FAIRFAX CO. CREDIT UNION CREATES USER-GENERATED, GEN Y AD PROMOTION

We at ProjectNewAge.com are closely tracking the efforts of Fairfax County (Virginia) Federal Credit Union's current (solicited) user-generated ad contest promoting one of its new checking account products—Extreme Checking—targeting Gen Y’ers.  The Fairfax County Credit Union advertised the promotion via Facebook's new Flyer Ad Service (see Gen Y Webinar No. 5), which allows marketers to target specific Gen Y'ers (psychographically, demographically) inside Facebook.

Via Fairfax Flyer ads (Download facebook_ad1.pdf), Gen Y'ers in Fairfax's region were informed of and encouraged to create and submit their own 30-second video commercial on the virtues of the new Gen Y Extreme Checking product. The Flyer ads generated 360,000 impressions per day, at $1.67 per click. The Credit Union received 38 user-generated ad submissions.  Voting on the 5 finalists is taking place this month (view finalist 1 above and 2 below ... click here to view finalist 3, 4, and 5 videos).  Voting is by text message.  To vote, people opt-in which gives Fairfax a database of Gen Yers they can then market to via text message in the coming months.  The contest winner receives $1,000 and an Apple iPhone. Runners-up receive an iPod.

While they may be an ad agency’s worst nightmare, user-generated ads might be a Gen Y-targeting company's best friend.  Why?  Well, attendees of our PSCU-FS Webinar Series on Gen Y may recall Webinar No. 3 on User-Generated Content, and how some Gen Y-targeting companies are utilizing Web user content as marketing promotions, e.g., the recent Dorito's Super Bowl ad.

 

Fairfax Chief Marketing Officer Matthew Kaudy said the promotion is the Credit Union’s first Gen Y-specific marketing program.  He also informed ProjectNewAge.com that many Gen Y’ers seeing the Facebook Flyer ads sent them on to other Gen Y’ers in their Facebook social networks.  Even some of the local college papers picked up on the promotion.  Kudos to Matthew and his marketing team.  We’ll keep everyone apprised of the results!