Lending Club is proud of the recent successes we've had as a financial community with our investors and borrowers, and we've been fortunate to have been featured in many well-established, recognized publications in the past few months. From hitting $400 million in loan originations, to airing our very first TV commercial, we're looking forward to wrapping up 2011 with a bang (and maybe with some more record-breaking news, too!)
Here's a look back at some of our most recent video highlights:
Fox Business – Oct. 7, 2011
"A Loan That Works for Borrowers and Investors"
Renaud LaPlanche, Lending Club founder and CEO, on his business model and why it is beneficial for borrowers and investors alike.
Wall Street Journal – September 23, 2011
"Opinion: Taking On the Banking Giants"
Renaud LePlanche on the LendingClub's peer-to-peer loan machine.
World Economic Forum Award
"Technology Pioneer 2012 - Renaud Laplanche (Lending Club)"
CEO Renaud Laplanche explains how Lending Club has help to drive innovation in the U.S.'s financial sector.
Our first TV commercial - Sept. 14, 2011
"Guess What?"
Nansee Kim-Parker has loved motorcycles for as long as she can remember. When she and her motorcycle-mechanic husband started thinking about opening their own motorcycle repair shop in San Francisco, they determined that they'd need about $50,000 in capital to get their business off of the ground. Nansee dipped into her savings and borrowed money from friends and family, but still needed $20,000 to start her dream business.
She circulated her business plan to banks and potential investors, but she found that "in these times, banks aren't lending, and it's really hard to get funding especially if you are going to be a start-up." Fortunately, Nansee found Lending Club and less than two weeks later she had a fully funded $20,000 3-year loan at 9.85%, providing her with the money she needed to launch TokyoMoto, which specializes in independent motorcycle repair for Japanese motorcycles and scooters.
The Webby Awards, hailed as the "Internet's highest honor" by The New York Times, are given annually to the best of the web in a variety of categories. Over 10,000 entries were received from 60 countries to gain recognition for websites, interactive advertising & media, online film and video, and mobile & apps. This is the second time Lending Club has been awarded a Webby, originally receiving the award in 2008. This year Lending Club joins big-name winners including Groupon, Mint, Zillow, Pandora, National Geographic, Angry Birds and Dropbox and celebrity sites from Conan O’Brien, Zach Galifianakis and Snoop Dogg.
As customary, we were asked to deliver a 5-word acceptance speech when receiving the award. Check it out:
CONTEST: Tell us your alternative 5-word Webby acceptance speech for Lending Club and WIN!
Oh, and to celebrate our win, we will be giving away 5 stainless steel laser-engraved Zippo money clips to the most creative alternative 5-word speech. Think: "if I had to receive the webby award for Lending Club, what would my 5 words have been?". Drop us a comment on our Facebook page to participate. Winners to be announced on Friday June 17 around 4pm on our Facebook page.
Many banks have gotten too big to fail (and gotten even bigger recently), but have they also become too big to...innovate? It's clear that big banks have lost their innovative edge. Frustrated customers are walking away from banks, but this seems to not have sparked creativity from their upper management. Luckily for consumers, there is a new wave of financial services innovators pushing the limits. Incorporating cutting edge technology, social media and -- believe it or not -- genuine customer service, this new group of financial players are giving traditional banks a run for their money. The Banks: Innovate or Die! panel will discuss why big banks are failing with today's Web 2.0 consumers, and will examine the new players in the space who are stealing customers away due to their innovation.
Panel Details:
When? Saturday March 12 at 11:00am Where? Hilton F/G Who?Brett King (Author, Bank 2.0), Bob Weinschenk (CEO SmartyPig), Joshua Reich (CEO BankSimple), Anna O'Brien (Former VP of Social Media at CITI) and Rob Garcia (VP Product, Lending Club)
Well, not really. In fact, they were mostly absent in a sea of food, car, and movie commercials. Financial innovation was not to be seen anywhere during super bowl commercial breaks, while websites and other "techie" products barely made a stand.
Let's face it, banking and financial products are not the sexy, fun, hot stuff that is typically shown during those mega expensive ad slots. Will they ever be? I can dream, right? In the mean time the latest and fastest cars, the latest stories for the silver screen and crappy cheap food and drinks that generate millions dominate the super bowl advertising landscape.
But even when Doritos, Budweiser, BMW, Pepsi, Chevrolet, Audi and even Mini USA dominated the airwaves this time around, some websites, "techie" stuff, and even an investing product were conspicuously present.
Check them out:
E*Trade Investing Toddler To tell you the truth, the e*Trade baby ads are old by now. The joke is over but that did not stop them from trying a follow up. You have to give them credit for being the only financial related product on during the commercial breaks.
CareerBuilder.com Chimp Ad Probably one the more memorable ones, CareerBuilder attempts to get herds to their website was funny and to the point. I'm just worried that now PETA will launch an anti-careerbuilder campaign for unjust stereotyping of chimps.
GroupOn's Tibet Ad Post Google Offer Ad As excited as I was to see a local start up on the main advertising stage, I was also appalled by the cheap shot taken at Tibet and its citizens. I guess they had to desperately swing big and get some attention after passing a clear multibillion dollar opportunity with Google.
Homeaway.com's Conspiracy Theory I did not care much for the story, but was happy to see an alternative travel website take the spotlight away from the big travel websites like Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity.
Carmax.com
One of the most clean fun and simple of all the ads. Carmax also promoted its twitter and facebook pages on its commercial.
GoDaddy.co's Girls I did not find them (I mean the ad) appealing at all. I guess I'm not in their target market. We will see in the numbers whether paying top dollars for celebrity endorsement will get them the traffic they bet for.
Bridgestone Ok, I know this one has no technology or website to promote, but come on! Something like this has happened to you, when you realize that you just replied to all.
Cars.com's Don't Go First Advice This commercial from the car-buying website strikes a chord with the Lending Club team when they point out the various reasons why it's best not to be the first to try something. Isn't it always better to do it right?
Motorola's Tablet
The new Xoom looks slick. But the fun part of this ad is how Motorola takes aim at Apple and their drones carrying iPads.
So there you have them: the "techie" and financial super bowl commercials. Which one was your favorite?
"As an accountant, I am very conservative about money. My daughter's credit card jumped her interest rate... I found Lending Club and got a loan to pay off her credit card."
Well, not really. In fact, they were mostly absent in a sea of food, car, and movie commercials. Financial innovation was not to be seen anywhere during super bowl commercial breaks, while websites and other "techie" products barely made a stand.
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