Unexpected Bill
Issue 17 | December 2010
Agency
BMF
Creative Team
Executive Creative Director: Dylan Taylor; Creative Director: Brad Waggoner; Copywriter: Lucas Dorrell; Art Director: Michael Madgett
Production Team
Production: Jan Cuthbert; Planner: Thomasine Burnap; Account Manager: Sophie Paton; Account Director: Gabrielle Pritchard
Date
26/11/09
Background
The one thing more customers complain about than anything at Commonwealth Bank is overdraft fees.
They are a very sensitive issue for two reasons. One, customers believe the fee should be waived entirely. Two, people see overdrafts as a sign of weakness, that they aren’t able to manage their finances.
Despite these problems, the task was to get a 3% response rate, or 3,300 take-ups of an offer of a Personal Overdraft to existing CBA customers already paying overdraft fees.
Idea
Most other banks position Personal Overdrafts as a safety net, something you fall back on when you haven’t managed your money properly.
By contrast, this mailing concentrated on the unexpected emergencies that can, and do, pop up in everyday life.
With tongue firmly in-cheek, the mailing brought to life the surprising curveballs that life can throw while demonstrating that a Personal Overdraft is the perfect solution for avoiding any further overdraft fees, thus tackling CBA customers' number one complaint, front-on.
Results
In showing empathy with the everyday issues CBA customers face, the mailing worked exceptionally well, delivering a phenomenal response rate of 5.28%. That's a grand uplift of 176% on the client's target. Better still, it equated to 5,808 Personal Overdraft accounts being opened.
Our Thoughts
Recently I was talking to a bank about their direct mail campaigns and arguing that the envelope is an advertising medium in its own right. “We have done research”, I was told, “and we have conclusive proof that the simple white envelope works best.”
Relentlessly, therefore, every mailing they send out is in a plain white envelope.
The contents are equally anaemic.
Now here’s a mailing that acknowledges how in actual fact the plain white envelope almost invariably brings unwelcome news but, with a typical Aussie twist, manages to make it both ironic and relevant.
I love the little logo of the downturned thumb on the front and the copy on the back: “Oh no. White envelope. Looks like a bill. Can we pretend this never happened”. It sets up the idea of the piece but without giving it away.
Charm and wit are worth real money.