- Our judges were impressed (and a little envious). They loved the idea, and admired the execution.
- One declared, “It’s one of those things that when people ask, ‘What’s the coolest thing you ever did?’ you could say, ‘I bought all the seats on Broadway.’”
IT WAS A CHILLY DAY last fall when 14,000 teachers played hooky and went out to play. Make that “plays” — 29 of them, all the Saturday matinee performances that Broadway had to offer.
Washington Mutual bought out all the tickets on the Great White Way to celebrate its entry into New York City, then gave them all away — to teachers. The Spotlight on Teachers campaign won the bank so much attention and goodwill that by the time the final curtain fell, 56% of New Yorkers knew the brand name (up from 18%) and 42% of them liked WaMu’s commitment to community. Math teachers would have been proud.
The campaign impressed PRO Award judges, too: “When you buy out Broadway, you’re leading with your face,” one said. “This is a P.T. Barnum kind of idea. It has the shiver factor,” another said. Financial services firm Washington Mutual bought NYC institution The Dime Bank in early 2002, entering a diverse, competitive market far from its Seattle headquarters. Dime’s 142 neighborhood banks were well known among New Yorkers, many of whom were wary of big national banks taking over local brands. “New York was a high-profile new market for us,” says WaMu VP-new market team manager Becky Braniff. “It was our first foray into the Northeast.”
Teacher recruitment and retention is one of the $283.2 billion bank’s longtime philanthropic causes. That dovetailed nicely with Dime’s long-standing presence in New York and New Jersey classrooms, distributing savings banks to kids.
“Spotlight” brought many consumers into the bank twice. First, students and parents came in to get a nomination form (also available online); they gave completed forms to their teachers, who filled in their home addresses and returned the forms to the bank (or mailed them).
“We wanted people to know where our locations were,” Braniff says. “Getting teachers into the branches let us show them classroom-related tools and other investing products.”
In all, 20,000 public-school K-12 teachers were nominated. WaMu randomly chose 14,000, then mailed notification packets including a Broadway Bound booklet with info on shows, special discounts from Times Square restaurants and hotels, and advice on theatre as a teaching tool. Winners called in to book tickets using a unique ID number. A pre-show rally in Times Square brought actor Joel Grey, Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott, New Jersey’s Teacher of the Year, WaMu execs and Broadway casts on-stage to salute the teachers.
“We wanted something exciting and unique, but it had to resonate with teachers and be New York-centric,” says Lisa Holland, partner at agency Opts Events. “We wanted people to know right away that we got New York, and this wasn’t some podunk little company from Seattle.”
The idea was simple; execution was complex. San Francisco-based Opts Events spent nearly 11 months negotiating with individual producers to buy all Nov. 16 matinee seats. (Okay, a few Lion King and The Producers seats were already booked.) Opts Events contracted with ticket agent Telecharge (a division of theater management firm The Schubert Organization) to buy out new shows as tickets became available. Telecharge even developed new software to distribute tickets using ID numbers assigned by WaMu, rather than credit card numbers.
Then Opts Events contacted teachers unions, principal associations and parent/teacher groups to get the word out through education organizations. “That makes it credible and real,” Holland says. Nominations came in August through October (back-to-school season). A fulfillment house verified each entrant was a certified teacher.
“Spotlight” was WaMu’s third NYC event last fall: In September it hosted Walk on Home, four New York-area walk-a-thons in one day to raise money for affordable housing. Each registered walker was entered into a sweeps to win three months of rent or mortgage, and headliner concerts followed each walk. WaMu’s October event, Home of the Free, showcased middle-school students’ photos of working-class citizens. (That event was so popular WaMu repeats it this fall in New York, New Jersey, Denver and Chicago: Kids get free digital cameras to photograph and interview civil servants. Three top photo teams go to Washington, DC, for a Capitol Hill tour and exhibit of their work.) WaMu’s ads broke in July as a pre-cursor to the consecutive events, all handled by Opts Events. “We wanted an extended presence,” Braniff says.
After Spotlight on Teachers wrapped up, a survey found 42% of New Yorkers consider WaMu “a bank that gives to the community” (the next-closest brand got only 8% of mentions), and 80% find WaMu’s philanthropy sincere.
Even better were comments from teachers: “We are a group of savvy investors — we have to be — and when we can we will remember your effort and choose you,” said one. Another said, “I am not sure which was more special, actually attending the event, or being nominated by one of my students.”
Braniff’s own payback came in the ladies room during the performance of Mama Mia: “I overheard teachers raving about WaMu. Being able to do this in a big way made all the difference.”
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