What's a "betsimpsier"? Something you can buy at an auto parts store? Perhaps some new and exotic disease? It's the tagline for a marketing campaign by Chicago-based MB Financial Inc., which this summer coined the word with its advertising agency to represent its strategy of "better, simpler and easier banking." The campaign supports the $5.2 billion-asset bank's push to demonstrate improved service, such as adding more branch hours, more surcharge-free ATMs, and scrapping some service charges.
Since July, the bank has blitzed the Chicago area with an assortment of advertisements on billboards, buses, radio and in print media. The goal: soak the word "betsimpsier" into the public consciousness, and ultimately stand out among the stiff competition for deposits in the Windy City.
The campaign is getting attention, albeit not all positive. A Weblog run by 37signals, a Web design and consulting firm based in the Chicago area, has a series of postings with more rant than rave. Some bloggers called the campaign "stupid," "awful," and even made up adjectives such as "craptastic." Another entry described betsimpsier as hard to spell, pronounce, and "completely forgettable."
But that's okay with MB Financial, which says bad buzz is better than no buzz. "I don't know of too many advertising campaigns that have been talked about," says vice president and director of marketing Karen Perlman. "In that respect, I'm glad it's getting noticed."
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Banks are not known for their innovative or daring advertising. Exceptions include Capital One Financial Corp.'s "No" commercials with actor David Spade, and Washington Mutual Inc.'s parody of customers getting fleeced by nuisance fees with each branch visit.
The key for success in the betsimpsier campaign will be for MB Financial to be able to back up the claim of better, simpler and easier banking, says Jackie Huba, co-author of "Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force" . "If it's just a slogan with nothing backing it up, it's prime for ridicule," Huba says. "If they had customers backing it up, just to defend them, then that would help."
Endorsements may materialize in due time. Most of the bank's lobbies are open until 7 p.m. on weekdays and 3 p.m. on weekends. While Perlman declines to share results -- such as new account openings -- since the campaign began, branch transactions on Sundays are rising fast: in one week the number jumped 20%.
Betsimpsier was coined with the help of Grady, Campbell Inc. , a graphic design and communications firm in Chicago. The brainstorming started late last year, with Perlman selecting five ideas from a list of 10 for presentation to management, culminating with the launch in July.
While the bank won't detail its spending on the campaign, its marketing and advertising budget has almost doubled for the second half of the year. MB Financial plans to spend $4 million in the second half, up from $2.2 million in the first half, according to its second quarter filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. "The campaign will be around for a little bit," Perlman says.
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