Strictly Come Barclays: UK bank adopts X Factor concept for branch roll-out

27 April 2010 | 6962 views | 0 Barclays branch sign

Barclays has moved to tap the popularity of TV talent shows such as the X Factor with its own competition to find the nation's "hottest dance acts", asking Brits to upload videos of their moves to YouTube ahead of live events.

The bank is opening new branches across the UK and is "celebrating" this by asking people to upload individual dance videos to YouTube. The top 10 entries from six different regions will then be chosen to perform live at events where they will be judged by a panel including Brendan Cole of Strictly Come Dancing fame.

After being whittled down to a top five, the public will vote for the regional winners through a specifically designed Barclays Live Web site. Each regional winner will receive a cheque for £1000 and two VIP tickets to see Cole's official dance tour.

Barclays is relying heavily on social media for the campaign, with a Twitter feed and YouTube channel as well as the dedicated Web site.

Barclays has been undertaking an ongoing refurbishment of the entire branch network of around 1700 branches in the UK. In late 2008 it became first bank in Europe to pilot Microsoft's Surface technology at a groundbreaking new concept branch in London.