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Project:
Wachovia NYC Launch Events
Client:
Wachovia Corporation, Charlotte, NC
Mullen, Winston-Salem, NC
Overview:
With the absorption of First Union, Wachovia became the largest bank on the East Coast in 2003. Having no presence in Manhattan besides investment offices, Wachovia planned to open two financial centers in Midtown. With this expansion, Wachovia was entering the already cluttered and competitive retail banking arena in Manhattan. Their primary brand messages or excellent customer service and depth of resources had to break through to consumers.
Production
Plan:
After winning the bid to produce the events, Mullen, Wachovia and Eventage refined one of Eventage's original concepts which became the heart of the launch in New York. Eventage auditioned, hired, trained and managed over 170 actors who were positioned in groups on the sidewalks of the city in a ten block radius from the two new financial centers. These teams of performers were armed with oversized placards which, when strung together in different combinations, announced Wachovia's primary brand messages. Examples included "Wachovia © NYC" (three placards) and "WAH KOH VEE AH" (five placards), which helped the public pronounce the often mis-pronounced name. Messages also guided the public to the financial centers, where they could enter to win a large cash prize. Along with the street teams, professional performers such as acrobats, jugglers and dancers performed nearby, using Wachovia-branded props to entertain and further enhance the brand experience.
At the same time that the street teams blitzed the streets, Eventage produced a press conference in front of the Rockefeller Center location. Present at the event were Wachovia executives, as well as Mayor Bloomberg and American Idol finalist, Clay Aiken, who is a native of Wachovia's home state, North Carolina. After the cutting of an oversized ribbon which featured graphic elements from Wachovia's distinct "wave" logo, the branch was officially opened with great fanfare.
Adjacent to the famed skating rink, Eventage distributed over 9,000 Krispy Kreme donuts from a branded Wachovia welcome area. Commuters, visitors and tourists were greeted and guided to the financial center around the corner to learn more about Wachovia and enter to win the cash prize.
Results:
Wachovia recorded the best opening day in its history at the Rockefeller Center and Madison Avenue locations, where the number of new accounts broke records. Several media outlets from both print and television covered the grand opening events, and Clay Aiken's photo from the press conference appeared in Entertainment Weekly magazine the following week.
Client
Feedback:
"Your team absolutely 'rocked' last Monday. Everyone was so professional, smart, fun ‚ we couldn't have asked for a better partner for Wachovia."
Siobhan Olson, Senior Vice President, Mullen
"We want to thank you for doing a great job on the press conference. Our executives were all very pleased with the event and we couldn't have pulled it off without you." Christine Shaw, Corporate Communications, Wachovia Corp.
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