Customer appreciation days at TD Canada Trust used to involve free coffee and cake at the local branch. This year, the company said thanks with cash and a few life-changing gifts.
At 2 p.m. on July 25, more than 20,000 TD employees gave green envelopes containing a $20 bill to every customer in more than 1,100 TD branches across Canada. The company also informed those using TD’s phone and online banking services that they would receive a $20 direct deposit. All told, more than 30,000 customers received a thank-you gift.
“We thought we’d really kick it up a notch [this year],” said Chris Stamper, SVP corporate marketing at TD Canada Trust.
“We wanted to say thank you to our customers in a way that we felt was unique and distinctive, and that actually gave back to our customers. Historically, that’s been done in branches, but the way customers interact and transact with us has changed,” said Stamper. “We wanted to include all those touch points [online, mobile and phone banking] in one thank you, at one time.”
TD also had a special thank you in-store for some customers. The company set up four “Automated Thanking Machines” (ATMs) at branches in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. Pre-selected customers who used the machines were given personal gifts from the “talking” ATMs, including a Disney trip for a mom who’s never been able to take her kids anywhere, tickets to Trinidad so an elderly mom could visit her daughter, who is battling cancer, and the chance for a Blue Jays fan to throw the opening pitch at a game.
TD worked with the branches to identify long-standing customers who deserved an extra special thank you, said Stamper. The customers thought they were coming in to do a focus group on a new ATM feature. Their reactions were filmed and made into a video to kick off #TDThanksYou day. As of Tuesday morning, the video had received more than one million YouTube hits.
“The views are great… but when it comes down to it, it’s really about making an authentic connection with your customers,” said Stamper.
For TD, which topped Interbrand’s Best Canadian Brands list this year, social, digital and experiential are key and growing components of the brand’s marketing mix. “We continue to believe strongly in the traditional media mix,” said Stamper. But there is a recognition that [we need to] be where our customers are in a way that’s unique and different for them.”
TD worked with Diamond Integrated Marketing, Leo Burnett and H+K Strategies on the campaign.
