on Jesse’s excellent post about the corporate brand and “they” vs. “we”. In order to get your employees on board with the “we” mentality, you have to give them something that makes the brand worth investing in mentally. That is, word-of-mouth marketing applies to internal culture at a company as much […]

Please watch this short film. It’s a perfect example of the difference between being creative and being emotionally engaging. The best marketers understand that it’s not what you say that is important, but how you say it.

I may be preaching to the choir here a bit. But I recently came across this good colloquial example of why bank and credit union branch environments matter so much, and I thought I’d share quickly. It’s nice and simple, and makes a powerful point.
Have you ever gone into a restaurant for the […]