Everyday Settlement Speed Challenge
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Issue 23 | June 2012
Agency
BMF
Creative Team
Managing Partner: Dylan Taylor; ECD: Carlos Alija; ECD: Laura Sampedro; Writer: James Pash; Art Director: Carlo Mazzarella
Production Team
Agency Producer: Whitney Hawthor; Director - 8com: Nick Reynolds; Producer - 8com: Helen Hendry; Editing Company: Fanatic Films; Music Design: Eclectic Musice; Sound Design: We Love Jam
Other Credits
Business Lead: Alex Carades; Head of Marketing Sciences: Rob Chandler ; General Manager Marketing, CBA: Martin Whelan ; Executive Manager/Brand Advertising, CBA: Andrew Campbell; Marketing Manager, CBA: Belinda Goldberg
Date
20th February 2012
Background
Commonwealth Bank needed to raise awareness of their industry-first technology, Everyday Settlement, which allowed business owners to receive money from credit card sales the same day, everyday. Businesses with other banks sometimes had to wait 2-3 days, so this was a great opportunity to get these business owners to become customers of Commonwealth Bank.
Idea
Commonwealth Bank set out to demonstrate how much faster they settled than other banks with the Everyday Settlement Speed Challenge.
They got one of their employees to buy a gift for a relative from a shop that banked with another outfit. He then set off to deliver the present – by lawn mower. Travelling at an average speed of 9km/h, the challenge to the business owner where the gift had been purchased was simple.
If the lawn mower got there before the business owner had got the money cleared then he’d switch to Commonwealth Bank immediately.
Results
Since the launch of the campaign, Commonwealth Bank recorded the highest take-up of business transaction accounts in their history. Specific figures include: 27,984 new business transaction accounts opened and 6,265 credit card machines sold, a 36% increase against an original target of 10%.
Our Thoughts
It’s hard to fathom why credit card transactions should take up to three days to be settled. But that being the case, and Commonwealth finding a way around it, the guy on the slow moving tractor demos the difference in an appropriate WTF tone. (Matt Batten Ed)