Financial Services
ATM = Advertising to Many
Consumers all over the country may soon be able to avoid ATM fees, thanks to Free ATM NYC. In exchange for watching advertising content, ATM users can avoid the $2-$3 transaction fee. The user also receives an advertiser coupon with their receipt. Best of all, it’s a completely traceable and highly measurable channel for the advertiser.
The market is ripe for other independent ATM operators to also embrace more consumer-friendly value propositions, and emerge with a comparable offering…and perhaps even innovations of their own. Perhaps this is several years in the future, but Free ATM NYC’s model just begs for some sort of frequency loyalty component. It won’t be long before advertisers recognize the opportunity to pursue a one-to-one messaging strategy through this channel.
It will be very interesting to see what banks do in response. Will fee-free competition push banks to create a much more interactive, engaging, personalized and rewarding ATM experience? Tell us what you think.
Mobile – the NEW Lead Generation Tool
One just needs to observe pedestrians walking down the street to see how mobile devices have drastically changed our behavior from information-on-demand (the desktop model) to information-always-available (the mobile model). Smartphone users have developed a relentless habit for immediate access to information and stored entertainment. “What did we do without it” never rang truer than for mobile devices that provide us constantly flowing email and messaging, mapping and location based services, and on-the-fly reference resources. By the way, 17% of smartphone owners have bumped into someone accidentally this past week, so please keep your head up.
The implications of this behavior-shift significantly affect marketing plans targeting prospective new students. Here’s what you should know. Continue reading
How to fire a banking customer
Bank of America’s exciting announcement this week certainly has consumers buzzing with indignation. Adding a $5 a month fee for debit card purchases certainly is bold. But is it risky? From a business standpoint, it may be savvy. When your bottom line is sinking, you can no longer afford to let your least profitable customers be subsidized by your most profitable. But a bank can’t just say “I’m sorry, but we don’t want you as a customer anymore.”
Perhaps for BofA, the best way to encourage those free checking customers with low balances to find a new bank is to make them really, really mad. The inertia of the typical US bank customer is legendary. Only about 7% of consumers switch banks in a typical year. And with the planned cut of 30,000 employees, BofA may be thinking they need far fewer unprofitable customers to service.
So, maybe this $5 fee is strategically ingenious. What do you think?
AlphaGraphics Increases Its Reach
Emphasizing its expanded “full solution” approach to marketing services, AlphaGraphics recently unveiled its new brand which will be implemented across its entire network throughout the coming year. It’s a moment that everyone at Alphagraphics has been waiting for, and one that CBD has been working towards.
Having partnered with CBD early on in the planning phase, Alphagraphics underwent our rigorous brand evolution process to expand its product offerings appropriately and relevantly, and create a new brand presence in the marketplace that is sure to resonate with their target audience. Now, each of its 300 business centers are prepared to expand their core services from visual communications and traditional printing services including color, large format, offset and digital printing, to multi-channel, cross media solutions including online, mobile, direct marketing, e-Publishing and email marketing.
This evolution is the perfect example of change management at its best. And Alphagraphics did it right in working each step of the process. From task force implementation to primary and secondary research, internal workshops to business case development, Alphagraphics committed to doing everything necessary to guarantee success.
AlphaGraphics CEO, Kevin Cushing, harnessed the excitement of today’s marketing environment and recognized that technology innovations provide the network’s business owners with new and creative ways to reach existing and prospective customers. This insight, coupled with extensive market research, lead to the development of the new, highly meaningful tagline, Increase Your Reach.
Congratulations to everyone at AlphaGraphics for the hard work that led to this exciting brand re-launch. We wish you every success and are honored to have been a part of this tremendous evolutionary effort.
A Full Summer Reading List
A couple of weeks ago, I shared some of my recent favorite books that I thought you might enjoy adding to your summer reading list. Now I’m ready to list the titles I’ve lined up to read while in the sun or on vacation. Each of these books is currently stacked up on my nightstand waiting to be prioritized and devoured.
1. Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon–and the Journey of a Generation by Shelia Wecker. I was actually given this book by a colleague earlier this year, but got distracted by Keith Richards and Steven Tyler’s memoirs. Now, I’m looking forward to exploring how these three distinct yet dovetailing artists bucked the expectations that had been laid out for them by previous generations and blazed a new path for women to follow.
2. We, The Drowned by Carsten Jensen is said to be a spellbinding fictional book which spans 100 years (starting in 1848) and 4 generations of families from the small Danish coastal town Marstal. Jensen’s debut novel is already hailed as an instant classic.
3. Old Town by Lin Zhe. This is the story of an ordinary family caught up in the maelstrom that was China’s most recent century. Zhe’s narrative ranges across the entire length of China, to California and back again, to the battlefields of the Anti-Japanese War of Resistance and the brutal “struggle” of the Cultural Revolution.
4. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. This has been promoted as one of the freshest debuts in years: a comedy, a heartbreaker, a mystery story, a novel of exceptional literary merit that is great fun to read. The lead character is autistic and I am looking forward to what’s sure to be a new voice and perspective.
5. The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards. This is the story of a woman’s homecoming, a family secret, and the old house that holds the key to the true legacy of a family. My sister recently mentioned that she is adopting a life goal inspired by this story, but won’t tell me what it is until I read the book. So, I better get started.
As I look forward to reading all of these books this summer, some of which are rather long, it occurs to me that I’m going to need a longer season. That’s a lot to ask for from a Chicago summer, but I’m remaining hopeful.
Now that I’ve given you many books to think about. Please let me know what you’ll be reading this summer.
Good neighbor marketing
Crain’s Chicago is reporting that State Farm will open a retail store in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, but their purpose will be to serve, not sell. State Farm Next Door will offer free financial expertise, as well as a WiFi workspace for groups and individuals. The “Next Door” part will house a coffee shop. Inspiration for the concept came from State Farm employees, who obviously know firsthand that great relationships start with building trust and delivering value.
This concept is something other financial services companies should watch carefully – if not replicate rapidly. It takes great strategies like this to avoid the commoditization trap – a hazard State Farm is dangerously close to getting mired in. Their website currently boasts “Discounts up to Continue reading
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