We Love Upstate New York

Overview Social Print
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Insights

When London-based HSBC Bank decided to sell off its 200+ Upstate New York branches, it said it was doing so because of the area’s “lack of growth potential.” The acquiring bank, First Niagara, believed just the opposite. So we leveraged First Niagara’s commitment to the area in an all-out social media blitz to generate double-digit awareness increases and a 70% increase in market share.

When London-based HSBC Bank decided to sell off its 200+ Upstate New York branches, it said it was doing so because of the area’s “lack of growth potential.” The acquiring bank, First Niagara, wanted to show its belief in the region…and its commitment to its new customers. Problem was, during the nine-month legal process, it wasn’t allowed to communicate directly with those new customers.

Ideas

To connect the bank with its new communities, we created a special social media site sponsored by First Niagara: WeLoveUpstateNY. We then built and engaged a community for this social site through a variety of initiatives:

a We Love Upstate NY Facebook page that invited people to share favorite sites/events
a robust PR plan promoting this new site that invited local celebrities, government officials and the public to share what they loved
a regional print ad campaign, with images tailored to each specific area
a regional radio campaign, featuring bank employees in that area.
We even tied the bank’s community giving and sponsorships in this area to the We Love Upstate NY theme.
  • inviting people to share what they love about upstate NY on our Facebook page
  • promoting this new site through a robust PR plan
  • running a regional print and radio campaign promoting Facebook engagement
  • integrating the bank’s community giving and sponsorships under the We Love Upstate NY theme

Impact

During the months it took to finalize the merger, we built a powerful relationship with area prospects by creating a truly integrated campaign. Results included:
• a dramatic increase awareness/favorability across the region
• retention of more than 90% of all customers being converted
• aquisition of a record number of new customers (beyond those being converted!!)

During the months it took to finalize the merger, we built an incredibly engaged community of more than 50,000 fans. This campaign also drove:

  • a dramatic increase awareness/favorability across the region
  • retention of more than 90% of all customers being converted
  • acquisition of a record number of new customers (beyond those being converted!)
  • a coveted national “Best in Show” Reggie award for best social media campaign