E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC) today announced that E*TRADE Securities LLC ("E*TRADE") will introduce a new series of "Talking Baby" advertisements featuring a new tot.
The two premier ads will debut during two NFL playoff games on Saturday, January 16 — the first during the NFC divisional playoffs on FOX at 4:30pm ET, and the second during the AFC divisional playoff game on CBS at 8:00pm ET. A third "Talking Baby" advertisement will debut on CBS during Super Bowl® XLIV on February 7, 2010 at approximately 6:28pm ET. The full series of five new Baby spots will be a central component of a multi-faceted marketing communications program that will span traditional and social media throughout 2010.
E*TRADE also will premiere its animated "Product/Laptop" solution series campaign to complement the Baby series. The first of this sequence of several ads will debut on FOX during the NFC divisional playoff game on January 16. The combined campaigns are designed to appeal to a widespread audience while targeting new business growth for the core retail franchise.
"The E*TRADE Baby and our animated product campaign come together in a winning formula. The overall campaign strikes the right balance — it's entertaining and memorable, and communicates a strong, relevant message to investors," said Nicholas A. Utton, Chief Marketing Officer, E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corp. "Of course, the reality is that babies do grow up and therefore advertisers run out of footage, opening the door for a fresh personality. We anticipate that consumers will be enamored with the new E*TRADE talking Baby. Combined with the new product-focused spots, investors will be well aware of the value of the E*TRADE brand and experience."
The 2010 marketing and advertising campaign is an evolution of the Company's proven marketing model to effectively communicate the E*TRADE value proposition: to "liberate investors from big, expensive brokers." The 2008 launch of the E*TRADE Baby communicated a "wise beyond his years" perspective on how to be a liberated investor. 2009's campaign emphasized the importance of being in tune with the changing face of Wall Street and the economy my onomy — and learning to "fly" on "broken wings" in spite of it. And now, the 2010 campaign builds on the "liberation and value" message and focuses on how E*TRADE can help consumers better manage their investing goals and needs.
"Customer research has confirmed that the underlying premise of the E*TRADE value proposition is valid," continued Utton. "Individual investors have a better option for investing with E*TRADE."
To maximize the Super Bowl® investment and appeal to a wide audience before and after the Game, E*TRADE continues to leverage strategic social media channels, bringing the E*TRADE Baby's personality to life on the Web:
* Facebook®: more than 18,000 fans of the E*TRADE brand and more than 12,000 Fans of the E*TRADE Baby
* Twitter®: more than 3,000 Baby followers
* YouTube ®: more than 19 million total views of the Baby's work and over 10,000 subscribers — the 7th most viewed sponsor channel on YouTube
Grey New York, the Company's advertising agency of record since 2007, has again created the campaign execution, which will run throughout the year on television, in print and online. The concept reinforces E*TRADE's strength as a customer champion by highlighting the innovations that help liberate retail investors from old fashioned brokerages. E*TRADE enables consumers to take control of their investments in an uncertain economy — taking charge of their own financial destinies.