Case Study: Tinker Federal CU
Buck the Norm Campaign
Campaign Objective:
Tinker Federal Credit Union got their feet wet reaching out to the Gen Y with their What Money Means online video scholarship contest. Now they were ready to launch a comprehensive program that would build on that relationship and begin to grow membership with young adults.
Strategy and Positioning:
To start building this relationship we wanted to go where Gen Y spends so much of their time – online. The idea was to create a web site that countered the lack of financial education for this demographic and position it as a resource (and in turn, TFCU) alternative to the status quo of debt, overspending and the corporate banking institution.
Third Degree used what was already an integral part of the TFCU mission of financial education, as a way to differentiate from some of dismal financial “norms” facing Gen Y. “Buck The Norm” is a rallying cry for young people to get over what everyone else is doing and get smart about their money. And while financial education may fail to resonate with this audience, repositioning it as “financial empowerment” appeals to their sense of activism and individualism.
The thumb character was an irreverent spokesperson for this campaign. The universal thumbs up (a friendly twist on the fist raised gesture of empowerment) with a drawn on face could be embraced or recreated by anyone.
Campaign Theme
Site Overview:
The site has a voice that is clearly all about Gen Y, with content revolving around their life events – from getting a job to getting a car loan.
Transparency was important to TFCU, so they didn’t hide the fact that “Buck The Norm” is “powered by TFCU,” but they also didn’t want the authenticity and purpose of the site to be compromised by promotion of TFCU products or services. A TFCU link and some education about the credit union difference are the only nudges if someone wants to go a step further and learn more.
TV and Direct Mail
Social Media:
The social media aspects of BuckTheNorm.com include RSS feeds and bookmarks to all the social networking sites, a local bands music player, a live feed from Twitter with links to good financial sites and/or topics, plus online voting contests that promote social network sharing and downloads like voting widgets, buddy icons and financial personality icons that can be displayed through applications like Facebook or IM.
Web and Downloads
The Integrated Campaign:
A mix of traditional and nontraditional mediums was critical to drive traffic to the site. Buck The Norm was launched in phases, first internally to TFCU staff, then to current membership, then the mass media launch was based around the $2,000 video scholarship contest. The campaign included cable TV, outdoor, mall banners, in-branch communications to current members and a public relations outreach to the media.
Grass Roots:
Goodwill Buzz: TFCU business development reps distributed “Save a Buck” cards at community coffee shops and college hangouts. They designated a dollar limit (approx. $200 per location) where customers who ordered coffee, dessert, etc. would receive it complementary from TFCU. The shop clerk would hand out a promotional card which said “let us get the bill” and featured the Buck The Norm logo and URL.
Mall Banners and Handouts
Taking it To the Streets: The Buck The Norm initiative includes an ongoing plan to have a presence at Gen Y attended events. The first was the annual Ghouls Gone Wild Halloween parade, geared towards young adults. The Buck The Norm parade entry included giant finger puppet monsters, a float and several colorful characters, who shouted out the Buck The Norm rallying cry and gave tagged finger monster puppets to the crowd. The entry won “Beast In Show” and was experienced by 34,000 attendees.
Parade Float
Press:
The Buck The Norm financial empowerment initiative has received news coverage locally and across the nation, from local morning and evening news programs to nationally distributed credit union publications, web sites and blogs.
Results:
Since the launch the site received over 35,000 visitors and averaged almost 4 pages viewed per visit, which is approx. 8% more than the average web site. Users are commenting on articles, in addition to referencing the site in various blogs. The Buck The Norm video on YouTube has been viewed by 1,461 people, and also been shared by viewers. The Buck The Norm Twitter account has received several followers and the Facebook event page for the scholarship contest has been reached over 3,000 times.
View more of the Buck The Norm Campaign components and watch the TV commercial in our portfolio.
