Tagged 'banks'

UBank tells youngsters to ‘Live fast, save young’

Published by Jessica Vaughn - New York on September 2, 2010 in North America. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

“Live fast, save young”—that’s the motto UBank preaches to Australian Millennials in its latest campaign geared at urging them to acquire smart financial habits early in life while promoting its USaver account. (This updates the campaign we wrote about a year ago.) Instead of celebrating the lavish trappings of stardom, UBank cleverly debunks the myth of “easy money and success” that so many young people ascribe to. The spots use catchy graphics and quick cuts to outline how two celebs transformed their 15 minutes of fame into business empires.

“Actress” cheekily asks viewers how they think today’s “it” girl, who seems to have had fame handed to her, got to the top. She “went to film school by day and worked tables by night, saving up all her tips for a film camera”; then, when the public was ready to give her the boot, the actress was ready to start a production company. “Now she’s in the mags, the perfume aisle and the boardroom, making Hollywood work for her.” Finally, viewers are reminded that, “When you see her on the red carpet rocking the free bling and the goodie bag, remember, she’s earned it.”

Considering that nearly 40 percent of young Australians feel their generation was dealt an unfair hand by the downturn, the messaging feels right for an unwaveringly optimistic (though sometimes childish) cohort that’s coming of age in uncertain economic times. It’s assuring to hear that hard work and determination can still pay off, especially if financial planning is approached like a marathon, not a sprint.

Western & Southern Financial Group brings strength and stability to life

Published by Jessica Vaughn - New York on August 18, 2010 in North America. 0 Comments Tags: , .

During the course of the economic crisis, we’ve seen many financial companies topple, and the survivors are playing up stability and strength in their communications. In two new commercials from Western & Southern Financial Group, the financial services firm brings these concepts literally to life.

The spots feature financial types standing firm despite challenges from all angles. In “Strength,” a buttoned-up businessman remains unfazed while being successively ambushed by a sumo wrestler, an elephant and a wrecking ball. He calmly boasts of the firm’s double-A-plus rating from S&P, a score that makes Western & Southern one of the nine strongest life insurance groups in the world, according to the claim. In “Stability,” a businesswoman on stilts withstands similar bizarre attacks, including one from a villain shooting tennis balls at her.

The simple language and concept are a refreshing change in a category that leaves many consumers confused and anxious. It’s likely this messaging will sit well with weary viewers who feel let down by the financial industry.

Nationwide bank plays off England’s World Cup nationalism

Published by Jessica Vaughn - New York on June 11, 2010 in North America. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

nationwide-logoWith today’s big kickoff, World Cup fever is upon us. To tap into nationalist excitement, The New York Times reports, European retailers are offering money-back deals on a range of merchandise—TVs, cars, driver navigation systems, even vacations—if the relevant home team takes the trophy. The most fascinating promotion comes from Nationwide bank in the U.K., a sponsor of the England team. With the tagline “If England win, you win,” the 4 Year Football Bond offers a fixed bonus over the normal rate of 0.50 percent gross per year from May 2011 till maturity—in the event that “England lift the cup in South Africa.”

In the aftermath of the British banking crisis, it’s interesting to see a financial institution produce such a lighthearted promotion. Given that banks have been maligned as a key cause of the U.K.’s fiscal troubles, it seems like a good idea for Nationwide to be willing to take a hit—that is, pay more in interest—if those who believe in England (the team) are ultimately validated. And also to further link the brand with the team, an outlet for British anxieties—at least for as long as they stay in the tournament.

4yearfootballbond

Photo Credit: http://www.nationwide.co.uk/savings/bonds/footballbond/introduction.htm

South Africa’s FNB allays World Cup anxieties with Shine 2010

Published by Christine Miranda and Marian Berelowitz - New York on June 10, 2010 in North America. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

shine2010

South Africa has invested several billion dollars into hosting the FIFA World Cup, in large part to boost its image on the world stage. The country is highly motivated by “reputation-anxiety,” says South African journalist Mark Gevisser. But the spotlight holds a risk. As a senior government official told him: “When the world’s cameras are trained on you, sure they pick up the feel-good stories … but they also look for trouble—which is not difficult to find in South Africa.” (Case in point: This AlJazeera English broadcast, titled “South Africa crime clouds World Cup” on YouTube.)

To keep the emphasis on the positive, South Africa’s First National Bank (FNB) has been sponsoring the Shine 2010 campaign, which consists of a website and the usual social media platforms (Facebook, YouTube, etc.). The site (billed as “Home of the 2010 World Cup good news”) offers an upbeat blog, a Good News section, video clips, podcasts and guides for World Cup attendees. “We believe that confidence in South Africa only needs a home,” the About section explains. The idea is to “shape perceptions online” and inspire locals “to be active ambassadors,” FNB’s head of marketing told BizCommunity.com.

For a brand operating in a relatively new nation (the post-apartheid era began in 1994) worried about potential embarrassment, FNB seems to be doing a good job not only positioning itself as a South Africa booster but giving citizens the tools to join in.

Photo Credit: http://www.shine2010.co.za/community/default.aspx

NatWest harks back to a better time to boost customer confidence

Published by Brooke Curtis - London on April 2, 2010 in Europe. 0 Comments Tags: , .

In the aftermath of the U.K. banking crisis, banks are trying to increase consumer confidence. NatWest, which was touting its MoneySense advisers at the start of the recession, is revisiting customers featured in an old campaign. And as a consequence, we find our confidence in the bank increasing. Why?

First, we see these customers are still with NatWest, a sign the bank is a safe bet. Second, it’s strangely refreshing to see that some customers have experienced difficulties, just like the rest of us. While the pregnant woman now has a cherubic baby, we also flash back to a guy who told us he needed to save for an engagement ring—and if his girlfriend said no, he’d buy a car. We see him today, and he confirms what we feared: He bought a car! We feel empathy, thereby warming our feelings toward NatWest.

Finally, and most powerfully, NatWest returns us to a time when we trusted banks. A time when we had no anxiety that our money wouldn’t be there when we went to withdraw it. And what a better time that was.

Helpful Banking for 2010

Argentinean brands chase consumers with shortsighted strategy

Published by Gonzalo Fonseca - Buenos Aires on March 24, 2010 in Latin America. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Before concluding a purchase in almost any kind of store, Argentineans now routinely ask, “Do you have discounts with any banking or credit card today?” That’s because most banks or credit card companies offer deals on certain brands or retailers (Sony, Carrefour, Shell, etc.) depending on the day of the week.

carrefour
Since the last big socioeconomic crisis here, consumers have learned fast. As a result, they’re exploiting these promotions to their full extent—strategically paying with the appropriate card on the appropriate day, and sometimes even applying on the spot to a new brand if it seems worth the effort. At the same time, major loyalty programs, like that of the newspaper La Nación, offer numerous discounts for products and services.

So the question is, are these promotions bringing any benefit to the brands involved? And what kind of effect will they have on brands, their values and their relationships with key consumers? While there may be short-term benefits, these offers clearly have nothing to do with values that can strengthen relationships—they do nothing for customer loyalty. It’s time to rethink how to drive sales in ways that will have a more positive effect on the brand. Because as most banks, and various loyalty programs, chase consumers with the same strategy, other brands continue to build equity even as they achieve sales targets.

Photo Credit: http://www.santanderrio.com.ar/

Garanti bank takes child’s eye view of Turkish economy

Published by Ceren Coskun - Istanbul on March 22, 2010 in Asia Pacific. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

In Turkey, people have stayed away from bank loans, and economic instability has only heightened this tendency. But unlike in the U.S., the Turkish banks want to make loans.

A leading bank in Turkey is trying to stimulate activity by tapping into anxiety over unemployment and bank lending in a hopeful and positive way. Garanti’s campaign explains the process of recovery and the role of the banking industry in a simple format using animated childlike drawings. In one spot, a child talks about her wish for 2010: her brother finding a job. She explains that people should deposit their money in banks so a businessman will find credit and make a major investment that will create jobs. In the end, everyone will be happy. “Boosting the economy is Garanti’s job,” says a voiceover. “The bank that revitalizes Turkey is again on your side in 2010.”

With this clever ad, Garanti not only outlines a complex issue in an innovative and appealing way, it also creates an emotional impact for anxious and confused consumers via a naive and positive spokesperson. It’s also a good example of Visual Fluency, one of our 10 Trends for 2010.

After a heavy dose of reality, people are wary of empty promise

Published by Gino Borromeo - Singapore on January 12, 2010 in Asia Pacific. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Though well-intentioned, a recent TV commercial from leading Singapore bank OCBC has put a spotlight on the promises that brands make to customers. The spot—which is intended to support the bank’s recently launched Sunday Banking service—tells the story of a customer who visits the bank on her birthday, which happens to fall on a Sunday. In a show of the bank’s commitment to delighting its customers even on Sundays, its staff brings out a birthday cake, much to the surprise of the customer. The story was told so convincingly that some people believed the bank gave out birthday cakes on customers’ birthdays. Two days later, a blogger posted an account of what happened when she went to a OCBC branch on her birthday and was not offered a cake. The scathing entry has generated over 500 comments and created a controversy over the ad that was picked up by The Straits Times newspaper.

While one can dismiss the blogger as being overly literal—and probably a bit of a smart ass—what’s interesting about this reaction to the ad is how consumers could expect a real payoff. In our 10 Trends for 2010, we said people are Reading the Fine Print to get the best value and determine whether a company’s claims are sincere. I suspect that in a less wary time, consumers would let OCBC simply slide. But after a reality check in the form of an economic slowdown where people have lost jobs, defaulted on financial obligations or sold their belongings to get by, empty promises such as this are not welcome. For brands, this means being more conscious about how their advertising is perceived. Is the company giving customers the impression they will receive a benefit from that company? If so, is the message something the company can make good on? If not, perhaps the message needs to be tweaked. After all, in these times when customer satisfaction is utmost, no one wants an angry customer, especially one with a blog.

Australia’s Westpac gets the medium right but the message all wrong

Published by Mollie Hill - Sydney on January 7, 2010 in Asia Pacific. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

During this economic downturn, a number of brands have employed a strategy of producing content that uses simple language and graphics to help consumers understand a situation they may not previously have faced. For example, I’ve written about UBank’s series of smart Webisodes on topics such as “Credit Crunch Explained” and “Recession Explained.”

By contrast, Westpac, Australia’s second largest bank, recently stumbled with an animated video that tries to explain why it has pushed up interest rates. The bank’s retail chief, Peter Hanlo, e-mailed the roughly three-minute video to hundreds of thousands of customers. The response was outrage over the video’s condescending tone and its misplaced analogy centered around banana smoothies (which have become more expensive since severe storms destroyed banana plantations in Australia). Prime Minister Kevin Rudd suggested Westpac take “a long, hard look at itself.”

Meanwhile a crop of spoof videos quickly appeared, using the same animation style and banana smoothie theme to damning effect (two examples: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4KmkcvskHE and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k60ZrtFD2JY&feature=related).

One of our 10 Trends for 2010 is Visual Fluency—the acceleration of the shift from words to images, and increasingly innovative ways to explain and illuminate complex topics. There are many ways for brands to leverage this trend—and likewise many ways to get it wrong. In this case, the medium was right, while the message was all wrong.

In the Philippines, banks target shoppers still searching for stability

Published by Pam Garcia - Manila on January 6, 2010 in Asia Pacific. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

In a recession year, what a surprise it was last month to see a modest Filipino family hauling a big box containing their new widescreen TV. Before they rushed off to do more shopping, in answer to my query they said the purchase was “thanks to the credit cards—their offers are better this month!” bdo-credit-card

Off I went to the appliance store to investigate. What I found is that banks were offering extended payment like never before. Credit cards from Citibank and BDO (Banco de Oro) touted “Buy now, pay in 2010” and “Pay much later” schemes. Surely a big help to the Filipino family with a primary breadwinner still working abroad and perhaps a little late coming home for Christmas. Or families still feeling unstable because a member lost a well-paying job in 2009.
And banks know that in December, along with splurging on food for their family, the typical Filipino family loves TV Christmas specials and soap operas, now amplified for some in wide-screen splendor.

Photo Credit: www.bancodeoro.com