In the mid 1960s, a small local bank named Crocker Bank was determined to expand their business. They had a prominent and wealthy clientele but also an aging group of customers. They wanted to diversify and attract other customer segments. This is not unlike many businesses today, but the questions looms: Are all customers good customers?Crocker went out and got the all-star adman, Hal Riney at BBDO to help them attract new customers. Today we know Riney for creating the brand and image of General Motors’ Saturn automobile division, and establishing a memorable alternative to Detroit car culture in the process. Others would argue he is equally famous for the codgers Frank Bartles and Ed Jaymes, who sing the praises of the Gallo wine cooler that bore their names. Another case could be that his best work came in 1984, when he wrote soft-textured, 60-second montages of Americana, telling stories of swelling national pride, making people comfortable about re-electing Reagan.
Riney was asked to help Crocker appeal to a younger clientele. Riney developed a wedding spot and commissioned a song that later became the Carpenters’ hit “We’ve Only Just Begun.” Watch the commercial below:
It worked! The bank was soon getting applications for new customers. Yes, they were younger than the current clientele and as the song said, just beginning. The issue? They hadn’t accumulated much wealth. They needed loans, but didn’t have strong credit histories and deposits were minimal. It is said the commercials were soon canceled.
The morale of the story? If you are going to go to the effort to invest in acquiring new customers, make sure the customers will contribute to your success.
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photo by Katrina Snaps