Give a lot of credit to upstarts in the auto-insurance business: Over the last several years, brands including Progressive and Geico have turned the once-staid business upside-down with nifty marketing and even niftier web marketing. They have grabbed attention with their TV ads and customers with their rates and online accessibility.

Now, after more than two years of creating much of that success with its insurance “saleswoman,” the sassy Flo, Progressive is changing the mix: They’re adding another advertising character, nicknamed the Messenger.Continue reading...

The rest of the world is abandoning the black magnetic strip on the back of credit cards, moving instead to embedded chips. While new U.S. passports and some state licenses use such technology, U.S. credit card companies have not made any significant advances beyond the use of the strip in recent years. But that's all about to change.

Next month Citibank will begin testing a new 2G credit card, which incorporates an embedded chip and a battery, along with two buttons and lights. The buttons let cardholders choose whether to pay for a purchase with credit or "thank you points" (rewards), according to the New York Times.

Citi plans to offer the new card to existing account holders of two rewards accounts.Continue reading...

Citi's commitment to boosting communities in need includes bringing microfinance lending to communities in need — even in developed countries.

It's been working with grassroots organizations including Fair Finance, a London-based social enterprise founded by Faisel Rahman, a former World Bank staffer. The goal of the partnership: support fair lending and financial services for local entrepreneurs and struggling individuals in the underserved community of East London.Continue reading...

It's a fanciful scenario, to be sure: Emily Skinner, a "fastidious librarian," lives to the improbable age of 187, enjoying life to the fullest every step of the way because she had the money she needed to do so — thanks to the prudent investment strategies of U.S. financial advisory brand Raymond James.

This is the first in a series of "Tales of Financial Pragmatism," a new ad campaign that the firm hopes will differentiate its financial services in a marketplace in which consumers are still reeling from economic shock. The message is carefully constructed to appeal to prospective clients who have taken a much more conservative approach to investing their funds.

Mike Gray, president of ad agency Martin/Williams who developed the campaign, thinks the timing is just right.Continue reading...

ING Direct may have just replaced cheeky Scots comedian Billy Connolly in its Australian marketing, but in the US it's attempting to go for the funny bone with slightly tongue in cheek spots.

This week unveiled a new campaign and slogan in the US, with a new catchphrase — "Touch the Ball" — replacing "The Road to Happiness," which featured a spokesperson in an orange 1962 Chevy Impala saving people from bad financial situations.

In the spot above, a job applicant's cellphone emits an embarassing toilet flush sound as an alert for a checking fee. Another spot features a family in slow motion, representing the glacial rate at which they're paying off their mortgage.Continue reading...

The Goldman Sachs brand has gotten more attention in the last year than it's probably used to, or comfortable with.

At the start of this year, we asked "How do you solve a problem like Goldman Sachs?" At the time, Goldman's CFO insisted, "“We are not blind to the economic environment and the pain and suffering still going on around the world.”

In the ensuing months Goldman's desire to avoid the spotlight went unfulfilled. It made headlines for quarterly profits, eschewing politics this cycle, and an embarrassing memo about restricting obscenities in employee email. As the brand moved to buff its image, public opinion, in part because of SEC charges, worked against it.

The brand, and CEO Lloyd Blankfein, had hoped its charm offensive would restore the brand. Now, with a new image campaign, Goldman Sachs is going on the offensive — but the image-polishing is in danger of offending, instead.Continue reading...

Financial services brand TD Ameritrade is investing in original Web programming with The Invested Life, which it's billing as a "financial reality series" (Tagline: "Live to invest. Invest to live. Learn how one triumph at a time") for MSN that's also available on a standalone YouTube channel.

“We do plenty of advertising on TV, and our executives appear on CNBC to talk about the market,” said Peter Sidebottom, the brand's EVP for product and marketing, to the New York Times. “This is an additional way for people to engage, and puts it in a context that makes it more accessible to more people.”.Continue reading...

ING Direct's new campaign in Australia features a suave orangutan named Charles.

The brand-appropriately orange-tressed character replaces Scottish comedian Billy Connolly, who appeared in commercials (see one after the jump) and served as the virtual host for its rebranded website.

Christian Bohlke, ING Direct’s head of branding and communications, tells mUmBRELLA: “Billy has been essential in building ING Direct to become a household brand (in Australia). Through Charles – who will be a customer of ING Direct – we will be able to get more specific about our offers and build on the full range of products and services we have to offer.”Continue reading...