Charles Schwab, the U.S. brokerage firm known for its "Talk to Chuck" campaign, is tweaking its commercials and advertising to increase its authenticity to consumers, and lessen the distance between its message and its target audience. 

In a new campaign released today, Schwab is dropping the animation technique known as rotoscoping (which layers graphics, move for move, on live action filmed sequences) in favor of straightforward live action. The stripped down spots featuring a stark white background and a no-nonsense, plain-spoken pitchman who begins each spot with “Let’s talk about …” and ends with the “Talk to Chuck” tagline.Continue reading...

Like the act of Tebowing before her, Los Angeles gallery owner Kristen Christian managed to create a sensation extremely quickly by using social media.

Christian is the founder of Bank Transfer Day, which took place on Saturday, Nov. 5. The idea, for those of you who’ve been under a rock recently, was for people who are fed up with the actions of big banks (read: Occupy Movement activists and almost everyone else)  to take every last penny out of those banks and stick it into a small community bank or credit union where actual face-to-face service might be a reality.

Nearly 80,000 people had signed up via the movement's Facebook page and Twitter feed as of Friday to say they’d be making the switch, according to the Village Voice. The Christian Science Monitor estimated that before the day even hit, almost 850,000 people had already made the switch; ABC News estimated about 1 million customers were making the switch.Continue reading...

In times of economic and political uncertainty, authenticity takes a front seat in many marketing campaigns, like BDO’s "Eleven Time Zones" spot above. The brand’s tagline, “People who know, know BDO,” reinforces the message that it’s the insider’s choice.

BDO is the sixth 6th largest accounting firm, smaller compared to the Big Four, $1 billion versus $10 billion, respectively, but its latest TV advertising from Seiter & Miller, turns that to advantage; an alternative to the Big Four, with a successfully different culture.Continue reading...

Banks aren’t generally known for frisky, hilarious advertising — after all, they're taking care of commercial and consumer finances — but the National Australian Bank broke down all the walls earlier this year in an effort to draw extra attention to it. And it has apparently worked. 

NAB's 2010 research showed that 50% of Australians who responded had, at some point or another, broken up up on or near Valentine’s Day. Inspired, the bank duly hired 60 couples across the country to publicly break up on Valentine’s Day and post about it online as part of a social-media effort showcasing NAB’s “breakup” with other banks.Continue reading...

Groupon is the brand widely regarded as spawning the daily deals craze. In its IPO filing on June 2, the company showed a 22,000% increase in revenue in the past year (that's 22 thousand percent).

Is it any wonder, then, that the local deals and discounts market is booming? Thousands of Groupon-like deals services, sites and brands seem to be launching on a daily basis. So it was only a matter of time before banks got into the act. Why? Because recent regulations have cut the income banks can make from credit card interest rates and overdraft fees. They're anxiously seeking new ways to generate revenue.

Enter a company called BillShrink. It's not exactly a Groupon for banks, but BillShrink is offering more than 2,000 banks its "Statement Rewards" service. According to the New York Times, Statement Rewards (introduced last October) is "part loyalty card, part daily deal... Under the program, online bank statements may include deals and discounts for bank customers based on their recent spending."Continue reading...

Banks are keeping up with technology through their use of ATMs and, increasingly, by offering online and mobile banking — even partnering with the world's search engine giant to advance mobile commerce, as Citi is doing with Google Wallet.

But when it comes to social media and digital channels in general, "retail banking has largely remained on the sidelines," according to Johannes Bussmann, Paul Hye, and Jorg Sandrock, three principals with the global consulting firm Booz & Company, authors of a new report, Banking on Social Media.

They argue that banks "need to reach out to younger, more Web-savvy customers... devising new products and services that are simpler and more transparent, and using the power of social networking and other digital platforms to improve their marketing."Continue reading...

In a funny twist of virtual fate, turns out that social media-savvy moms wield substantial clout when it comes to recommending, among other things, eReaders and banking services to family and friends.

As competition in both markets escalate, it’s women with one or more children under 18 living at home, who regularly engage in social media, that are influencing brand choices. 

Motista's recent survey on eReaders asked consumers about brands including Amazon's Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook, Sony's eReader and Apple's iPad.

“Social media moms definitely feel a deeper connection to their eReaders that their non-social media counterparts don’t,” said Alan Zorfas, chief product and marketing officer at Motista, in a press release.Continue reading...

"Sentiment analysis" is becoming increasingly important form of analysis, one that has been made possible by the vast increase in content and social chatter across the web, when customers are more than ready (see above) to air their grievances online — particularly when it comes to brands that have a hand in their wallets.

General Sentiment is one of the firms that scours and analyzes over 40 million sources of content, "listening" in real time to public opinions expressed regarding, among other things, brands. With bank brands such a hot topic of social chatter in these cash-strapped times, the social-media analyst just released its Retail Banking Report  for Q1 2011.Continue reading...