TD Canada Trust is proving that banking can be this emotional in a new campaign thanking some of its most prized customers.
Building on the popularity of last year’s “#TDThanksYou” initiative – 22 million YouTube views and 400 million earned media impressions – the bank’s new throwback Thursday-inspired campaign features TD thanking customers for allowing it to be part of their major life milestones.
Working with its agency partner Diamond Integrated Marketing, TD invited about 14 people to meet with its banking officers in branches in London, Ont. and Boston.
While they were in the meeting, TD decorated the branches with life-sized pictures chronicling their key life moments, such as marriage, starting a business, having children, etc.
TD worked hand-in-hand with customers’ family members, who were also on-hand to deliver messages to their loved ones, to pull off the campaign.
Customers’ reactions are captured in a three-and-a-half video posted Thursday to TD’s various social media channels, which include 15,244 YouTube subscribers, 587,000 Facebook followers and 80,000 Twitter followers.
The video ends with the super “Thank you for letting us be a part of life’s special moments. Then and now.”
“We wanted to find a way to thank our customers in a truly unique and different way,” said Chris Stamper, senior vice-president of corporate marketing for TD in Toronto. “As a bank we’re there for some of life’s most important moments – whether it’s a new car, a new job, getting married, your first house or starting a business.”
The financial services company is also transforming its 1,150 branches across the country with collateral material that evokes various eras throughout its history, which dates back to the late 1800s. It has also created an online photo gallery highlighting its branches and advertisements through the years.
The new campaign builds on last year’s hugely popular #TDThanksYou initiative, which saw TD thank some 30,000 customers with cash.
Some customers were also thanked via automated ATMs (“Automated Thanking Machines”) in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver that dispensed personal gifts including a Disney Trip, airline tickets and the opportunity for the Toronto Blue Jays fan to throw out the first pitch at a game.
The accompanying YouTube video documenting the initiative has been viewed more than 22 million times in more than 230 markets around the world. A follow-up initiative, “Make Today Matter,” – in which 24 people were given $30,000 and 24 hours to make a difference in their community – has been viewed more than 5 million times.
TD has topped J.D. Power’s Canadian Retail Banking Customer Satisfaction Study for the Big Five banks (CIBC, BMO, RBC, TD and Scotiabank) for nine consecutive years. In the most recent study, TD achieved a score of 763 on a 1,000-point scale – the Big Five banks averaged 749 – scoring particularly high on facilities.
The results are based on seven key metrics: Products, personal service, self-service, facilities, communication, financial advisors and problem resolution.
Stamper said interviews with customers found they want to do their banking with a company that aligns with their values. He said customers’ feelings towards the bank were manifested in an increase in customer switching and overall brand sentiment.
“It’s less about the awards and more about the commitment to excellence in customer leadership and customer service,” said Stamper. “This is all about continuing to want to say thank you and celebrating our customers in a unique way,” said Stamper.
The campaign is also doing double-duty as an employee marketing initiative, said Stamper, with the objective of making employees proud to be part of the organization.
