Thursday, August 19, 2010

We Made The News!!

ING Direct leaves a penny, casts a penny
by Melita Kuburas

Banking fees add up to about $185 in annual costs for each Canadian consumer according to ING direct, so to promote their new zero-fee chequing account the bank has launched a social media campaign anchored by the microsite Your185.ca.

This morning, ING debuted a series of "penny walls" in Toronto and Montreal, which are billboard displays that reveal promotional messages as consumers remove pennies from a wall. At 12:30 p.m. today, 10 "dancers" will be casting out pennies as part of their dance routine at Berczy Park in Toronto, encouraging Canadians to "Take back your 185," according to a spokesperson.

The campaign works on the premise that most people are unaware of just how much they spend in banking fees each year. It was developed in collaboration with GWP Brand Engineering, Dashboard, Maverick PR and direct marketing agency Response Innovations, all based in Toronto. All of the stunts, plus a series of streeter videos, will be posted on Your185.ca, while radio stations will be broadcasting live from ING Direct Cafes, encouraging consumers to come to the location and stand in the middle of an orange spot for a chance to win $185. (The stations participating are CHUM FM in Toronto and Vancouver, JACK FM in Calgary and Rhythme FM in Montreal).

"THRiVE Chequing is a disruptive entry in this category, as it redefines what Canadians should expect from a chequing account, so we want to create a lot of buzz about the product, while encouraging Canadians to reconsider the fees they pay," says Brenda Rideout, CMO at ING Direct Canada, in a release.