Since I began blogging in 2004, I've usually run a year-end post looking at the holiday marketing efforts of the top-20 U.S. banks (links below). This year, only 7 of the 20 banks are using holiday or seasonal imagery on their homepages. That's a decrease of 3 over last year.

As usual, PNC Bank is the gold standard for holiday bank promotions, with its long-running (25+ years) "cost of Christmas index" which quantifies the cost of procuring all the items mentioned in the famous song, "12 Days of Christmas." Following is a quick overview of the promotions, including a 1-to 5-bulb rating. 

Previous posts: 2010, 2009 part 1, 2009 part 2, 2007, 2006, 2006, 2004

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Big banks in the holiday spirit
(rated 1 to 5 bulbs)

PNC: Christmas cost index

• Cost of Christmas based on the song 12 Days of Christmas

Score:

Homepage

Landing page: Amazing microsite, wonderful graphics, and slow loading (link)

Fifth Third: holiday sweeps

• Pay Your Bills sweeps with holiday graphics
• Small ad with a card wrapped with ribbon which directs users to branches for "holiday shopping made easy," presumably for gift cards, but neither the ad nor the landing page make that clear

Score:

ING Direct: Mobile usage sweeps

• 12 Days of Mobile sweeps

Score:

Landing page

Chase: sweeps and car loans

• Winner Wonderland, credit card sweeps with one entry for every credit card purchase and 5 entries for every donation put on the Chase card
• Add joy to your wallet, car refinance promotion

Score:

BB&T: Visa gift card

• Small advertisement in lower right

Score:

Homepage

TD Bank: Visa gift card

• Small advertisement in lower right (below the fold on my laptop)

Score:

Homepage

Key Bank: gift cards

• Very small gift-card promo, below the fold on my laptop and rotating with a half-dozen other items

Score:

Homepage

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Notes:
1. No holiday imagery on the homepages of BofA, Wells Fargo, Citibank, HSBC, US Bank, SunTrust, Capital One, Citizens, Regions, Harris, Bank of the West, Union Bank, Comercia
2. Screenshots taken from Ft. Myers, FL, IP address, between 7 and 8 PM, 20 Dec 2011    
3. Credit: Happy Holidays animation from LayoutSparks.com

I was reading one of my favorite personal finance blogs today, Lazy Man and Money, and I noticed an intriguing ad from TD Bank. Actually, the blog is covered in TD ads, with the faces of spokescouple Regis & Kelly peering out from every corner.

But originally I noticed only the ad in the upper-right corner (see first screenshot below). The mobile interactivity, along with the 10 spaces asking for my number, grabbed my attention. 

The text-message campaign is powered by Cielo Mobile, whose URL was displayed in the browser status bar after I clicked the banner.

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How it works 
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1a. Users type their mobile number into the interactive banner ad (upper-right).

1b. The banner returns this thank-you message:

2. The link in the text message (left) opens the mobile webpage (right).

3. The app is downloaded from the iTunes App Store and this is the first screen at launch:

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Analysis
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Apparently, I'm not the target audience for this banner ad since I don't have an account at TD Bank. But if inclined to change that, I'd like a little more help opening an account. The bank does better than most by including links to its call center and webpage on the first screen of its native iPhone app (see #3 above), but there should be a direct call to action, or even a different app, for non-customers.