ORLANDO - Fairwinds Credit Union is running a series of innovative Flash Web companion ads as part of a broader effort to connect with a younger demographic and capitalize on social networking.
The ads rely on Bigfoot and three other urban legends to debunk “banking myths,” such as it’s just too hard to switch checking accounts and not everyone can bank at Fairwinds.
Appearing on OrlandoSentinal.com, Orlando.MetroMix.com, and selected local websites, the unique advertising attracted 6,000 hits on the Sentinel’s site the first day it ran.
The companion advertising is actually two separate spaces: a banner at the top of the website and a cube-shaped ad just below the banner at the top right.
Users click on the cube and both ads begin playing the Flash, working in tandem.
In the Bigfoot ad, the mythical Sasquatch hands down “banking legends” on pieces of paper from the banner ad to a young adult in the cube ad. Once Bigfoot dispels the myths, he places his answers in the banner.
“OK. You watched it and it was cool,” says Mark Calvert, a partner and vice president of account services at Evolve Design Group here, which produced the ads. “I just had a captive audience for 45 seconds, which is longer than most TV spots, and I produced the spot at a fifth of the cost. Plus, if someone likes it, they can e-mail the link to a friend.”
Social advertising is an objective of the companion ads, which cost $25,000 for four, Calvert said. The Loch Ness Monster, alligators in the sewers, and space aliens are next.
“This is all about social advertising without getting involved in MySpace or Facebook,” explained Calvert.
The ads are part of Fairwinds’ “Truth in Banking” campaign (see related story) that targets consumers aged 18 to 34. “We are watching (social advertising) closely, but we don’t feel comfortable with the technology on MySpace or Facebook yet because you are giving up a lot of control. So we created our own form of social advertising to get people to Fairwinds’ Truth in Banking (www.TruthInBanking.org) site.”
Not all websites are ready to handle companion ads, Calvert explained.
“Companion Flash is new to our market. We had to work with the Orlando Sentinel’s parent company in Chicago to get the programming right, and it took three weeks. Now that they have this technology, they want to sell it to other advertisers.”
Calvert believes the ads can also work on business sites that focus on entrepreneurial audiences. “Any site that targets entrepreneurs has a bit of an edge and usually goes after a younger audience.”
For More Information
www.fairwinds.org
www.truthinbanking.org
