May
14
2008
Would you like a free laptop with that account ma’am?
Author: Robin BrowneWell, any marketers out there who still aren’t sold on "the whole online thing" should take note of the big thumbs up that online communication just got from an unlikely source: The Royal Bank of Canada. Two Quebec tech sources are reporting that, from now until Sept. 13, the bank is giving a FREE Asus Eee PC laptop to every new client (with some conditions). I found out about this from the May 9 episode of Radio-Canada’s great and fun tech podcast, Carnet Techno, and confirmed it on the tech website Branchez-vous.
And here are some key points that confirm for me that the bank is doing this with the Internet in general, and social media, in particular, firmly in mind:
1) one of the conditions to get the laptop is agreeing to pay at least one bill using RBC’s online payment system
2) The Eee PC lets people "log on to Skype or other network and..connect with friends anywhere, anytime."
3) It also let’s people "upload photos and videos and share them instantly on Flickr and YouTube."
Interestingly, I couldn’t find anything about this on the Royal Bank website but, if they’re really going to do it, then, ah, maybe it’s time to switch banks….
