Mintel Comperemedia Recognizes Most Innovative Financial Services Direct Marketing Campaigns from 2008

It’s an understatement to say it’s been a rough year for the financial services industry. But facing unprecedented hardships, many companies still found the inspiration and funding for truly innovative direct marketing. Mintel Comperemedia, a leading provider of competitive intelligence, has selected the five financial services direct marketing campaigns it views as the most innovative and insightful of 2008.

“In this volatile year, we saw many financial institutions trim marketing budgets to control costs and maintain profitability,” comments Stephen Clifford, VP of Financial Services for Mintel Comperemedia. “But even with reduced ad spend, many financial services companies still harnessed direct mail and email in an effort to connect with consumers and maximize ROI. The companies we’ve selected all did an excellent job of combining time-relevant offers with unique creative execution.”

Among those recognized is Discover Bank, which effectively used direct mail to position itself as more than just a credit card provider, according to Mintel Comperemedia. The market research firm also recognized break-through direct marketing campaigns from Bank of America (Equity Maximizer Rewards Program), Capital One Bank (Rewards Checking Account), Chase Bank (+1 Student MasterCard) and Citibank (CitiAssist Loan).

To select five financial services campaigns from the thousands of direct marketing pieces tracked by Mintel Comperemedia, leading research analysts looked for those that stood out on creativity, messaging and relevance:

• Bank of America – Promoting its Equity Maximizer Rewards Program, Bank of America used direct mail to encourage borrowers to continue tapping into their home equity. “By offering customers rewards points for using their home equity Visa access cards, Bank of America found an innovative way to encourage transactions despite rough economic times,” states Stephen Clifford.
• Capital One Bank – Mintel Comperemedia selected Capital One Bank’s Rewards Checking Account direct mail campaign because its unique creative execution would instantly “pop” against other offers in the mailbox. Bold and brightly colored, the campaign featured a flip-through format that showed a vast multitude of rewards. Capital One’s Rewards Checking Account offered mile rewards for everything from opening the account to paying bills online to using an ATM.
• Chase Bank – Chase Bank sent unique promotions in direct mail and email for its +1 Student MasterCard. Chase teamed up with the popular social networking website Facebook to promote its card to young adults and college students. With edgy creative and youthful text, Chase used smart direct marketing tactics—like offering Facebook-redeemable “Karma Points”—to promote the +1 Student MasterCard within tight student communities.
• Citibank – Citibank also honed in on the student market, promoting its CitiAssist student loan. Mintel Comperemedia applauds Citi’s seamless integration of direct mail, email and print advertising, and Stephen Clifford notes that “Citibank directly targeted both students and parents by promising to ‘bridge the gap’ left by federal financial aid.” The campaign also offered other loan perks and financial advice resources for students.
• Discover Bank – Rather than just marketing credit card services, Discover positioned itself as a leader and advisor for consumers seeking financial guidance across the board. Promoting various Discover products together in single mailings, the company “effectively took on the role of a financial partner, not just a credit card provider,” states Stephen Clifford. During 2008, Mintel Comperemedia saw innovative direct mail for the Discover EDGE advice resource, an online Paydown Planner and Discover’s Insurance Center.

About Mintel

Mintel is a leading global supplier of consumer, product and media intelligence. For more than 35 years, Mintel has provided insight into key worldwide trends, offering unique data that directly impacts client success. Mintel Comperemedia is a competitive media monitoring service that analyzes direct mail, email and print advertising trends. With offices in Chicago, London, Belfast, Sydney, Shanghai and Tokyo, Mintel has forged a unique reputation as a world-renowned business brand. For more information on Mintel, please visit www.mintel.com.