This tax season, financial companies will be trying hard to convince Americans on the best way of getting back hard-earned cash courtesy of Uncle Sam.
As we move from one year to the next, events such as Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year’s, the Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day and the Oscars generate a plethora of seasonal marketing opportunities. Yet, many often overlook one of the more important events: tax season.
While no one bakes cookies or sends out greeting cards marking the event, tax season is important to the economy and the companies that cater to helping Americans claim their refunds.
Tax Season Marketing Turns Attention to the Neglected “Tax Guys”
The financial equivalent of visiting the dentist, filing taxes is something many Americans put off until the last minute. This procrastination can hurt financial brands that depend on tax filing services for much of their yearly revenue. In order to work against this mental inertia, tax companies must find ways to nurture brand awareness throughout the entire year.
Some trade societies provide the grassroots brand awareness small firms need to get exposure. The Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants makes a point to begin distributing brochures as early as November. These brochures want tax clients to feel more in control of their finances, but the underlying message is brand building for the capabilities a CPA can offer. The MNCPA also runs a combination of newspaper and digital display ads directing people to visit CPAmeASAP.com, where they can find listings for their nearest or most qualified local accountant.
Helping solidify trade awareness even more, the MNCPA will stagger multiple news releases throughout tax season to keep CPAs at the forefront of individuals’ and small business owners’ minds as the April deadline looms closer.
Using Humor and Value to Become Memorable
As a market leader, H&R Block took a different tact than the small town CPAs. Instead of simply reminding people that tax season is upon them, H&R Block opted for communicating value combined with humor to solidify branding. Their ads featured tax guru and company spokesperson Richard Gartland wearing a green bowtie as he sifts through stacks of money labeled with various filers’ names. “Do you hear that?” he says, insinuating that the money is calling to the filer as he whispers the name “Saaaarah.”
These ads also use the tagline “get your billions back” in reference to the national scale of returns available. Both the humor and the idea of getting money you deserve resonated well with H&R Block customers.
CMO Kathy Collins claims that people arrived at H&R Block locations saying, “I want my piece of the billion,” and “Where’s that bow-tie guy?”
Collins also said the results were positive: “It was really productive and effective for us last year, so we thought, ‘Let’s just make it better.’ It’s a really joyful way at looking at what could be kind of a downer — taxes.”
Like most national brands, their campaign went digital in addition to TV and radio spots. Using online video, display and social sharing connected new audiences while reinforcing messages to current customers.
Since many people starting to use self-filing softwares, communicating value and forging memorable branding becomes more important than ever. Long-term digital strategies that speak to audience priorities and target the most actionable segments provide some of financial companies’ most potent weapons in the fight to remind people why they matter.