Wells Fargo trys advertising on automated teller machines

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Mar 2, 1999

SAN FRANCISCO (NYT) -- Animated advertisements may soon be coming to an automated teller machine near you.

Since late February, 340 Wells Fargo ATMs in the Bay Area have displayed three promotional messages during each transaction.

The first ad, for ski-lift tickets sold through the machine, runs before a bank card is inserted. It shows a snowboarder and a skier swooshing across the screen. The second, for online bookseller Amazon.com., runs while the transaction is being processed. The third, which will rotate among several Bay Area nonprofits, is displayed as the receipt and card are being spit out. A final pitch appears on the back of the ATM receipt in the form of a coupon for a 10 percent discount at Amazon.com. The coupons are redeemable only by people who open a Web bank account with Wells. The San Francisco company, known as a marketing innovator, is the only bank using animated ATM ads. It also is the only financial institution that leases screen space to third-party advertisers, industry watchers said. Wells has been a pioneer in ATM technology. In 1994, it began selling postage stamps through its machines, and in 1996, it added the ski-lift tickets being promoted in the new ads. It operates the largest online bank, with 700,000 customers, and also has been an innovator as a retailer, sharing some of its marbled lobbies with dry cleaners and Starbucks coffee shops. These initiatives have contributed to superior financial performance, said Joe Morford, an analyst with First Security Van Kasper. Wells has undertaken an extensive and pricey upgrade of its machines to enable them to show the moving ads. Each ATM has been outfitted with a Pentium processor and tied into a network so that ads can be sent out from a central location. With traditional ATM technology, any change to onscreen messages must be done at each machine, one by one. "This is such a breakthrough in ATM management and also provides terrific opportunities for advertisers," said Barry McCarthy, a bank vice president. Wells says the ads won't slow transactions because they're shown during existing delays. McCarthy declined to disclose the cost of the upgrade or how much Wells is charging advertisers. Amazon did not return a telephone call. (The nonprofits get their spot, which is not animated, for free.) The ATM ads can be changed daily, and different ads can be sent to different machines depending on where the ATMs are located, said McCarthy. For example, a minivan ad could shown at ATMs in Pleasanton but not on Market Street in San Francisco, he said. McCarthy contends that customers will pay more attention to ATM screens than to most other advertising media. "Our research indicates that virtually 100 percent of customers will have recognition of the ad on the screen," said McCarthy. "Even if it's not every second, they are aware of what's happening because they are waiting for cash, which is a motivator for everyone." Floyd Miller, a principal with Miller/Huber Relationship Marketing in San Francisco, was dubious about the 100 percent claim but agreed that recognition is likely to be high.