The customers of George Bailey’s “wonderful old building and loan” rallied to defend it from the money-grubbing Mr. Potter in It’s A Wonderful Life.
Although the circumstances are different, small banks across the country are attempting to arouse the same kind of passionate community support. Hoping to attract consumers angry and disgusted with big banks due to the Federal bailout, the huge bonuses, and the arrogance in general, community banks are urging big-bank customers to switch accounts to them.
The New York Times reports a number of local uprisings:
- a credit union in Texas running a campaign, “Real Texans bank locally.”
- a single-engine plane, hired by a small Colorado bank, towing a banner over a Rockies’ game, reading “This is the closest thing we have to a private jet.”
- a credit union in Washington running an ad that asks, “Why should your bank’s CEO get a golden parachute while the rest of the bank nosedives?”
- a consortium of banks in Ohio advertising together as The Community Bank Connection, where “Every banker knows your name.”
Hundreds of community banks and credit unions from around the country have combined their marketing budgets for a campaign created by BancVue, a marketing consulting firm. It promotes a variety of products and services under one cryptic brand name, “Kasasa.” The joint effort is aimed at attracting deposits from large institutions.
Arriana Huffington of The Huffington Post and some friends set up Move Your Money, a grassroots campaign encouraging customers to switch their accounts. (They produced the attached mashup of It’s A Wonderful Life.)
Is it working? Yes, according to The New York Times. “So far, the campaigns appear to be helping banks attract new customers. According to an analysis by the Independent Community Bankers of America, small banks were the only segment of the industry to show growth in net loans and leases in the second quarter.”
Likewise, Bancvue reports significant success from its pilot campaign in ABA Banking Journal.
Once, the big-bank brands of Wall Street seemed the trustworthy haven for one’s savings. Now, for many, small banks look like the safer choice.
Do you believe a fundamental shift in where people bank is occurring?
Will the big banks eventually earn back the public’s faith?
Will the small banks sustain any advantage?
And most importantly, will you move your money?
While the behavior is certainly true (I saw the Huffington bit covered on a news program), I think this is a fantastic instance of situational marketing. Americans are easily mobilized by frenzy and emotion (see Obama, Haiti, now small banks) within a constrained period of time. These banks and coalitions are definitely doing a great job of positioning and messaging to a prime (no pun intended) audience right now.
Me? I want my bank to be ubiquitous. I need to access it online, in California, in Maine, in Istanbul and everywhere in-between. In order to have a global and complete presence, assets and infrastructure need to be significantly greater — something small banks simply cannot achieve.
Yes, there are some instances for individuals who don’t travel/have diverse banking needs where a local bank not only works, but it makes sense. However, as generations become increasingly mobile and exhibit a multitude of demands on their banks, I see large banks being the only entities capable of serving those needs.
Perhaps I’m an outlier here?
That’s no longer the case, Nick. Hundreds of community banks and credit unions across the country now have the capacity that megabanks have. You can find community financial institutions that pay massive interest in cash every month with no minimum balance, no monthly fees, free online banking, and nationwide ATM fee refunds on http://www.CheckingFinder.com . Account holders receive rewards by meeting simple monthly qualifications:
- Using a debit card
- Accessing online banking
- Signing up to receive monthly e-statements instead of paper
- Making electronic transactions (like direct deposit)
If an account holder does not meet the qualifications in a given month, the account is still free and the financial institution will alert the individual, who will still receive a base interest rate and will be eligible the following month for the benefits. The banks that are on http://www.CheckingFinder.com are all committed to keeping their rates consistent, therefore consumers can feel comfortable that their account will continue to see the highest rates in the market.
When you enter your zip code, all of the community banks and credit unions that appear are available to you. Since much of this account is online, you can do your banking at community financial institutions across the country.
Hope this helps, Nick.
Best of luck!