The economic turmoil of 2009 has changed the financial playing field and forced even the most financially savvy people to reassess their personal finance management routine. TransUnion Interactive, the company that brought consumers TrueCredit.com, has launched zendough.com – an interactive tool that organizes an individual’s key financial information into a clear-cut, customized snapshot complete with personalized analysis and advice and coupled with a user experience that delivers a sense of control and calmness. TransUnion Interactive’s agency of record, Cramer-Krasselt/Chicago, is launching an integrated campaign this week to enlighten and intrigue consumers on how they can achieve financial Zen.
“We worked with Cramer-Krasselt from the inception to launch, developing a new product based on a viable consumer need to manage their finances, and ultimately, achieve greater financial peace of mind,” said Lucy Duni, director of education for zendough.com by TransUnion. “We collaborated to create what zendough.com would be, developed the brand identity, engineered the complete consumer experience, as well as wrote the magical story in which to engage our consumers on the real and often overwhelming issue of financial uncertainty.”
“The category conversation has been about credit scores and reports, period. But there’s an opportunity to go beyond changing the category conversation to reframing the category itself,” said Marshall Ross, EVP/chief creative officer, C-K. “The zendough.com campaign stokes the sense of mystery around what happens behind closed financial doors, those ivory tower decisions made about your life, while explaining them and solving for them at the same time. The financial world has changed the rules on all of us, and with zendough.com we present a solution that helps consumers take control of their finances and make peace with their money, while finding the comfort that comes with a sense of control and order.”
On the heels of his Toyota Prius “Harmony” campaign, Director “Mr. Hide” and Oscar-winning cinematographer Guillermo Navarro developed C-K’s vision of exposing a hidden financial world where storybook creatures are responsible for shifting and changing the numbers that determine your credit score, and ultimately, your worth. zendough.com is based on the philosophy of helping consumers find enlightenment through a better understanding of their finances. Just as Zen is a practice that begins with opening your eyes to see things as they are, zendough.com is focused on the idea that when people discover zendough.com, they can find the tools to combat these hidden forces – from futuristic machines emerging from walls to “fiddle with your finances” to identity thieves walking among us taking faces for their own – and gain greater control of their money and master their financial realm. Click here to view spot.
C-K and TransUnion Interactive partnered to develop the conceptualization and story of the brand – from the name and zeitgeist rules of zendough.com to the product itself – culminating in a multi-faceted, ROI-driven, integrated campaign. C-K handled the media planning and buying with an engagement strategy to connect with a unique type of financial manager – the active and involved manager who researches credit card interest rates, checks their bank accounts line item by line item each week and has a well-vetted strategic plan for avoiding overdraft fees – throughout their social graph. Digital efforts include homepage takeovers and sponsorships, rich media units, advergaming and robust componentry. TV spots will run on networks including CNBC, Fox News, CNN, HGTV and TLC. Print ads appear in the February/March issues of publications such as Real Simple, BusinessWeek and Smart Money. Additionally, the agency is spearheading a consumer awareness media relations campaign, as well as held a street marketing “zendough Takeover” yoga event January 5 in New York’s Grand Central Station and Chicago’s Union Station during the morning rush-hour commute.
zendough.com Credit List
Client: TransUnion Interactive’s zendough.com
Agency: Cramer-Krasselt/Chicago
EVP/Chief Creative Officer: Marshall Ross
Group Creative Director: G. Andrew Meyer
Senior Copywriter: Brian Bennett
Senior Art Director: David Levy
VP/Interactive Director: Jamie Anderson
Producer, Interactive: George Zrust
Interactive Art Director: Leigh Masters
Interactive Copywriter: John Angelopolous
Producer, Freelance: Tammy Auel
SVP/Group Account Director: Patty Cohen
Account Supervisor: Jamie DeFer
SVP, Group Planning Director: Joan Colletta-Sapp
VP/Group Media Director, Interactive: Brian Mandelbaum
VP/Group Media Director: Marcia Selig
Production Partner: The Sweet Shop
Director: Mr. Hide
Director of Photography: Guillermo Navarro
Interactive Production Partner: Luxurious Animals
Creative Director/Sound Designer: Garrett Nantz,
Producer: Ali Baranker,
Flash Programmer/3D Artist: Justin Schrader; Chaiwen Chou
Designer/Animator: JB Ayers; Matt Johnson
3D Artist: Evan Passero
Production Artist: Ewen Ku
Visual Effects: Fin Design, Sydney
Music/Sound Design: Q Department
Print Photographer: Ross Brown
About zendough.com
Through a suite of easy-to-use tools, tips and resources, zendough.com helps consumers gain better control of their finances and guides them to making peace with their money. zendough.com offers credit reports, a credit score and grade, identity theft protection and a summary of debt accounts, all designed to awaken members to their financial situation and provide them with the wisdom to achieve their financial goals. zendough.com is a direct-to-consumer product of Chicago-based TransUnion Interactive, a subsidiary of TransUnion, a global leader in credit and information management which maintains credit histories on an estimated 500 million consumers across the globe.
About Cramer-Krasselt
Rapidly growing Cramer-Krasselt is the second-largest independent marketing and communications agency in the U.S., with billings nearing $1 billion. An Advertising Age “Agency to Watch” two years running, C-K has grown by nearly 50 percent since 2006. C-K is frequently recognized for its insight-driven creativity—spanning advertising, direct, interactive, engagement strategies and public relations—that helps clients change the conversation within their category. Headquartered in Chicago with offices in New York, Milwaukee and Phoenix, it represents major brands across virtually every industry, including: AirTran Airways, Benjamin Moore, Bissell, BRP (including Ski-Doo and Sea-Doo brands), Burlington Coat Factory, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Corona Extra, Crocs, Inc., Edward Jones, H. J. Heinz Co., Johnsonville Sausage, Levitra, Porsche Cars North America, Sealy, Rayovac and TransUnion’s TrueCredit.com. For more information, visit Cramer-Krasselt at www.c-k.com.
