CASE STUDY SUMMARIES:
(1) CREDIT CARD ADOPTION CAMPAIGN
The brief was to launch a print campaign that would build credit card adoption and regular usage. In 2011, Vietnam was one of the most under-banked countries in Asia, with a banking penetration rate below 10% (source: HSBC). Vietnamese people were happy using cash to make transactions and showed apathy toward credit cards. To emphasize the unique benefit of a credit card our print campaign dramatized one’s lingering purchase obsession and encouraged its immediate satisfaction through the use of a credit card (something cash couldn’t always do!)
The campaign idea became: Can’t shake it off your mind?
Our print campaign visually externalised what people internally obsessed about (e.g: Affording lobster, indulging in an expensive camera, or a high-end bag).
In 2012, HSBC Vietnam became the biggest credit card issuer in the country ahead of its competitors (Citibank, ANZ, and Standard Chartered bank).
(2) HSBC VISA PLATINUM LAUNCH
A year following the launch of the HSBC credit card in Vietnam, the bank introduced a new product in Vietnam: the Visa Platinum credit card. This card provided access to exclusive rewards and discount programs worldwide, as well as concierge services and club offers from Visa. Even though credit card adoption and usage had increased, our research revealed that there was still a strong natural preference for using cash instead of cards. So our task remained to build the need for credit card usage.
For HSBC’s Platinum target audience - a highly image-conscious group - the purchase of high-status products and services was often motivated by what these products or services would say about them as opposed to what they offered them. So building on this insight, instead of promoting the exclusive functional benefits offered by the HSBC Visa Platinum credit card, we focused on its platinum image; positioning it as a new and higher social status that opens the door to unsurpassed privileges and instant recognition in Vietnam and worldwide.
The campaign idea: The world is yours.
Our print campaign featured Vietnamese people living an aspirational lifestyle - thanks to their HSBC Visa Platinum card - and inviting others to join them in this exclusive circle.
Note: I was Senior Strategic Planner at JWT Vietnam, directly reporting to the CEO, and working together with Account Management, Creative and Production specialists.
