Steal My ID

Steal My ID Infomercial

 

Steal My ID Logo

 

Background

Despite having the top-rated identity theft protection product on the market (See Intersections’ Once Again Earns “Best in Class” in Javelin Strategy and Research ID Protection Services Scorecard), consumers continue to remain largely apathetic about the problem of identity theft and the need to proactively protect themselves. Consumers continue to live under the false belief of certain myths:

• “It won’t happen to me,” even though 1 in 10 Americans have been victims of identity theft, and 1.6 million American households have had their bank accounts or credit cards compromised
• “I really don’t have anything of value to lose.” Yet, identity thieves are after much more than your money. They’ll change the address on your credit card so you won’t notice new charges. They’ll set up services (utilities, mobile phone etc.) in your name. They’ll take out loans and mortgages in your name, and much more.
• “My identity isn’t exposed.” Every day, your identity is exposed through simple activities such as writing a check, making purchases online, interacting on social networks, and more.

Most consumers agree that credit card fraud and identity theft is a serious issue. However, just like warnings and information about the need to diet and exercise, Americans continue to ignore the risks associated with identity theft.

The question became, “What can we do to change the conversation? How can we shed new light on the problem of identity theft in a way in which people would listen?”

The answer: StealMyID.com.

StealMyID.com is the complete antithesis to Intersections and Identity Guard. It’s not a real company, but it looks like a real company whose purpose is to steal your identity! Down on your luck? Not happy with the hand that life has dealt you? No problem, with 3 easy payments, StealMyID.com will steal your identity so that you can move on with your life!

The Campaign

StealMyID.com was launched in August. We created a website, a YouTube channel, along with Facebook and Twitter profiles. The centerpiece of the campaign was the video, which was posted to the YouTube channel and StealMyID.com website. The video, a short infomercial about the StealMyID.com service promises that “we’ll steal your identity, or give you your money back!” The goal of the campaign: get people to watch the video, share it, increase awareness about the growing problem of identity theft, and introduce Identity Guard as a leader in the category.

Blog posts to the website also posted humorous tips on how to get your identity stolen, such as this Do-it-Yourself Guide to Identity Theft. Like all direct response companies, StealMyID.com has a toll-free line (855-240-NoID), where callers heard messages about how “your identity is more than just your credit score and social security number.” Or, messages such as “did you know that your identity could be stolen with just two pieces of information: your name and your social security number.” And finally, banner ads placed on the site directed users to an info-graphic style landing page that provided information about Common Identity Theft Myths.

We worked with our media partner AlphaBird to optimize the campaign to take advantage of the YouTube algorithm that tracks “velocity.” The more views a video receives within the first 54 hours on YouTube, the higher the velocity ranking. This allowed us to receive “earned views” since Google placed the video on its’ home page, thereby increasing the chances of more people viewing the video. We launched the video early on Monday morning which also contributed to maximum chart placement.

Results

YouTube views: More than 345,000 (145,000 of these views came from sharing or other organic growth)

YouTube Channel Comments: 263

YouTube “Likes / Dislikes” – 516 / 43

Peak Activity for the video: #1 watched video on YouTube in Sci / Tech category; #35 most watched video overall on YouTube

CTR to landing page: 22.7%

Bonus: Our favorite YouTube comment: