Living the Startup Life

Have you guy seen those billboards all over the place and all of those commercials going “Woo hoo” for Washington Mutual?  Well at first, I thought this was a very funny approach to advertisement.  Their goal is to associate a positive emotion, “Woo hoo!”, with their company so that you react on that positive emotional feel.  All purchase decisions are made emotionally, so this could prove to be very effective.

You see, Washington Mutual is hitting you from two sides with their campaigns.  There commercials hit you on the logical side because it tells you about their free checking.  Then when you’re driving around on the street, you see these gigantic billboards that prompt your emotional side to associate Washington Mutual with a positive feeling.  It all sounds good and dandy, but I had never before realized how effective the campaign was, until now…

On Monday, my girlfriend and I went to a Washington Mutual at 5:59pm (1 minutes before they close).  I thought that we would feel rushed, but the Wamu employees were very welcoming and all had smiles on their face.  On the wall it said, “Free Smiles,” and that’s exactly what I saw in there.  The amazing thing is that this campaign, the “Woo hoo” campaign, is not just for us - their clients.  The campaign is also for internal use among their employees and to promote the company culture.

It was now 6:09pm, most of the registers were already closed, but they kept open a register for Kim.  All over the walls I saw signs that said, “Woo hoo,” so I had to ask: “Do you guys ever break out into a spontaneous “Woo hoo!”.  “We do it all the time.  We also give special treats to clients who do a little dance and yell out Woo hoo!” she responded.  So of course, I had to do it.  I showed them a little spin and I did a kick like Michael Jackson in his black days.  Everyone got a kick out of it and they rewarded me with the Woo hoo sticker I tagged above!

Ok, so the sticker isn’t all that amazing, but what was amazing was how this Woo hoo campaign has contributed to an amazing company culture.  I bank at Bank of America, and everything feels uptight and not that personable.  At Wamu, they really make an effort to make you feel welcome and like a friend rather than a client.

When building your company brand, don’t forget about branding ineternally among your employee culture.  If you’re National Geographic, then have dinosaurs, animals, and images of different cultures all around the office.  If you’re PetSmart, then allow all of your employees to bring in their pets once a weekso that you promote the animal friendly culture.  If you’re Wamu, then you’re employees all wear smiles, yell out Woo hoo spontaneously, encourage their clients (friends) to do the same.

Does your company culture reflect your company brand?