While so many FIs are scratching their heads wondering what to do about Facebook, it turns out that TD Canada Trust, one of Canada's biggest banks and the ninth largest bank in North America, is doing all kinds of interesting initiatives there.

What makes their efforts so impressive is that they have clearly tried to figure out the value they add to the demographics of Facebook users. They have managed to strike a balance of being true to their brand, yet not seem like they're pandering to a youthful audience, and offering something of value to the Net Generation.

What first crossed my desk this week was SPLIT IT, an application they created that allows roommates who are on Facebook to manage how they split basic bills.

Welcome to the SPLIT IT by TD Canada Trust application – a no-hassle, budget-sharing tool that enables you to share bills with your roommates. SPLIT IT makes it easy to determine who owes what, view your balances, and keep on top of your payment dates.

The application launched within the past few days. When I first saw it on August 15 it had 44 users. It's grown to 66 a mere 24 hours later. It will be interesting to see where it goes during the  next few weeks. I'm also curious to see how it's promoted. Will TD send information to its youth customers, or will they rely solely on word of mouth?

After seeing SPLIT IT I was mightily impressed. It's not easy to find a way to add value for Facebook users. From SPLIT IT, I linked through to their Money Lounge, and I was floored. They have job postings, videos, offers, all sorts of ways to engage the Facebook audience. Scrolling down, I noticed that they have 1,480 members of their group. Even if many of the group's members are employees, it's still an impressive engagement metric.

So, well done TD Canada Trust! The first bank to build its own Facebook app.

William Azaroff is the interactive marketing & channel manager at Vancity where he develops interactive marketing initiatives, and pioneered ChangeEverything.ca, the groundbreaking change-themed online community. William also plans strategy for the online channel, with a view to its potential to help Vancity, its members and the community. William brings nine years of experience in Vancouver, Seattle and Los Angeles producing Web projects for such clients as Honda, Disney, Intuit Canada and Nike Jordan. He writes about the intersection of online branding, social media and the world of banking on his blog at azaroff.com/blog

From a customer's perspective, this is a hot offer. Open a Key Bank free checking account. Make two automated deposits of $100 or more and take home an Apple iPod nano worth $150. The only downside, the tax bill next April for the $150 in implied interest.

I can't vouch for the ROI of a giving a $150 premium for a free checking account, but Key Bank has run thousands of marketing campaigns, and I trust their spreadsheets say this will pencil out. And they are not the first to give it a try. Citibank aggressively handed out iPod Minis with new checking accounts several years ago. North of the border, TD Canada Trust is also using the must-have music player in its promotion running through 7 August, handing out an iPod shuffle for a new checking account, an iPod nano for new checking plus a credit card, or full 30 GB version for all of the above and $5,000 in savings (see landing page below).

I'm not crazy about the TD ad, but it's hard to miss with the huge FREE IPOD next to the in-your-face picture. However, Key seems to be missing the mark. The bank succeeds in taking one of the most-sought-after gadgets in the past 20 years and making in nearly invisible on the page, rendering the device in grayscale and using red text that blends into the other red accents of the homepage. Compare that to the graphic above from Apple's store. Why not show one of the brighter colors to grab attention? Or use an animation to show all the colors. Yes, I know the non-silver versions have twice the capacity (4 GB instead of 2 GB) and cost $50 extra at retail, but that could be handled with an optional upgrade option, either for a nominal fee, or with additional services ala TD Canada Trust. 

Key Bank homepage with iPod offer (July 23, 2007)

Key Bank iPod offer landing page (July 23, 2007)

TD Canada Trust homepage with iPod offer (July 24, 2007)

TD Canada Trust iPod offer landing page (July 24, 2007)

Toronto Dominion Bank

www.tdbank.ca/business/

Toronto Dominion’s Business Banking Center.

Toronto Dominion Bank (Toronto, Canada; US$94 billion), one of the first banks to build a full-featured business-oriented Web, divides its business banking area into small, medium and large businesses with links to each from the first page.

TD’s long-running Business Forum.

TD hosts a forum with the author How to Succeed in Your Home Business answering questions from Web users. The bank also gives a copy of the book away in its branches. This forum has been operating for nearly two years with new questions added every month or two. Though lightly used, the archive of questions makes for a rich FAQ, made infinitely more believable by using questions from real people and answers from a genuine expert. We like this approach, which is good for the bank, its clients and the author.

Contact: Stephen Gesner is VP Alt. Delivery, 416.982.4088.