Why TD Bank's Emotional 'Thank You' Video Is Marketing Magic

Under normal circumstances, a talking ATM machine would be cause for alarm.

But at TD Canada Trust, whose 1,100-plus branches service 11 million customers across Canada, it's the premise for a viral video campaign that has affirmed the incomparable value of expressing gratitude to your customers.

The video, which currently counts roughly 4 million views on YouTube, was part of a larger initiative dubbed #TDThanksYou in which the company -- for no apparent reason -- decided to thank over 30,000 of its customers last Friday.

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Employees handed out $20 bills to every customer inside any branch at 2 p.m., and notified customers accessing the bank via phone or online that they would receive a direct deposit as well.

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"A thank you can change someone's day," said Tim Hockey, the bank's president and CEO, in a statement. "We know Canadians have a lot of choice when it comes to where they bank, and we wanted to say that we appreciate that they continue to choose TD."

As if that weren't reason enough to book the next flight to Canada, the bank also released the above video. After setting up an "Automated Thanking Machine" in a local branch, TD invited some of its most valued customers to try out the contraption.

The resulting video is as emotionally poignant as it is commercially impactful. Case in point: "As I was just talking about switching to TD last week, this has made up my mind," wrote one YouTube commenter, Harrison Houde.

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