Harris Bank Touts Stability in its Musical Chairs Campaign

I suppose it was only a matter of time before the musical greeting cards concept was adopted by marketers for a direct mail piece; we received one yesterday at the office from Harris Bank.

The mailer leads with the message: “business banking in Chicago has become a game of musical chairs”, and plays “pop goes the weasel” when opened. While the music was unexpected and grabbed my attention, I had to read the content a couple times before I fully understood the purpose of the mailer.

Inside, the piece talks about how “While the rest of the Chicago banking community plays musical chairs – old familiar names disappearing, bankers moving on- Harris remains rock solid. We have had the same name for more than 125 years. We’re here to stay.”

Granted, we did just see the major acquisition of LaSalle Bank in Chicago by Bank of America - which is certainly an example of an “old familiar name” disappearing, but is that enough to make customer think about switching institutions? Bank of America did an excellent job handling the transition for LaSalle Bank customers in the months leading up to the acquisition – sending personalized letters, providing answers to FAQ’s, setting expectations, and welcoming them as B of A customers. These efforts undoubtedly put many of LaSalle’s customers at ease about the acquisition – and it’s these kinds of efforts that we’re seeing the major national and regional players deploying during acquisitions in markets across the country.

And if having the same name for 125 years isn’t compelling enough to switch to Harris, the mailer also carries a $250 promotional offer for opening a new business account; but even then, I doubt it’s enough to move a significant number of accounts.

With a lot of uncertainties around the success rates of direct mail initiatives by financial institutions, I have to question how much Harris paid for each of these pieces – and what it expects as far as a return. And with the amount of money the campaign must have cost for production and postage, I’d like to think that the marketing team would have taken the time to ensure that the pieces were addressed to a specific person at our office - but the piece was simply addressed to “Market Insights”.

Over the last couple years, we’ve seen quite a few institutions promote stability and longevity in markets where acquisitions and mergers are happening – and in most cases, the expected customer run-off from the acquired institutions just doesn’t follow. I expect that the same will hold true in the Chicago market, especially with the well-managed transition of LaSalle Bank to Bank of America. The Harris piece just falls short.