Coast Capital asks why people love bank fees

Coast Capital Savings doesn’t understand why so many British Columbians are still paying bank fees, and is running a humorous, though pointed campaign to remind consumers they don’t have to.

Lawrie Ferguson, senior vice-president of marketing for the Surrey, B.C.-based credit union, said with people counting their pennies, it was a good time to ramp up the messaging around its “Free chequing, Free debit and More” accounts with a new call to action. “We felt there was an opportunity to take more of a hard-hitting approach,” she said. “Our awareness has always been high, but actually pointing out [to consumers], in a not so subtle way, ‘You are idiots, you’re basically saying you like fees,’ we believe will be more of a lever to get people to actually do something.”

The credit union is taking a multi-pronged approach to deliver the message, with a campaign Vancouver marketing firm Rethink that includes television, print, outdoor, online and a guerrilla campaign running in Vancouver and Victoria today.

Coast Capital staffers wearing “I love fees” T-shirts took to the streets, encouraging people to sign a giant greeting card congratulating the big banks for the $3 billion in fees they charge Canadians annually.

The TV spots replicate the look and feel of most banking ads, but with a very different message delivered by the cast of average customers. In one, a women sitting at a cafe says “Yeah I’m okay with banking fees; you tip your waiter, why not tip your bank?” The next scene shows a couple brushing their teeth. “We love fees,” says the woman. “They’re a constant reminder that we have less money then we think,” finishes the man. Finally, an older man earnestly says “Having all those fees on my bank statement keeps my mind active. And at my age that’s important.”

“We think the whole free message [at Coast Capital] has got out there now,” said Ferguson. “The bigger thing is people have heard the message, but they just haven’t done anything about it yet.”

“Part of the pitch we have in these ads is getting people off the couch by kind of making fun of the fact that they are accepting fees,” she said, adding that the goal is to have 20,000 new accounts by year-end.

Posters have smiling couples and individuals saying things like “Fees are like paying rent on my own money, and I like that!”

The website ILoveFees.com offers merchandise including cups, caps, T-shirts and baby bibs with messages such as “fees forever!” and “I’m backing the banks.” The site received around 3,200 hits in the first month of operation, said Ferguson.

Originally published in Marketing Magazine, March 2009

(03/05/09)