American Banker points out (registration required) that since July 2008, searches on Google for “FDIC” spiked at least tenfold on two separate occasions:
- Early to Mid July, 2008, which corresponds with the July 11 failure of IndyMac
- Late Sept. 2009, which corresponds with the Sept. 25 OTS seizure of Washington Mutual and Citigroup’s Sept. 29 announcement of its desire to buy Wachovia’s banking operation (ultimately unsuccessful)
Google Trends: Searches for “FDIC”
Whether these specific events drove the rises in search activity is debatable. It’s more likely that the culprit was the crescendo of negative media coverage on the economy. Still, the lesson for bank marketers is clear and one that we’ve covered before: free online research tools like Google Trends can help you stay on top of what consumers (and your customers!) are most likely thinking.
What kind of spots would you have developed for your digital signage network back in July and September if you knew about the skyrocketing number of searches for FDIC?
