The Palmetto Bank – Facebook Game

If you live in the Upstate, you see new bank signs and banners on every corner. Except for one bank. The Palmetto Bank has had the same name since 1906 and they asked us for an effective print and radio campaign. But while we brainstormed those campaigns, we also had another big idea: create a customizable Facebook game.

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Client

The Palmetto Bank, the fourth largest independent community bank in South Carolina.

Challenge

How do you get people excited about a bank? Print and radio campaigns can only go so far. You can't share a print ad with all your friends and no one records a funny radio spot and forwards it to family. So as JMG was putting the finishing touches on a creative print and radio campaign, we had a spark of an idea. What if we created something that would not only convey the fact that The Palmetto Bank has had the same name since 1906, but also entertained the audience and made them want to share it with friends? Tall order, but we were up for the challenge.

Solution

We wanted something that had a personality (from a bank? - surprise!) and that would be easily shared and quickly remembered. So we created a Facebook game called The Bank Name Generator. It lets visitors to The Palmetto Bank's Facebook page create their very own bank name. Why a Facebook Game? The Palmetto Bank is known for personal service and convenience, so we wanted to create a customized, easy-to-use, friendly gaming experience that led users to The Palmetto Bank Facebook page. The average Facebook user has 130 friends, and there are 450,000 people in the Upstate, so the math excited us. Plus, we loved the cost-efficiency of the medium.

Execution

The Bank Name Generator lets people create their own bank name and share with friends and family. It's meant to poke fun at our client's competition (all those banks that seem to change their name every two weeks) while building our client's Facebook fan page and communicating their "same name" message platform.

While brainstorming, we wondered how all these other banks create their new bank names. Sure, they utilize advertising agencies and public relations firms and lawyers, but what if there was some secret, magical technology? (We find that most good ideas start with "what if?") We loved the idea of a secret Bank Name Generator that The Palmetto Bank would release to the public. Did banks really have to choose between vampire movies and mullet haircuts to find their new bank name? Of course not. But it added to the absurdity that's currently rampant in the industry. Plus, it made us laugh…and that's usually a good sign that people will enjoy playing the game.

Go play the game!