According to Willie Cronje, Standard Bank's head of channel marketing, "We specifically designed the 'Let's help you turn looking into buying' campaign to interest consumers in our credit card, by creating a strong link in the consumer's mind between retail clothing shopping and retail banking. We took advantage of the fact that people shop with their eyes. So, while they're looking at fashion in our shop front, they can shop for the means to buy that fashion inside our branch. It's a powerful call to action.
"Strategically, we wanted to create a viral effect, with consumers talking to their friends about the way we were dressing our shop front and, as a consequence, broadcasting for us the fact that our bank is for modern, trendy, aspirational consumers.
"At that level, the campaign has been very successful, with shoppers coming in to ask branch employees for permission to take photos of the fashion displays. In the process, of course, our staff have an opportunity to engage with them about the bank's products."
Even the bank's competitors have been spotted taking photos of the 'living' display of mannequins.
Cronje says that the festive season was an obvious time to run the campaign not only because consumers are in the mood to spend but because many more people pass through Sandton City during December and January. "Therefore, the maximum number of people were exposed to the campaign."
The festive season makes it difficult to track exactly how many more credit card applications were made because of the campaign than would normally be the case. "There are always more cards applied for at Christmas time. However, we didn't set a specific target for product sales. Our primary focus was to gauge consumer response to the fact that we were approaching their needs in an original way and to see whether they appreciated our bringing our products right out into the mall to them, rather than passively waiting for them to come into the branch.
"The response has been extremely positive and we're certainly going to build on this first initiative. We believe that it's time to bridge the divide between retail shopping and retail banking and the way to achieve that is to take a leaf out of retail's book, using the shop front in ways that best appeal to the consumer."
In developing the 'turning looking into buying' concept, the bank worked closely with its advertising agency, TBWA, focusing on execution with the Platinum Group. Cronje says the campaign was extremely cost-effective, with only one day needed to set up the display, in relation to its direct and lasting impact on consumers.
"The campaign was designed to appeal to all ages and races and was not gender specific. So, for comparatively little effort and spend upfront, we were able to continuously reach all the members of our Sandton demographic profile with the message that we speak the language they understand," he concludes.
