Electric Orange Squeezes Big Banks - And Itself

ING, seeing an opportunity you could drive a fleet of armored cars through, has been even more aggressive in going after customers dumping their big bank.  This comes in the wake of a tsunami of checking account fees, that have gone from 0 to $120 or more a year in about 5.1 seconds. 

Among many other placements in an extraordinary integrated marketing campaign, ING has embedded Electric Orange ads into the banner of the online New York Times.  

No, not an ING banner - this is integrated into the Times' own banner.

No, it is not just on the masthead, it is... a button ad featuring No Fee Checking or Electric Orange and it's on every page.

So.  We have a number of big banks, all raising their Checking fees, often calculated off the ultra agressive minimum daily balance method, and requiring hefty minimums and/or additional account relationships.  And we have online banks like ING, giving it away to everybody.  Does it really take that much thought to realize the real answer lies somewhere in-between, recognizing and rewarding customer relationships and loyalty, rather than simply repricing accounts? 

One more thing.  It's not just the NY Times, not by a long shot.  On Amazon, for example, ING is looking for value-oriented, convenience-oriented Savers with Orange Savings.