dogs downtown while Mahoney purchased rich media ads across
a variety of financial and local Chicago sites. The online ads
were cash cows that walked across the screen onto the ING Direct banner ad, which read, “Beef Up Your Savings.”
“The [non-direct response] assets that we tap into the most
are the tone and voice,” says Mahoney. “We use that a lot,
whether it’s banner ads and testing different headlines as well as
the language that we use on landing pages. I really feel like that’s
providing a fluid experience for people.”
The 80-20 Rule
“When you look at the marketing programs that we’ve put
out, the majority of our budget and volume is focused on what
we call classic direct response activities,” says Pieterse.
These DR classics include direct mail, including flyers and
newspaper inserts, and online advertising. According to Pieterse,
20 percent of ING Direct’s marketing budget goes to branding
and 80 percent is invested in direct response. But it is important
to remember that the 20 percent spent on branding is actually
an investment behind the DR. If all goes according to plan, Pieterse expects his small investment to yield a 40-percent boost
on response rates.
“What we see of great importance, to give us a long-term
competitive advantage and to make direct response work, is re-
ally the work that we do creating a distinctive brand,” he adds.
Most marketing initiatives are conducted regionally using
direct mail and local cable TV spots. Online advertising is used
to supplement direct mail on a local level and to hit target demographics nationally.
Some of the company’s primary markets include New York,
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia and, more
recently, Seattle, which tied
into the company’s acquisition
of ING ShareBuilder, an online brokerage based in Washington state. In 2008, ING
Direct has set its sights on a
relatively smaller market with
enormous potential — the
Hawaiian Islands.
Before launching into a
new marketplace, Pieterse and
his team test consumer response using a highly targeted
and hyper-local direct response campaign, which typically includes direct mail and Local cable TV spots, along
with regional direct mail and
online advertising on local online advertising, is used
Web sites. Response rates to hit target demographics
are always tested before any nationally. Primary markets
budget is spent on traditional include New York, Los
advertising. Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia
and Seattle.
“Direct mail and online
The financial institution spends 80 percent of its marketing budget
on branding and 20 percent on direct response. However, leaders
say that branding spend is actually an investment in DR, which
can yield a 40-percent increase in response rates.
are almost equally strong in terms of how we grow our business
and acquire new customers,” says Pieterse, “although direct mail
gauges inches ahead as our primary channel of acquiring new
customers.”
According to Tim Tarr, director of direct marketing, print
advertising is generally 50 percent direct mail and 50 percent
newspaper inserts. Direct mail tends to drive more new accounts, while newspaper inserts reach a larger audience and are
better suited for more integrated branding.
The “Savers” campaign was a successful print campaign that
was implemented in three different ways. There was a “Saver’s
Quiz,” a “Saver’s Want Ad” and another
aspirational message called “The Wealthy
Save.” Tarr explains that each of the
three mail pieces consistently generated
more response from targeted groups than
traditional rate-driven messages.
“The goal of the direct mail Savers
campaign was to position the act of sav-
ing as an everyday behavior which is
demonstrated in various ways,” says Tarr.
“By relating the act of ‘saving money’
to getting ‘free drink refills,’ a natural
conclusion is drawn that
everybody can save money
and the Orange Savings
account is a great tool to
help.”
He adds, “Not a lot of
people are trying to do it,”
says Tarr. “I’ve yet to see
anybody do mail the way
we are.”
