Today (Wednesday, May 5th), Mintel Comperemedia is hosting a webinar on “Seven Predictions for the Future of Banking.” Join Susan Wolfe, Vice President of Financial Services, as she explores seven key predictions for banking in 2010, using research and examples taken directly from Mintel Comperemedia and custom consumer surveys.

You can register and learn more here: http://www.mintel.com/us-email/compere_sevenpredictions.htm

This presentation will examine:

–The return of banks to “relationship banking” and how they will promote this
–Incentives and their importance in acquisition marketing campaigns
–Use of financial literacy programs by banks as they rebuild from the financial crisis
–Mobile banking as the “new” online banking
–Use of social media among financial institutions

Date and Time: Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 2:00pm-3:00pm CST (45 minute webinar, 15 minutes of Q&A)
Cost: Free

Seeing potential in Canadian market, American Express’s marketing campaigns evolve and integrate

In October, American Express launched a multi-million dollar “Realize the Potential” campaign in Canada. This move is significant as it represents the first major brand advertising from American Express in Canada in almost a year. Developed by OgilvyOne Worldwide, the advertising campaign promised an integrated effort across multiple marketing channels.

Initial print advertisements were captured by Mintel Comperemedia in October. Running through February of this year, the ads take a playful tone to appeal to a younger demographic than is traditionally associated with American Express. Print ads in The Globe and Mail use color on a black background for impact and cleverly spell out the name “Daniel” in numbers. The ad states that “we see you as a person, not a number.” A link is provided for more information about the campaign: www.americanexpress.ca/potential.

Now in 2010, we’re seeing new print advertising. An ad in the National Post simply states “Be a traveler, not a tourist,” as American Express demonstrates that it is more than just a payments card. To create additional impact, ads have also been published in non-traditional shapes and sizes. One seen in February in the Toronto Star is L-shaped and playfully states “Come fly with me…or me! or me!” to demonstrate the flexibility of the Membership Rewards Program given that you can use rewards to fly on any airline.

The print advertisements and digital campaign are now being integrated with direct mail. In February, direct mail offers for the American Express Platinum Card included the “Realize the Potential” tagline, while statement mailings took the same blithe tone as the print advertisements to describe how easy it is to turn points into rewards.

Just last week American Express announced a new Canadian campaign to promote card acceptance at popular merchants such as fast food outlets and drug stores. Combined with an increase in mail volume, these efforts show that American Express is clearly committed to investment in the Canadian credit card market.

Vanguard launched a new advertising campaign last week encouraging investors to “stop just investing and start Vanguarding.” The company began the marketing campaign by running ads on the front page of each section of The New York Times Monday, March 15 and a full page ad in section A, page five.

A key component of the launch was tying the message of the ad with the content of the media. An ad on the front page of the paper stated, “Reading only the front page is just investing. Getting the whole story is Vanguarding.” The ad on the front page of the arts section read, “Going with the latest fad is just investing. Choosing a timeless style is Vanguarding.”

Vanguard’s marketing campaign takes a cue from companies like Bing and Google, who have sought to create verbs out of their names. The campaign seeks to return to the basics of investing and in doing so uses an old-fashioned approach—turning a company name into a verb.

Why this approach? Vanguard stated that with competitors’ increased advertising, it couldn’t take a “me too” approach. Vanguard wants to establish its way of investing as the best way—following sound principles, investing at-cost and partnering with a client-owned firm.
A digital component is also part of the campaign, with advertising placements on websites such as CNN Money and Yahoo Finance. Half of Vanguard’s advertising budget will be allocated to the digital space, compared to 30-40% in the past.

This new campaign is a great approach for the company and will definitely help differentiate it from competitors. However, since this campaign is different from Vanguard’s past approach, it will have to prove very successful in order to continue.

We had a successful webinar yesterday; thanks to all who attended! Sorry about the sound difficulties at the beginning of the webinar.

Those of you who tuned in submitted tons of great questions about our financial services trend forecasts for this coming year. I’m crafting answers today and this weekend, so I hope to have them up on the blog by Monday. Please of course, feel free to use the comments field here if you’d like to submit more questions about our predictions.

In the meantime, Mintel Comperemedia’s fabulous marketing team has created a link to the webinar recording. You can either listen to it again (or for the first time if you missed it yesterday!) or you can download the slides to peruse at your own leisure. Click here to do so.

A bit of shameless self-promotion this week. I’ve got a webinar coming up on Thursday, December 17th. It’s free, the content is valuable, and I’d love it if you could attend.

“Navigating the CARD Act: Evolving Acquisition Strategies”

The CARD Act’s regulations go into effect in just a few short weeks, so I’m going to explore its implications on the credit card industry. We’ve already seen issuers respond with new direct marketing campaigns and strategies, and we expect even more innovation next year. Join me to look at what’s happening now, what will happen in 2010 and which specific challenges will still face the nation’s leading card issuers.

Need to step into the kitchen, stand on a wooden crate and strain your neck upwards to make your cell phone work in your apartment? Yeah, we hear you…

Apparently, so does AT&T, a provider that’s been critiqued for service and coverage quality issues. In response, AT&T launched 3G MicroCell—a product designed to provide “5-bar coverage” in customers’ homes, offices and other buildings where coverage is limited or non-existent. The device acts like a “mini cell tower”, improving wireless coverage by connecting through existing broadband Internet.

Standing out from other wireless providers that offer similar products (i.e. Sprint and Verizon), AT&T is using direct mail, email and print to market its new device to existing customers. They’re also selling it at a deep discount to customers who add an AT&T Unlimited MicroCell Calling plan.

It’s smart timing for AT&T. The company needs to combat criticism about network quality and appease iPhone users, especially as AT&T’s iPhone exclusivity deal with Apple nears expiration. Is a separate device the answer for AT&T? Or will yet another cost just to talk simply irk customers more?

Competition is a top driver of business success, so it’s not surprising to see Chase taking on American Express for small business owners’ loyalty.
In mid-September, Chase launched a new suite of Ink credit cards for business customers: Ink Bold, Ink Plus, Ink and Ink Cash. The suite of four products includes the Ink Bold Charge Card, which will go head-to-head with the American Express Gold Business Card.
Mintel Comperemedia watched Chase roll out marketing support for Ink, from direct mail starting in June 2009 and increasing in August, to full-page print advertising in the Wall Street Journal in late September. Additionally, Chase rose to become the top mailer for small business cards in the past year.
Business owners may be next to see a rise in credit card direct marketing as the industry shows yet another sign of recovery: “So far in 2009, the number of direct mail pieces received by small business panelists has been flat. This contrasts sharply to steep declines observed throughout 2008.” - Mintel Comperemedia Press Release

How do you think small business owners will react to the increased competition for their dollars? What financial products and services do they prize most?

It takes time to establish a brand’s character. That’s why, for the past four years, Allstate has run a print advertising campaign that doesn’t ask people to call for a quote. Nope, their “That’s Allstate’s Stand” ads are a sustained effort to get people involved in insurance-related issues, without trying to solicit a direct sale.
When the print advertising first appeared in 2005, Allstate set out to educate consumers on how to manage catastrophic losses, such as those just experienced with Hurricane Katrina. The campaign has since expanded to discuss everything from the underfunded homeowners insurance market in Florida to teen driving to going green with electronic statements.
By separating this public service campaign from its sales pitches, Allstate has created a brand image that goes beyond the typical insurance company. Allstate is working to position itself as not just a good value, but also caring and concerned, so consumers believe the company acts in their best interest.

Has Allstate’s “Stand” truly defined its brand against competing insurers? Is money spent on reputation branding as effective as money spent on direct advertising? How do you measure its ROI?