So the Tooth Fairy, a Minotaur, a mermaid and Bigfoot are sitting in a lunchroom…
No, it’s not the set-up to an elaborate joke, but the premise of a new campaign promoting ING Direct Canada’s new “Cheque-In” service, which enables customers to remotely deposit cheques into their account using ING Direct’s mobile banking app.
Mark Nicholson, head of digital, creative and communications at ING Direct in Toronto, said the campaign from Toronto agency John St. is based on the “no way” aspect of Cheque-In – which enables the approximately 500,000 customers who have downloaded ING’s mobile app to deposit a cheque into their account simply by taking a picture of it with their smartphone.
A 30-second English and French spot called “Cheque In. Believe It!” opens on the tooth fairy getting coffee and complaining to his colleagues about having to wait 30 minutes in line to deposit a cheque.
The mermaid informs him that he can use Cheque-In to deposit his cheques via the mobile app, only to have the other three characters scoff at the notion. “Doesn’t exist,” says the tooth fairy, only to have the mermaid demonstrate the technology.
ING first piloted the Cheque-In program with staff and its “orange ambassadors” nine months ago before officially releasing it to the general public in June. Adoption of the service has “far exceeded” ING’s expectations, said Nicholson, with clients depositing more than 16,000 cheques valued at more than $10 million via Cheque-In.
“We know Canadians are very mobile-oriented, but we didn’t foresee them adopting it this quickly, which speaks volumes to its simplicity and the evolution of banking,” said Nicholson.
While services such as direct-deposit payroll have made cheques less common over the years, internal research by ING found that more than half (55%) of Canadians still deposit at least one cheque per month, either by depositing it in an ABM (71%), bringing it to a branch (41%) or mailing it to their bank (1%) (that total is more than 100% because respondents could choose more than one option).
The campaign is aimed at promoting the Cheque-In service to ING’s existing customers and enticing new customers by offering $100 to people who open a new IGN “Thrive” chequing account with the company. ING is the first of Canada’s major financial institutions to offer the service, said Nicholson, although it has been offered by some credit unions.
The TV, which also includes a 15-second cutdown, is being supported by out-of-home and local radio in Quebec, online ads developed by Dashboard and a direct mail campaign from Toronto’s Response Innovations. Media for the campaign was handled by Initiative.
