(Source: Datamonitor)
The results of an Internet marketing campaign by National Australia Bank show that it has made significant gains. The "break-up" viral campaign has improved its market share and raised its profile, providing a timely lesson for UK banks in the process. With plans being outlined to allow UK consumers to switch current accounts more easily, banks could be set for a spell of heightened competition.
Social media has become widely accepted as an important, if not essential, component of a 21st century marketing function. However, many marketing executives find themselves being grilled on return on investment (ROI), which is their bottom line. As the new kid on the block, social media is a victim of having to prove itself to a greater extent than established public relations (PR) and marketing channels. A speaker at a recent financial services (FS) conference declared that he was sick of being asked about ROI with relation to social media, as it was never asked so stringently of other marketing media. This means that social media campaigns that can prove their worth with hard numbers are the Holy Grail for many marketers.
National Australia Bank's (NAB's) marketing team must therefore be very pleased to have some impressive numbers from their "break-up" campaign, which began in February 2011. The campaign started with a tweet saying "Sooooo stressed out. Have to make a tough decision and I know I'll probably hurt someone's feelings! Arrggghhh." It then went on to include a standalone micro-site detailing that NAB was "breaking up" with other Australian banks. This campaign also featured heavy use of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube videos to spread the "you're dumped" message.
NAB has now released the results from the campaign, which, if accurate, point towards it having been a strong success. According to the Australian newspaper, NAB's general manager of digital personal banking Chris Smith has boasted of a 50% boost in credit card applications, a 20% increase in mortgage applications, a 35% increase in interest from customers of other banks in moving over to NAB, and a 1% increase in NAB's share of the mortgage business. These numbers illustrate a real and impressive return on its viral marketing efforts.
Furthermore, there is an important lesson here for UK high street banks as the pressure to improve competition builds. The UK government is determined to make current account switching easier, with some ideas already having been detailed in the Independent Commission on Banking's April report. Consumers therefore look likely to become more informed of their options and the costs involved in switching banks are set to fall.
The major barrier to a fluid current account market is consumer apathy, but if the right campaign can spark some interest among consumers, UK banks might be surprised by the number of customers that decide to break up with their bank and try someone else.
A service of YellowBrix, Inc.