At an age and time when banking is going through tremendous strain, customer relationship and top of mind recall of the brand, and further the bank’s product/service offering becomes the key. How can a very serious product offering and communication still catch the attention of the masses, engage them and ensure they build an emotional equity with you.
About the Bank & business objectives
The bank is consideration is TD Bank, USA, a relatively smaller bank in US standards. The bank is amongst the top 10 in USA, with over 26,000 employees, with a deep rooted relationship amongst communities. The bank besides working with communities closely, also fosters programs under Corporate Social Responsibility into better education, green environment and giving back to less fortunate people in the society.
TD Bank since its inception has been trying to do some unconventional guerrilla marketing tactics to stand-outside-the box, and get ticked. Right from its merger days, the bank opted to use unconventional marketing approach to ensure consumer eyeballs and significantly their campaigns have been digital centric.
Adopted Strategy
TD Bank conceived an annual activation, where they converted ATM’s from its conventional cash dispensing machines to what they termed it as “Automated Thank You Machines”, here is how. In #TDThanksYou, four TD locations across Canada they picked select customers, targeted them with gifts which they were surprised with as part of their annual customer appreciation day, and filmed their priceless reactions for a YouTube video.
The feel-good nature of the ad and its implementation helped convey the fact that the bank cares for its customers, in more ways than just mere banking.
Marketing expert Ann Handley, co-author of the book “Content Rules,” told TODAY.com, “this activity by TD Bank, just went beyond the realms of mere meeting customer expectation, but exceeding and leaving a mark within their emotional space. The best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing.”
Every activity that a brand conceives should be evaluated from the point of it going viral, and spreading the maximum. And the video, which has received more than 3.5 million views since it debut, is just amazing. Take a break guys and watch it, keep some tissues handy, truly emotional and heart warming.
Here is how people around the globe, responded to the viral campaign on twitter;
“What an amazing campaign #TDThanksYou.”, “In tears, this was so beautiful! Sometimes you just want to say thank you #TDThanksYou“, “Have tissue handy! Touching, caring. A great uplift. People come first. #TDThanksYou“; creating a TD Bank trending!
TD Bank with its success, continued its social media engagement lately with yet another outstanding campaign, this time around in support for local communities and their dreams. Needless to say when banks like HSBC trended on a global campaign #ispossible, TD Bank looked at #MakeTodayMatter campaign.
#MakeTodayMatter campaign, TD Bank hand picked 24 customers across 24 different cities — one a day for 24 days — and gave them only 24 hours to pick projects that would benefit their communities most. Each person was given roughly $30,000 to make their project a reality. TD Bank ran a poll across North America and asked generic consumers what they would do for their communities if they had the money, including an informal poll posted on Facebook. They received some exceptional ideas and narrowed down to a few, TD Bank then relied on branch employees and their knowledge of customers to help make the final selections.
Result achieved
While the ATM initiative, ticked the emotions of select customers and made a huge positive story about the brand, the #MakeTodayMatter derived great community messaging to its core target consumers.
Some of the winners; Edwin Ross, an elementary gym coach from Florida, helped a struggling football league team purchase sufficient gear and workout equipments and even made them spend time out with former Miami Dolphins players.
Michael Mulligan in Ontario who relied on a wheelchair for basic mobility for most of his life helped create a more accessible home for his disabled neighbor. His neighbor Rose had not moved out of her homefor four years because it didn’t have a wheelchair ramp. Michael helped her move out and start enjoying her life again.
Other projects included everything from trail restoration to puppy adoptions. TD Bank created a microsite maketodaymatter.td.com, The collage video garnered over 3 million views and created another trending initiative across social media networks.
As a result, TD Bank garnered over 25 million impressions on YouTube with its social media driven campaign. The Corporate giving concept picked better emotions and meaning, when the bank sought participation from its audience through social media, as against a conventional boring press release and sticking a post picture of its happenings, normal banks do !
Key Learning
In a highly competitive market, where brands are jostling for consumer mind space, emotional campaigns, with the right digital reach can work wonders for a brand. TD Bank’s case in hand justifies that self propelling marketing is sometimes a myth that gets unnoticed and makes you “me too” within the consumer mind. However a campaign that is designed and dovetailed well within the brands objectives and consumer minds is bound for sure success.
After all virality is good. It spreads positive messages !
Image Credits: TD Bank social channels, TD Bank
