online banking in a FleetBoston ad.
Now that the novelty of online banking has worn off, banks are rethinking how to market a feature that has become commonplace in the industry.
Because people have come to expect online banking as part of their regular banking package, fewer banks are singling out the product.
"Just like the ATM, you don’t hear the buzz as much about online banking because it’s not really that new anymore," said Bank Rhode Island Executive Vice President Jim DeRentis.
DeRentis said Bank Rhode Island has a fully integrated marketing strategy where the company equally highlights all its selling points in print, television, and direct mail.
Theresa McLaughlin, executive vice president of Citizens Bank, said a current television spot for Citizens, demonstrates that aspect of how the Internet and online banking have become a part of most customers’ lives.
"We’re not making a push in advertising online banking nor are we cutting back," said McLaughlin. "It’s just part of the normal product mix."
In the Citizens spot McLaughlin speaks of, two women in a kitchen jump online using a laptop to see if they can look up on the Citizens online banking page what the woman’s husband got her for her birthday. When she finds out the name of the store from which he made a purchase, she excitedly (and incorrectly) thinks it must be a jewelry store. She then finds out that the store in question is a bait and tackle shop.
McLaughlin said this "slice of life" style commercial has become a bigger part of Citizens’ advertising budget, and online banking is just one of the facets of Citizens that the campaign addresses.
"These spots tell people what we stand for and they’re more likely to do business with us if they like what we stand for," she said.
Some banks have other reasons for not specifically advertising online banking.
"When we first came out with it, Sovereign’s online banking wasn’t as easy to use as we would have liked it to be, and we didn’t want to drive people there only to have them be frustrated," said Sovereign Bank Advertising and Sponsorship Manager Christine Pembroke.
Pembroke said Sovereign’s Web site is in the midst of a major makeover, and when that is complete, the bank may make more noise about its online presence.
Pembroke said it’s also not Sovereign’s style to specifically advertise individual features of the bank.
"I know Fleet is advertising online banking heavily on TV, but our television spots are more brand focused, not specific to products or services," she said.
Fleet’s marketing strategy seems to be the flipside of Sovereign’s approach. Using sports celebrities – including Boston Red Sox star Nomar Garciaparra in tandem with Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter– in its TV spots to promote its Fleet HomeLink service, the bank boasts 2.6 million online banking members, and is making efforts to increase that number.
"We see online banking as a key point of competitive advantage over other banks," said Neal Wolfson, director of interactive banking for Fleet.
Wolfson agreed that online banking’s popularity has been leveling off, but he said he still feels the need to draw attention to Fleet’s version.
"I think customers expect Internet banking now but we feel our product is so much better than our competitors’ that we want to promote it," he boasted.
Wolfson also mentioned an upcoming promotion for a bill paying feature on Fleet’s site, and said the most important element of promoting a new service is having that new service work well.
"A lot of the focus is to get the trial among the customer base. Once they see how easy it is, they just continue to use it," he said.
