George is mine in ’09!

Comedian and talk show host Ellen Degeneres set a goal in 2008 to land actor George Clooney for her show. Her mantra then was “George Watch ‘08”. She mounted a continuing campaign enlisting popular stars to help her capture Clooney. In fact, she had some quite clever promotions . . . from lining up the Miss America contestants in his parking spot . . . to sending him a 3-D cutout of Dolly Parton . . . to hiding people dressed as potted plants outside his office . . . to a banner in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. And, more important she didn’t give up. In 2009, her slogan became “George is mine in ’09!” She hit pay dirt when actor Noah Wylie told her Clooney had an affinity for Cincinnati Reds heroes Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan. Cincinnati happens to be Clooney’s hometown. Degeneres booked the baseball stars and Clooney melted, taping her show with the legends.

What does “George is mine in ‘09” have to do with bank marketing?
I think there’s a message here for your staff and marketing dept. Has your banking team targeted a goal for 2009. . . maybe even a seemingly insurmountable marketing target? But more important, are you ready to truly stick with that goal for a long time. . . like Degeneres did? Is your staff enthused enough not to give in to disillusionment? Are will you willing to try everything to attract your prospect. . . and keep the momentum moving? Another thing the talk show host did was to keep everyone engaged. . . from other guests to her staff. You’ll need to continually bolster the enthusiasm with your staff, too. . . from the clean-up crew to the senior execs. Remember, you’re not just selling your prospect, you’re selling your staff, too. And, she employed an impressive array of clever ideas. Are you willing to go to the well to drink in some new tactics?

Take Degeneres’ lead so you’ll be able to say, “The goal is mine in ’09!”