-By Steve Miller

Citizen's Bank is urging its customers to sign up for paperless banking in a new campaign dubbed "Green$ense." In return, it will give a dime for every electronic transaction made up to $10 a month and $120 a year.

The campaign, via Arnold, Boston, breaks this week. Print ads try to get the message across with such headlines as: "The environment is like a bank account. Every little bit helps." A broadcast spot shows a bird with a dime in its mouth. The bird perches on the chair of a woman who is reading a newspaper at a cafe. When she gets up to throw the paper away, she looks first at a trashcan but deposits the paper in an adjacent recycle bin. As she returns to her chair, the bird drops the dime on the table in front of her, as narration outlines the concept of "Green$ense." The spot ends with the tag, "It's good for the environment—and your bank account."

Most banks have already adopted a paperless option for consumers, although not many are offering an incentive in return. Rick Frisiello, a creative director at Arnold, said the campaign is meant to get consumers' attention. "We wanted to let people know that not everyone realizes how many resources they can save by banking paperlessly," said Frisiello.

The program covers most transactions, including online bill payments and debit card purchases.

The broadcast spot will run in Boston, Providence, R.I., Philadelphia, Cleveland and Detroit. Three print ads will run in newspapers such as The Boston Herald, The Boston Globe, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Pittsburgh Post Gazette and The Detroit News.

As part of the campaign, several undisclosed TV stations will partner with Citizen's Bank to advertise "green tips" to viewers. The media buy also involves POP and OOH, including the takeover of select transit stations in Boston and Philadelphia—the two major markets for Citizen's Bank, which is based in Providence.

So far, responses to the campaign, however, are not all positive. For example, blog Adrants.com said electronic banking efforts like "Green$ense" are a way for banks to "cut overhead (by hiring fewer tellers) and increase profit." AdFreak.com also offered a reaction to the campaign.

Citizen's Bank spent $10 million on ads last year, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus, and $7 million through July.