RBC recently launched a blog aimed at the youth market called RBC p2p. To quote the website: “…a site for students by students.” The first bank, as far as I know, who went into the blogging world as extended advertising was Wells Fargo which took a much more eclectic approach as their bloggers hit all target markets (although the virtual blogger unsettles me). As a shareholder of RBC, a very innovative venture but, as an entrepreneur, I am disappointed at the lost opportunities.

Don’t get me wrong, I like the writers: good content and well-written and this criticism is not aimed at them (keep up the good work). Rather, the criticism is aimed directly at the feet of executives comfortably sitting in the golden towers of RBC headquarters (and, yes, it is actual gold-leaf on the windows of RBC Plaza) There are six writers- only one of which is female and none of them appear to be visible minorities (although one appears to be Greek by his last name). Has anyone walked a campus of a university lately? Women outnumber men in many faculties (when I graduated law school, the incoming class was 57% female) and there are a lot of visible minorities as students. Where are their voices on this blog?

Beyond the obvious lack of under-representation of certain demographic groups (and surprising insensitivity in this day and age) is RBC ever leaving a lot of money on the table. Studies show two largely untapped and growing markets for financial services are female and immigrant communities. In the UK, there are now more high net worth female clients than male. Locally, the number of single women buying homes is increasing with the average age of first-time female home buyers being 29 (yes, young men everywhere, we are readily replaceable!). In other words, if a bank can earn loyalty during the university years, the pay-off could be quick. But, other than Kate, where are the female voices on the blog? Where is the outreach to half the population?

The immigrant market is estimated to be a multi-billion industry annually (on the conservative side). A lot of ATM’s now have multiple language options: CIBC is converting all their ATM’s to incorporate Chinese in addition to Italian and Portuguese. And, yet, no attempt to reach out to young first and second generation immigrants? Remember that younger immigrants are, literally and figuratively, the translators for older generations in new societies and major influencers. As a result, banking choices and recommendations tend to flow upward and downward between generations. Again, where are these voices?

What makes theses absences stranger is that RBC knows where the growth is. From the November 20, 2007 Globe and Mail:

“Reaching out to the immigrant market is one of the Royal Bank of Canada’s “key priorities,” said Mark Whitmell, director of cultural markets [for RBC].”

So, you know its important to tab into immigrant markets but you do little to market to young immigrants? I believe in MBA speak this is called “poor departmental integration” or, in plain English, “your branding needs work.” RBC has a Director of Cultural Markets and they didn’t ask him about the blog? Study after study shows that women are outdoing men financially and there is no substantial outreach to young women?

By comparison, Wells Fargo has 4 female blogs out of the 8 “human” bloggers. They also appear to miss the boat on potential growth in immigrant markets. To RBC’s credit, it is not an overtly sales tool like Wells Fargo’s.

Verdict: good content, good lay-out but, as a marketing vehicle, needs tactical adjustments to reflect the market better- not only as a good corporate citizen but for potential growth opportunities. They could do a couple of things quickly and cost-effectively to make the blog more reflective of the market: a few on-line tools would be a start.

Any comments on the blog?