PHILADELPHIA—Hoping to find Good Samaritans and some good new members, Philadelphia FCU dropped 100 wallets holding coupons good for $5 all over town.
The unique promotion aims to boost membership at its new Dauphin Street branch that opened a year ago.
“New member enrollment at the office has been good, but we’d like to see it be even better,” said Dauphin Branch Manager Katie Kitchenman, who along with teller supervisor Kerry Buchalski spent a day dropping orange PFCU-logo-branded wallets within a 15-mile radius of the office.
The strategy, Kitchenman explained, is to get people to pick up the wallets, look inside to see who the owner is, and then spot a note that contains directions. The small piece of paper explains that the finder can keep the billfold as a gift from PFCU, and if they come to the Dauphin office by Dec.31 and bring the branded coupon they will also receive a $5 deposit into a new account.
The Good Samaritans were also told that if they opened a new account they would be entered into a drawing for $250. The winner will be selected at the start of 2015 from among all those who bring back a coupon and open an account.
Just more than one week into the campaign and eight people had stopped by Philadelphia Federal with the coupon and joined the credit union.
Kitchenman said some of the wallets placed around town were easy to see, and some were not. “We hid some of the wallets a bit, like under a bike helmet. Others we placed in plain sight, like on a park bench.”
Promo Teller Supervisor's Idea
Kitchenman said as she was dropping wallets she had a few people chase her down and tell her she lost her billfold. “We certainly ran into some concerned citizens. But we told them to keep the wallet and then to stop by the credit union.”
The $910-million PFCU had challenged staff at the Dauphin office to brainstorm a different way to increase membership. The idea for the wallet drop came from Buchalski.
Besides attracting new members, the promotion also has the community talking about the credit union. “We hoped to get a buzz going,” said Kitchenman. “We wanted to let the community know we are here, we appreciate them, and that we are ready to serve them.”
The effort cost $110 for the wallets and the expense for the free account deposits. “That’s not much to spend for the impact we have had,” said Kitchenman.
Kitchenman said PFCU may drop more wallets next spring or summer. “I think we will do it again, only when it’s a little warmer and more people are outside.”
She added that the credit union considered scavenger hunt, but felt the wallet drop was much less work and just as effective.
Related links