Ally was founded to right a whole lot of wrongs in the banking industry.

10 years ago they sat down and listed everything they despised about going to the bank, calling the bank, and paying the bank– vowing to never do those things.

Their choice to go digital without branches or tellers allowed them to double down on customer service in ways their bigger competitors couldn’t.

In the end, they had more than a different kind of bank. They had a mission. To be an ally for your financial well-being. To do it right.

In banking people have come to accept being satisfied as having just enough to not complain. However Ally, didn’t want people to just be satisfied with their bank but to love it. This Thanksgiving they set out to disrupt the status quo by bringing the most human element of the brand: its call center, to life.

At Ally, every call usually ends with a simple question, "Is there anything else I can help you with today?" But on a day in November, dubbed, “Banksgiving,” the Call Center in Shoreview Minnesota did things a little different.

Ally went one step further giving employees the power to show their customers how truly thankful they are for them. Associates spoke with customers to find out how they could help them far beyond their banking needs. Then they surprised them by granting wishes big and small– from $25 to $55,000. There were simple requests, like help with fall yard cleanup or a holiday to visit family. Others were larger, touching the lives of many.

By carefully listening to customers, this bank showed that it’s not always business as usual when you’re on the phone with Ally.

To shake people out of their indifference and fuel dissatisfaction with the banking category at large, we first had to prove that Ally could offer something better. And who better to spread the good word about Ally than the people who already know and love us?

Starting with our customers, we set out to create exceptional and special customer service experiences that people couldn’t help but talk about and share with those who didn’t yet know (and love) Ally.

Banksgiving was the perfect opportunity to show appreciation for our customers and give back to them for their loyalty. We took our customer-centric approach a step further than usual to demonstrate our commitment to our customers and to show them how much we care about the things they care about– not just how much money they keep in their account.

As a Digital Bank, Ally almost always interacts with customers online. For Thanksgiving 2018, Ally brought it’s most human element, its call center, to life.

We took over Ally’s call center in Shoreview, Minnesota and filmed real employees, at work, taking their calls and interacting with customers. In real time, employees carefully listened to calls and identified customers’ true needs and wishes. These were granted on the spot. Callers were given $25 gift cards to $55,000 to help do right in their community.

We also filmed employees in their homes to get their backstory and followed them as they travelled across the country to 3 different states to surprise some of our customers at their homes.

We captured these live interactions over 3 days, edited over 5 days and then went live the following week across all Ally’s social channels, including Youtube, Twitter and Facebook.

Within just 1 week we reached over 2.2 million views on Youtube alone, and 7.4 million views across other channels. Unique visitors to the site was up 40%, and we hit our highest ever positive social sentiment at 82%. Customer likability rose to 92% and Ally was voted Best Online Bank of 2018 by Money Magazine. It was also voted as Newsweek’s Best Online Bank for Customer Service of 2019.