Young & Free Alberta
The challenge was to launch a free checking account for the under 25 group and connect with the youth market in Northern Alberta. But how do you raise brand awareness with members of the seemingly unreachable Generation Y and create excitement and understanding with all 400 staff members? We named the new product Young & Free and created a fully integrated marketing campaign combined with a spokesperson search to find the voice of Alberta's under 25 crowd. The whole campaign comes to life on a dedicated microsite at YoungFreeAlberta.com. By bringing this vibrant youth brand to life in a way young people would accept, we positioned Common Wealth as a progressive and transparent financial institution with heart. We embraced the power of the social web by tapping into popular sites like YouTube, Facebook, Flickr and Twitter to create an immersive experience where compelling user-generated content takes centre stage. The program launched in October 2007 with a two-month search and competition to find a dedicated Young & Free Alberta Spokesperson. Our winner, Larissa Walkiw, became a paid employee of the credit union, working full time with the job description: talk, type and tell good stories. For her nine-month term, Larissa was essentially a full time blogger for the credit union. We have now launched the year two search. Benefits include:
Account openings have been brisk, site traffic has exceeded expectations and media and youth interest in the program has been overwhelming. Since the program launched in October 2007, new account openings have grown by 960% over the same period one year prior in the 19 to 25 year old age group. Traffic and sales have been steady for the entire year even though all supporting traditional media stopped after the first two months of the program. Dates application was available: October 2007 to present |
