LAS VEGAS-The same week Miley Cyrus was seen cavorting around in her underwear on stage at the MTV Video Music Awards, some Vegas locals were complaining about a word they did not even hear or see.
So forgive Greg Barnes for thinking critics of One Nevada Credit Union's new marketing campaign are chasing the wrong target.
Barnes, SVP of marketing for the $700-million CU, is happy with the early returns for the campaign promoting its suite of checking products called BACON-an acronym for Bad A$$ Checking from One Nevada.
While it should be noted the word "ass" is allowed to be said on prime time television, One Nevada went so far as to bleep it during its TV spots for BACON, and spells it with dollar signs in print.
"It is going pretty good. We have gotten a few people who do not particularly like it, but the vast majority really like it," Barnes told Credit Union Journal. "No one has come in and closed their accounts, although a couple people threatened to."
The credit union said the BACON campaign is designed to promote awareness of the checking accounts and the benefits of each account.
Account types include One Checking, One Checking Rewards, MyChecking and New Start Checking. All checking accounts include new, free services such as Ca$h Perks, a way to earn cash back from the retailers members use most; KeepTrack, a personal financial management tool that pulls members' account information into one overview; and free text alerts to members' phones.
Hit On YouTube
The BACON campaign has caused a great deal of reaction on Facebook and YouTube, Barnes continued. He said a TV spot drew almost 5,000 hits on YouTube in just two weeks.
Some folks have made negative comments on the credit union's YouTube page, or say they are offended, but then other people reply and tell them to shut up with salty language, Barnes reported.
"We actually had to remind people not to use profanity," he said. "One argument we have made on social media is we were not required to bleep out 'ass.' We also point out that the movie 'Kick Ass 2' is out and trailers are running. When people talk about the movie or its reviews they use the word 'ass' all the time, and without any bleeps."
A teaser campaign began with digital billboards along major freeways and roadways in Las Vegas showing a single piece of bacon. The teaser ads prompted a number of social media postings about the meaning of the bacon image and the possibility of the boards being hacked. One Nevada said it later modified the lone piece of bacon to include a shark, in honor of Discovery Channel's "Shark Week," and later with a trendy mustache. Print ads showed only a single piece of bacon with the designated hashtag #baconcu. The first commercial can be
A series of three commercials featuring a bacon-obsessed mom cooking up an abundance of bacon to her questioning family began airing on Aug. 19. The bacon-crazy mother suddenly has time to cook up bacon for breakfast in the morning, making bacon sandwiches for her husband at lunch and bacon burgers for dinner for her son and his friend. Both the father and son are shown explaining how bacon-crazy she is for her new checking account at One Nevada.
Scratch & Sniff? Not Quite
Other promotional media include a larger-than-life-sized bacon cutout where members visiting a branch can take a photo with the bacon and post to One Nevada's social media sites for a chance to win $250, and a Facebook contest where those who "like" the One Nevada Facebook page can enter for a chance to win a new grill and a year's supply of bacon. A
"It has only been a week so we will not know until the end of the month if there was any increase in checking account activity," said Barnes. "We sent out a direct mail piece [Aug. 27] that looks like a package of bacon. We wanted to do a scratch and sniff but the fragrance smelled more like barbecue."
