Citibank, once an illustrious financial institution, was blamed for events that led to the global economic crisis. And due to lack of oversight in its risk management business, the bank deemed “too big to fail” required $45 Billion in federal aid.American’s trust in Citi plummeted, and the credibility and reputation of Citi and its management was questioned and intensely scrutinized.To rebuild trust, Citi had to change the prevailing conversation - from its financial health to its commitment of fiscal responsibility, reform and America’s recovery.Research identified key elements for success: transparency, detail and change. Equally important was tone and sequencing of communications, with priority given to PR, digital outreach, followed with paid media.Citi created something new: an interactive blog called new.citi.com, which targeted influential Americans and invited them to have an open dialogue with the bank, as represented through its employees. Redirecting the conversation also involved a 16-city tour by senior management, an online media campaign, media partnership program, blogger outreach, paid search, social media program and a print campaign to drive site traffic.Since launching on February 1, 2010, new.citi.com generated 120,000 total visitors, over 95,000 unique visitors, over 12,000 video plays and hundreds of comments..

With the media focused on financial failings, Citi invited influential activists to help them change the conversation. Citi created an interactive blog allowing activists to have an open dialogue with Citi. The venue was new.citi.com, where Citi employees of all ranks talk about what’s being done to turn things around.The blog’s launch was initially scheduled for October 2009 to tie in with a 16-city tour by Citi executives to unfold their new strategy. Employee town hall events and meetings with communities and local businesses highlighted Citi’s efforts in spurring economic recovery. The road show was recorded, earmarked for the blog.The blog, however, didn’t officially launch until February 2010, and was followed shortly thereafter with an online media campaign and media partnerships. A blogger outreach, paid search (Google, Yahoo, AOL and MSN) and social media program (including Twitter) launched in March 2010, as has a print campaign to drive site traffic.

While key brand metrics have yet to be reported from the brand tracking study following its launch on February 1, 2010, the following are the metrics to date for the new.citi.com site:-104,000 total visits-90,000 unique visitors - the majority from the key congressional districts of the U.S. Northeastern region, including Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York and Boston.-12,000+ video plays-400+ blog comments-The site is averaging 2,600 visitors a dayPrimary drivers of traffic have been blog links, internal communications and paid media.Top blog posts are those of “How Citi is changing” and “Our CEO on the new Citi and creating a culture of responsible finance.” Visitors were also most likely to watch the Citi CEO video than any other, followed by “A safer approach to risk.”