A communication and promotion case study onHSBC

“Math of Life”

Category: Financial Services – Products/Services Brand/Client: HSBC Primary Agency: JWT Media Agency: MindShare Contributing Agencies: K&L

Advertising

2009 as the recession hit, there was only one seemingly

impossible, option for HSBC: To stay on the growth track previously

planned, and fill these branches with customers, despite the economic environment. new

customer growth.”

CLIENT BRIEF: “to grow the brand and achieve

ambitious 2009 goals for new-customer goals i.e.15% higher than for campaigns that had run for

the same time period in 2008.

Challenge:To make the task even harder,

HSBC had to attract a very different type of new customer.

Retail banks had historically recruited large numbers of low

value customers that they called “sub-prime.”

Banks made profit from sub-prime customers (or not!) by selling them

lending products— mortgages, loans or credit cards.

Since the lending markets had all but closed down, banks could no

longer make any money this way.

The only way a bank could make money was by serving customers

with deposits and, of course, every bank in New York City (indeed, the world) was chasing the same 18%

of mass affluent customers to secure over half of all banking

deposits.

PLUS BANKING required a $15,000 minimum balance, which was larger in comparison to

competitor balance requirements, BoA ($10,000), Citi ($6,000) and Chase ($5,000).

And although it offered interest on this checking account, interest rates had fallen to well below

0.5%, which was neither the best rate in the category, nor significantly different from rates

offered by competitors.

The challenge was the need to create a perception of value for a

product that was largely undifferentiated, with a high cost of entry and a fairly low return.

All of the above may have been possible if HSBC were a well-known and trusted bank

brand in the U.S., but it is not.

Although a global financial powerhouse internationally, HSBC is a relatively

unknown challenger brand in the United States – with a 2% market share of checking

and savings accounts

To grow the business of a bank few Americans have heard of during the most

unfavorable time in living history.

To do this with an undifferentiated product that required a $15,000 initial deposit at a

time when very few people have this money to spare and those who do want the safety and security of a familiar or known entity.

To do all of this in the most competitive retail market in the country with less media money

than you had just 12 months ago in a more favorable

environment.

Objectives 1Goal 1 – Acquire new HSBC customers

through PLUS BANKING: Bringing in new-to-bank customers who could

deliver a minimum balance of $15,000 over two 8-week periods: Jan 5. – Feb. 28, 2009 and June 22-Aug. 14, 2009.

HSBC’s brand health scores in the U.S. are almost always negative, because they compete against

some very big national players like BoA and Citi. HSBC U.S.

management had been set a 2009 goal of increasing BHI by XXX

points.

Objectives 2

Increasing the aggregated Brand Health Index, HSBC is focused on positive momentum around forward-looking brand image measures. Specifically the perception that HSBC is: -

a. Modern and contemporary – b. Innovative with new products and services – c. Is appropriate for me personally.

The Big Idea The new “Math of Life” needs a

new bank account – PLUS BANKING

JWT couldn’t change the product, but they could change the way they talked about it, or in this case,

the way they positioned it within the cultural context.

JWT couldn’t ignore the financial crisis, so they decided to lean into

it; use the bad news to shine a light on the fact that HSBC really is

different, and their understanding of thier customers is what truly sets

the brand apart.

The target audiences were at a time of great uncertainty and were now searching for ways to

live a simpler lifestyle.

They were now choosing to spend more time at home entertaining and more than a quarter were

spending more at discount merchants like Amazon.com and Wal-Mart. Similarly, they were

now also spending less on travel and “non-

essential goods” like furniture and jewelry.

It wasn’t about sacrificing—it was about simplifying.

People were doing more of some things and less of others.

It signaled the end of “excess” and the emergence of “just enough.”

JWT recognized that wasn’t just a fad; this was a fundamental shift in people’s financial behavior that was

here to stay. People everywhere were re-

thinking their own formulas for what they called “the Math of Life.”

JWT insight, therefore, was that at a time when target audience was striving for the optimal balance in life, HSBC had a banking product that may not have been new, but it was perfect for the new times they

were living in.

PLUS BANKING was a checking account that allowed you to make

more of your money (with competitive interest rates, and bonus rates, for example) and waste less of it (no fees).

The creative idea was born. “Personal formulas” with

campaign pneumonic symbols (+) and (-) to demonstrate

people’s new equation of living.

These symbols allowed JWT to engage in a relevant

conversation as well as provide a framework for how PLUS BANKING could work with

people’s new Math of Life.

For example:(+) growth (–) waste (grow money with bonus rates, waste less with no fees, etc.)

(+) new country (-) half the price (save half the cost of opening an

account overseas with PLUS BANKING)

And more topical equations that were a part of people’s formulas:

(+) cooking (-) eating out (+) budgeting (-) splurging (+) night in (-) ticket price

(+) bicycle (-) taxi

These truths gave HSBC a distinct voice that was authentic.

When all editorial was doom and gloom, PLUS BANKING executions

were a genuine voice that was about change.

Getting people talking was key, so high traffic outdoor and transit

areas were targeted with posters and street teams.

Street teams distributed innovative branded postcards that doubled as fridge magnets with heat-sensitive ink that would change from a plus

to a minus to help people keep their refrigerator at the optimal

temperature – ultimately saving them money.

PLUS BANKING creative was slap bang in the middle of it, targeting key titles such as the New York Times, the New York Post, New

York Magazine, the Observer and Time Out New York as well digitally

with nytimes.com home page.

In addition to this, there were other postcards that contained garden

seeds, encouraging people to start growing their vegetables at home. Again, another way our ads were helping people save money.