• by Tanya Gazdik , June 10, 2010

KeyBank is trying to entice new customers to open a checking account with an offer almost too good to believe -- a free iPod Touch.

The promotion, which runs through July 30, is being advertised via billboard, radio, print in area newspapers and Web site banner ads.

"Our approach with the iPod was to find a unique way to break through some of the financial services advertising clutter and gain the attention of those interested in a new banking relationship," KeyBank Regional Marketing Manager Mark Knierim tells Marketing Daily.

"By providing a premium that's out of the ordinary, we have established our credentials that we are a bank that looks at our customer needs differently, from a holistic relationship approach. People don't think a bank will go that extra step to meet their needs."

In order to receive the iPod Touch, customers must open a checking account and make one KeyBank Rewards debit card transaction, and also a combination of two direct deposits and/or automated payments, each of $100 or more, by Oct. 1. Depending on what type of checking account is opened, the bank may also throw in a $25 iTunes gift card.

The iPod Touch is the 8GB version and currently retails for around $189. Customers who receive it will also get a 1099-INT IRS form from the bank so they can declare it on their taxes, as required by law.

The promotion is available in areas where the Cleveland-based bank has branches: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Washington.

Cleveland-based KeyCorp is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $93 billion.