Australia’s banks, mostly absent from advertising since the dark days of misdeed revealed by the financial services royal commission, are back in a big way.
While ad spend is falling as a whole, Nielsen reports the finance category up 29% in March alone. And the big spenders are the big four: Commonwealth, Westpac, ANZ, NAB.
SMI (Standard Media Index) numbers show domestic bank media agency bookings up 16% to $26.2 million in April.
But the tone of the bank campaigns has changed since they last hit the market.
The messaging isn’t about flogging new accounts, cheap loans or other financial products, but about customers, with positive statements of help during the coronavirus crisis.
And the Trust me, I’m a banker mantra is cutting through, with warm feelings for these solid institutions of old on the rise.
Advertising spend by banks peaked in March, 2018, during the financial services royal commission and then fell off a cliff.
But the banks have now joined the supermarkets, education and alcohol sectors in increasing ad spend during the pandemic.
“They have gone really hard back into the market,” Joe Lunn, chief strategy officer, Mindshare Australia and New Zealand, told AdNews.
“They've taken on board the advice, which is that you can't afford to go dark during something like this (pandemic). This is the time when consumers really need to be hearing from you.
“This is the opportunity to actually increase your share of voice and also to grow your brand off the back of that.”
And the campaigns are working. Trust -- the NPS (Net Promoter Score) -- for the big four banks is up.
“That reflects the fact that when you're going through this kind of uncertainty you're naturally going to turn to the brands you trust,” says Lunn. “It's a bit of a cliche, but we're definitely seeing that play out right now.”
Lunn had Tom Dobson, the general manager planning performance at NAB, with him during a recent WPP webinar on the bank and insurance sector.
Dobson spoke of manning social media channels to answer questions from customers during the COVID-19 crisis.
“That's something that he never would have done previously,” says Lunn.
“I know IAG and the NRMA team do that as well ... handling calls. It's really interesting hearing from those people to get a different take. Advertising and media is such a small fraction of what they're actually focused on day in, day out.”
The banks are also a good example of adversity driving innovation.
At NAB, a project to have mortgage advisers do video calls with customers, which would have taken 12 months to execute, was turned around in three days.
“The crisis really is an opportunity for these banks to accelerate innovation. I think that will help coming out the other side, hopefully, in an even stronger position and also with consumers in a better position as well.
“It’s been really impressive to see the way the banks banded together early with a consistent message of support.
“That they would all put in place six month pauses on home loan payments, I think that put us in a really strong position as an economy.
“But also just from a consumer person sentiment perspective because it just gave people confidence that we were going to work together in a way that perhaps we'd never done before to get through this as a nation.
“The number one concern that people have had throughout this whole situation hasn't been their physical health, it's actually been financial health in pretty much every survey that I've come across.
“There's financial stress out there and there's things that these providers can do that makes a tangible difference to people's lives.”
Creative agency The Royals, in an analysis of the outbreak of campaigns from the banks, says the overarching and consistent message is: We’re here to help.
“From social media to advertising campaigns, the banks want to help people who are clearly in financial distress,” says the study by The Royals.
“Being open to help lots of people comes with its own set of issues, though.”
Contact centre staff took a while to catch up. “They’re working from home like everyone else, so there have been major delays in response times, especially for phone contacts. And this is causing anguish for customers.”
This heralded a switch to social media contact, such as Facebook, with customers.
“The banks are also extremely active at replying to comments and are trying to shift traffic away from their call centres to online sources,” says The Royals.
“Throughout this period we’ve continued to see the banks advertise, mostly in press, out-of-home and digital channels. But when it comes to messaging, they all appear to be drawing from the same well."
“Ubiquitous, but a message that’s just right for the times and from brands that provide a crucial service and access to the funds people need to survive,” says the study.
“As we move into recovery mode, it will be interesting to see how these messages shift to be more positive and future-focused. But for right now, help is what’s needed.
“While the banks are helping and people are getting assistance there is certainly still some lagging cynicism out there. Perhaps this is a hangover from the GFC and the recent Royal Commission? But despite their best efforts, banks always seem to be in the firing line.
“In the coming months, and with unprecedented levels of global unemployment expected, banks will be more relied upon than ever before.
“This is surely their time to stand up to continue to demonstrate leadership and to provide legitimate care and empathy for their customers.”
Andrew Reeves, head of strategy Melbourne at The Royals, says the sudden rise in ad spend by the banks is unsurprising.
“The marketing executives are no doubt all students of the marketing sciences and have been pouring over the literature that supports the opportunity to win an incremental share in a category by investing in a larger ESOV (effective share of voice),” he says.
"At the time of writing Swerve (The Royals study), we were reflecting on the messages of support. In recent weeks that brand messaging remains but there is now also more tactical messaging for products like loans.
“Being big spenders in general, the arms race is now on to protect the customer bases they have, and to grow their share in categories like lending where interest rates provide favourable conditions for customers."
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.