Citibank was looking for a way to build membership in its loyalty rewards program and chose New York City’s Grand Central Station as a focal point to draw a crowd with skill games, mechanical surfboards and sumo wrestlers.
The three-day experiential event was held at the station’s Vanderbilt Hall two weeks ago and expanded out to Citibank’s other financial institutions across the city and its streets.
The goal was to differentiate the benefits of Citibank’s checking account from its competitors and tout its ThankYou Network, which is available across all banking products, said Paul Kadin, marketing director Citi Bank North America.
The rewards for, and featured at, the different events all showcased items members of its loyalty program, the ThankYou Network, could redeem with earned points.
“It’s quite a different thing to give out a brochure that explains the reward program. We wanted to bring it to life,” Kadin said. “This was an opportunity for people to touch and try the kind of rewards they could get from the ThankYou program and lead to account opening.”
About 7,000 people attended the events, surpassing Citibank goals, Kadin said.
A miniature golf green offered a chance to try for a hole-in-one with a successful shot awarding the golfer a $10 gift card to a choice of retailers including, Starbucks, Best Buy and Barnes & Noble. Golfers without the best swings got a lesser gift. The green was set up near a selection of golf products that are available from the ThankYou Network rewards catalog.
Nintendo Gamecube systems were displayed in front of comfy chairs, where passersby could stop and play video games available through the rewards program.
Another station positioned oversized images of a sumo wrestler and a Wagnerian opera singer near traffic areas; visitors were invited to have their photos taken with the silhouettes. Partakers received the photo and a chance to examine a digital camera and CD boom box available through the ThankYou Network.
For the sports enthusiasts, a basketball station allowed players to shoot as many baskets as possible in one minute. If they reached a specified score, they were handed a $5 gift card. The carrot? A Huffy Basketball System, possible with enough ThankYou points. Nearby, consumers could test their skills on a mechanical surfboard. Those who hung on for 60 seconds or longer also got a $5 gift card.
A trivia contest was held on the main stage, with all invited to participate. Kadin said people lined up to try their luck with subjects ranging from sports to cooking and travel to New York City. The champions got a $10 gift card and all others got a $5 gift card. About 1,245 gift cards and 25,000 premiums were distributed over the three-days.
For several days prior to the event, street teams handed out marketing collateral and some 8,000 cups of hot cocoa in high traffic locations around the city, including Grand Central Station.
Miniature versions of the Grand Central Station event were set up at 10 Citibank financial centers around the city featuring putting greens. People who opened an account during any of the events got 10,000 ThankYou points.
A sweepstakes tied to the initiative dangles a chance to a trip to La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, CA, or a home entertainment collection that are actually rewards in the ThankYou Network. The sweeps runs through March and is supported by print, radio and on-premise collateral in New York sites.
Kadin said Citibank was still working to determine how many people had signed up for banking services as a result of the events, but said its initial success prompted the company to look at expanding the campaign to other cities.
Wunderman New York’s Promotions Group, developed the idea and concept of appreciation for the event.
“It’s a challenge with all of the noise out there,” said Richard Benjamin, VP-account director at Wunderman, which is AOR for Citibank. “It’s important to show the differences. Instead of just telling them, we showed them, we wanted to bring the ThankYou catalog to life.”
The Michael Alan Group, New York, helped execute the events.
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