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Home Case Studies Banking on big results
Close-up of hands holding pens over financial documents with charts and graphs. A calculator is on the table. The scene suggests a collaborative business or financial planning meeting.

Banking on big results

A major financial institution needed help with their annual summer promotion to attract new customers over a 10-week period. Using behavioural economics principles and contests, the client surpassed their goal by 35%.

Results

As a result of the promotion, there were 24,000 new accounts opened in the first 10 weeks. In the second promotion, an additional 27,000 new accounts were opened. The results were 50% higher than any previous promotion, and there was a reduced cost per new account.

Industry

Financial services and insurance

Problem space

Customer loyalty

Services

Rewards marketplace

Sweepstakes

Technology

Sweepstakes

Breaking through the banking barrier

In the world of banking, one of the best ways to attract a new customer is with a free direct deposit checking account. Once a person has their paycheck automatically deposited in a new account, they usually stick around. However, this isn’t an easy sell.

A major financial institution came to BI WORLDWIDE for help with its annual summer promotion to attract new customers. Their stretch goal was to attract 18,000 new customers over a 10-week period.

Engage and win

We approached the issue in three different ways to help make the program successful. First, was to help reduce the costs and maximize the results. In previous promotions, the company would offer new customers a cash bonus of $150. We took that concept and applied behavioural economics, rewarding a chance to play an instant-win game to see how much cash they could win. Potential customers slid a digital decoder over a concealed graphic, revealing an amount between $75 and $150. The company saved money by lowering the total amount of money but had stronger results because no matter what dollar amount was revealed, the behavioural economics theory of loss aversion kicked in, and potential customers were far more likely to open an account in order to not lose the money they just “won.”

We also added a high-profile sweepstakes to attract a maximum amount of attention. The sweepstakes offered the chance to win a new Tesla Model S or $100,000 cash. The “big want/hedonic luxury” drove click-throughs to the instant-reveal game and generated buzz in the Wall Street Journal.

Finally, we changed how we connected with its target audience. The target audience for free checking accounts is young, social and digitally connected. The company’s previous focus was direct mail, so we shifted it to mobile advertising since that’s where the audience was. Customers were able to complete the entire process – from revealing the cash bonus to activating their new account – directly from their mobile device.

Blasting past goals

This campaign was so successful that the company asked us to repeat the promotion the following summer. We refreshed the concept and surpassed the goal – and previous results.

  • 24,000 new accounts in the first 10 weeks
  • 27,000 new accounts in the second promotion
  • 50% higher results than any previous promotion
  • Reduced cost per new account

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