A lot of banks offer iPods with new account openings, but TD Banknorth took this strategy a step further. Their agency, VIA, realized that the promotion would make a lot more sense if there was music paired with the iPod giveaway. Enter Pandora, the website that allows users to create their own unique music stations based on their individual tastes. VIA created a custom TD Money Mix Tape for the bank, featuring songs that all in some way refer to mullah (ex. Pink Floyd’s “Money”). Clicking the TD Banknorth ad on Pandora.com brings you to the bank’s site, where you can easily open a checking account. (Click here to see how the whole thing works).
This multi-sensory marketing strategy of using sound to promote the bank’s products has really worked. According to VIA, TD Banknorth exceeded their goal of new account openings by ten percent. Do you think they would have had the same result with a boring, static banner ad? Highly unlikely. Lesson: promotions add value for the user and foster interactivity tend to have better results.
Props to Adrants for bringing this promotion to my attention.