Umpqua's Lemonaire
Posted by Trey Reeme on July 16th, 2007
Thanks to Jeff at Creative Brand Communications for introducing us to the Lemonaire -
In a nutshell (lemon peel?), the program is part viral marketing, part micro-lending. The bank is giving $10 plus basic lemonade stand supplies to qualifying kids, in order to help fund their first “start up.” Thereby teaching them about business, money and pursuing your dreams.
Don’t get me wrong: I love the idea and the production quality. The video is hi-lar-ious. That said, while lines like “It’s pretty good – probably makes for a pretty good mixer” had me rolling, my 10-year-old niece would say, “Huh?”
Something tells me the video/campaign is made for more for adults rather than kids (which is fine; it’s their marketing budget to spend). The most obvious clue is the lack of a next action. In other words, if I were a qualifying kid how do I get one of those lemonade accounts and the gear?
The campaign is catchy, creative, and exudes the Umpqua brand (one of the strongest in the industry considering their size)... but is it compelling?
That depends on whether you’re counting how many kids got lemonade stands or how many businesses opened checking accounts.
If there would’ve been a next step for the kid to download an application or instructions for them to take to their parents to get them to the nearest branch to pick up their supplies, I wouldn’t be calling this into question. Am I being too picky by crying foul on this? What does it matter?
I can just see the dejected look on the kid’s face when she can’t find her “loan application.”
Guys, good comments, and thanks for picking up on this. It’s definitely worth the dissection. There are a couple more materials they’ve got out, which I’ll try to gather and post on our blog: an ad and a handout (it may be some kind of application if I remember correctly from last time I was in the Umpqua store down the street).
Thanks! Jeff
I was laughing out loud. This short film was hysterical! That kid reminds me of another little red headed entrepreneur. But I sold candy – easier to sell in the rain, unlimited supply, non-seasonal and cleaner logistical system.
Obviously this was geared towards adults – which is the shame I think. It would have taken only a few tweaks to make it more of a general audience piece. You are right about making a simple loan application for the kid. Something easy to fill out (maybe online then print out) and bring in. Maybe the next step would have been to have sample plans online. It would have been fun to be able to set a goal on the website (either a cash goal or a purchase goal like the car). And then allow the kids to log on track their sales. It keeps them coming back to the site and makes it fun.
Then again, selling old crusty french fries to your little brother is fun too. :)
Wow! This is amazing! Of course I have lots of questions! Maybe there could be a FAQ section. Especially if they’re going to gear the video more towards parents, then have a FAQ link for the parents. I mean, I don’t know about you guys, but if I showed this to my parents, they would blow it off, and be like, yeah right! They’d want to know all the information about what their part is in it. I’m assuming they’d have to co-sign at very least. What all is involved to qualify? Of course, then again, there’s always the old fashioned “picking up the phone and asking” route, but . . . supplying a link the the technical details for the parents would be more convenient.
I also like Tony’s idea of furthing the website with information on getting started. More than just where to get the loan, but walking them through the steps of what they will need to get started. This seems more like an ad, which is fine if that’s what they’re going for. But I think it would be more useful and more successful, if they further it into a full fledged site that helps kids get started. Maybe I’m just missing something? I don’t know, but if I can’t find it, my guess is that a 7 year old can’t either. Then again, my 12 year old nephew knows more about technology than I do, so . . .
Um…I don’t think they’re trying to sell microloans to little kids. I think it’s a humorous approach to selling small business banking services.
What’s missing, then, is a good follow-up page. If you click on the bank’s URL, I would think that you ought to get a page in the same theme, but with details about their services.
Great stuff – at least on the creative end! Not sure what they’re selling, but I was entertained. They won half the battle!
I’ve followed Umpqua Banks marketing for years. They consistently raise the bar in cutting edge advertising. Does anyone remember the ad where all you see is an old pay phone, and it’s ringing on a brick wall. There is noise in the background… clanging and talking. Then they say something like, “If you could only make one call and you didn’t call your banker, you need to come see us at Umpqua Bank.” (my paraphrased version). The close is just their logo. It was genius in its simplicity and it grabbed me. Here’s to institutions who keep raising the bar and making us wish for more from them and ourselves! :-) Thanks for a great topic.
Is there a linear path on how customers make their decisions i.e. do customers make decisions in isolation? I am not sure who the target is, small business or entrepreneurial child, but I think it’s like a Pixar film – they throw in stuff for both the kids and parents (who are forced to watch it over and over again when the video comes out!). Could it use a follow-up page – definitely. But, as someone in small business and a parent of a 5-year old son, I really like this campaign. I love that Umpqua Bank is there for the small business enterprise. The fact that they offer $10 and supplies for the lemonade stand – wow, that kind of seals the deal!
I’m with Elaine. This isn’t a video for kids’ business loans. This isn’t a video for marketers either (but that’s the filter we use when we watch it).
This is a video for the communities that Umpqua serves. They have built a solid reputation on being a “localist” and supporting small businesses. This lemonade metaphor is obviously to show the smallest possible business using big people words.
If you bank with Umpqua you get it. They don’t need to “spell it all out” for us (think iPod commercials – they say virtually nothing about the product). That’s why they are so good—you have to belong to “their” club to truly get the meaning. It’s brilliant!!
@ Denise – That’s good context for me to put this in, thanks. One question is, would it denigrate the offering to have a simple (!) lead form made to look like a kid’s notepad or something? Wouldn’t it at least help sel the deal and not take anything away from their approach? I look forward to your perspective on this.
What a compelling video! If not Umpqua, is anyone making loans to such young entepreneurs? In CU land, we’re always talking about reaching out to youth before some competitor snatches them up. This could be a way of doing that.
Age six would certainly not be to early to start developing financial knowledge in a young person and I think I have simple proof. As I was delighted to find out last weekend, my 18-month-old niece is quite capable of asking for my sister’s “wallet, wallet, wallet” and playing with all the “money, money, money.”