14 July, 2008
Banks can still build relationships with traditional media devices.
By Antony Perring and Vanessa Stoykov
Branded content may well be the secret weapon for organisations such as retail banks and insurance companies in the future.
Why?
Infinitely more targeted, branded content has the opportunity to talk to customers in a broader sense. And it has a lower cost than above the line marketing.
Rather than focus on product, branded content can acknowledge that finances are one part of our busy and fragmented lives.
With bank marketing messages trending towards “happy” and “determined” banking, and the big brands focusing on convenience, service and friendliness messages, subtly branded content is well placed to deliver the often-talked about “personal relationship” to customers.
A financial services organisation can find it very difficult to sell itself to a wide audience based solely on the numbers - particularly considering home loan rates and other fees and charges have crept up in a difficult credit market. Add to this the fact that consumer sentiment generally places banks, money managers, real estate agents and politicians on a par in the trust and reliability stakes.
Careful use of branded content can help create a human face for large institutions which can break down the barriers created by feelings of mistrust. It can also appeal to the customer looking for more than the paternalistic relationship traditionally had with banks and big finance companies in the past.
Marketers in many industries are beginning to see the value of incorporating branded content into marketing activities.
A high quality print magazine is a value-add for customers. It returns value not only in the opportunity to place content in your own medium, but in what it gives to customers in terms of real insight, valuable information and entertainment.
Australians are among the heaviest consumers of magazines in the world, per capita, and banks are well placed to use existing branch networks and mailing lists as ideal distribution for customised branded content.
Recently published by evolution media was the second issue of inspired on behalf ANZ Bank. A glossy lifestyle magazine, inspired encourages readers to get the most out of their lives and to be better off. Its target audience is women aged 30-60 years.
It has regular sections dedicated to travel, food, sustainability, health, motoring, technology, community, men’s and women’s issues, careers and the arts, plus a range of personal wealth topics from real estate and financial planning, to investment strategy and products. It immediately reaches tens of thousands of affluent and influential consumers and decision-makers, with distribution through ANZ branches and networks.
A survey in the first issue of the magazine returned results showing that 71 per cent of readers read the whole magazine, and found the balance of stories was what kept them glued to the pages.
One of the major challenges faced in producing inspired was to maintain a balance in producing a magazine which appealed as much to the reader as it achieved its commercial goals.
evolution media found that real-life examples - case studies about successful businesses, happy retirees, and great holiday ideas - were good ways to mention credit cards, financial advice, investment and insurance.
The benefit inspired has brought to ANZ has been the creation of an ongoing relationship between the bank and its customers, based on something well beyond just receiving branch collateral and the usual advertising and brand campaigns.
But branded content does not just have to be offline in traditional media. The web is the perfect opportunity to create a reader relationship and encourage participation.
One of the biggest rules in branded content however, particularly on the web, is frequency. As with any successful relationship, once you make the promise with a beginning, you must continue.
Too often marketers and agencies create a relationship with customers then stop it - just as consumers are beginning to buy in - due to lack of budget, lack of time, or management changes.
As the nature of a branded content relationship is far more personal than other forms of marketing, it’s a relationship that needs to be well thought through and must be committed to for a significant period of time.
Measurement is crucial to building a case for continued investment in branded content. To measure the effectiveness of online and print content, reader feedback and participation is needed.
Surveys, competitions and reader contributions are all ways to achieve this goal, along with online metrics and measurement, and must be considered in an ongoing basis to prove depth of engagement and growth in participation in the initiative.
With social media, online video and experiential marketing all vying for a place at the table in marketing budgets against more traditional methods, branded content is a valid choice for those organisations seeking relationships and ultimately more business with existing customer bases.
As they say, there is value to the bird in the hand.
Antony Perring is Head of Content and Executive Editor of inspired at branding and marketing agency - evolution media. Vanessa Stoykov is CEO and Founder of evolution media.
To see the article online as it appeared in Retail Banking Review click here