Marketing Case Study

     Capital One Financial Corp was started in 1988 by Richard Fairbank and Morris Nigel. Capital One ranks eighth among the 10 largest banks in the United States based on assets and deposits, and tenth on the list of the biggest banks by total assets. Capital One gained popularity in the 1990’s when it pioneered the mass marketing of credit cards in the United States. In 2016, the credit card business accounted for 62% of its annual revenue, while 25% came from consumer banking, 11% from commercial banking, and 1% in other sources.
        
Overall Capital One already has a decent standing with their customers and the general public. Capital One's value proposition is bring ingenuity, simplicity, and humanity to an industry ripe for change. Founder-led, Capital One is on a mission to change banking for good and to help people live their best lives. In addition to being a bank, offering online banking, and a credit card, they are now opening Capital One Cafe. You may have recently seen a commercial promoting their new venture.

   
Following the airing of the commercial the public’s reactions on Twitter was mixed. Multiple people thought that the commercial was a parody.

@Mateyush said “Wait, the Capital One Cafe thing wasn’t a parody ad?”

@BrianGriffiths said “I thought this Capital One Cafe commercial was a parody at first…”

@1paramore1world had a more positive reaction saying “How cool is this? Would love to see one of these open in #fortworth. @capitalone is my bank of choice after all. #banking #reinvented #niceidea #expansion”

It seems like more people thought it had been a parody rather than a real cafe. By opening Capital One Cafe, Capital One is offering products and services like coffee and free business or financial advice, and making it available for everyone, no matter where they bank. It seems like they are trying to sell themselves as a more personable bank, possibly setting themselves apart from their competitors.  

I think that Capital One could potentially have a remarkable marketing campaign but the challenge facing Capital One is that they have to make their corporation different than other banks and financial service that are in the market. I think that the addition of Capital One Cafe could help them stand out, but only if they can figure out a better way to market the services they are offering. What I learned from this is that as a corporation or brand you really need to make your advertising clear and easy for the public to recognize and understand. While the Capital One Cafe ad may have fallen short in some areas, it did, however, manage to catch the people’s attention. To be honest, I too thought that it was a joke until I got to the end of the commercial and realized they were being serious.

 

Questions:

• What would be a good way to clear up the confusion?
• Is Capital One Cafe a good idea?