Are Banks Growing with Vine? Not Yet.
About six months ago, Twitter launched a new video application called Vine. For those unfamiliar with the app, it allows users to create 6-second video clips that loop continually. Vines are really just an evolution of animated GIFs that have sound and are fully integrated with Twitter for easy broadcast and sharing.
Last month, we looked at three brands that are using Vine in unique and interesting ways. That got us thinking: how many financial institutions are actively using Vine? Based on a quick audit this week, the answer is not many. Several have set up accounts and seem to be holding their spots (always a good first step). Others have posted a Vine or two here and there. But only a very few are using Vine as part of a larger campaign, and one of those is Barclaycard UK.
Barclays wanted to raise awareness about its contactless payment system, PayBand, which is now accepted on public buses in London. So the bank sponsored a concert headlined by London born rapper Professor Green at a “secret venue” (that ended up being the iconic King Cross Station bus depot). Barclays promoted the event with a sweepstakes on Facebook, and on Twitter it used the hashtag #taplondon. It also co-sponsored a giveaway with The Huffington Post UK.
We came across the promotion when we found a series of four related Vines, including this one featuring the PayBand product at work:
We love to see financial institutions not only using new channels, but using them in ways that are on-strategy. Barclays actively promoted this event on Twitter, so integrating Vine made perfect sense. There’s also the fact that contactless is a technology that is still being adopted, and so is Vine. And finally, one of the key features of both PayBand and Vine is the quick nature of the interaction. It’s a natural fit.
Financial institutions are often slow to adopt new social channels, but we look forward to seeing how other banks and issuers take to Vine in the coming months.
