In an exclusive interview with Marketing In Asia (M.I.A), Stephanie Ng, Global Head of Marketing, Wealth and Personal Banking at HSBC, unveiled details about their ongoing, ambitious marketing campaign. This innovative campaign aims to cater to the unique financial needs of three major segments: professional expats, international investors, and international students.
Introducing the New Marketing Campaign and Its Motivation
HSBC has launched a comprehensive marketing campaign to target three specific segments: professional expats, international investors, and international students. The bank’s strategic initiative aims to capitalize on HSBC’s global scale and operational prowess. The campaign’s motivation is straightforward – to fulfill HSBC’s customer promise more effectively by meeting the needs of their clients, no matter their location or financial challenges.
Our motivation behind this campaign is straightforward – we want to fulfill our customer promise more effectively. HSBC’s long-standing commitment is to meet the needs of our clients, no matter where they are or what financial challenges they face. This campaign is just the latest embodiment of that promise, and we are incredibly excited about its potential to deepen our relationships with our customers and expand our customer base.
Stephanie Ng, Global Head of Marketing, Wealth and Personal Banking at HSBC
Key Objectives and Goals of the Campaign
HSBC aims to solve the real pain points of their customers through their new campaign, focusing on key objectives like solving relocation challenges, offering unsecured lending, seamless online transactions, international wealth management, global support, and going beyond traditional banking services. HSBC’s broader ambitions are evident in this campaign as they strive to change perceptions and become the preferred international financial partner for their clients.
Addressing Hidden, Financial, and Emotional Barriers
The campaign is designed to tackle the financial and emotional barriers people face when moving abroad. Key financial challenges like transferring credit history and understanding tax implications in a new location are addressed by providing relevant solutions and advice. The campaign also acknowledges the emotional challenges of moving abroad and offers a robust support system to mitigate these.
The Development of the Campaign and Addressing Financial Problems
HSBC has developed this campaign by thoroughly researching the 10 markets they plan to launch in, providing a comprehensive solution to the challenges faced by their customers. By enabling the transfer of credit history and offering relevant tax advice, HSBC aims to alleviate significant financial barriers faced by people moving abroad.
Unforeign Exchange: Fostering a Sense of Belonging
Relocating to a new country is not merely a physical transition—it’s a deeply personal journey that affects one’s emotional and psychological states. One of the most profound challenges that expats face when moving abroad is a sense of being ‘foreign,’ an outsider navigating an unfamiliar environment. HSBC acknowledges this vital emotional aspect, and thus, they have created the ‘Unforeign Exchange’ online community as a significant part of their new campaign.
Unforeign Exchange is a digital platform aiming to create a sense of belonging and community among its users—professional expats, international investors, and students—who are on a similar journey. The concept is rooted in the understanding that emotional support and connection are as important as financial services when relocating to a new country.
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This community’s goal is to alleviate the feelings of isolation and anxiety that often accompany international relocations. HSBC aims to facilitate the sharing of experiences, advice, and support among its users. This exchange of insights and stories is designed to make individuals moving to a new country feel less ‘foreign’ and more at home.
Unforeign Exchange is more than just an online community—it is a support system. The platform allows users to connect with others who have been in their shoes, offering practical advice on navigating cultural nuances, tips on local living, and, importantly, emotional support from peers who understand their unique challenges. The ‘Unforeign Exchange’ online community is HSBC’s response to the emotional barriers that people face when moving abroad, and it manifests their commitment to providing all-encompassing services that extend beyond traditional banking.
Integrating Influencers Into The Campaign
HSBC plans to leverage the international experience and extensive follower base of influencers like Tina Yong and Taylor R to provide unique and practical insights to its audience.
Tina Yong, with her background in beauty, lifestyle, and travel content, and Taylor R, known for her lifestyle and fashion content, could provide a unique perspective to the HSBC campaign.
Stephanie Ng
Embracing Cultural Nuances Across APAC
HSBC’s reach extends across multiple continents, but the bank’s ability to effectively serve its customers does not merely hinge on its widespread presence. It’s also deeply rooted in the bank’s understanding and respect for the cultural nuances of each market it operates within, particularly in the culturally diverse Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.
Understanding and embracing cultural subtleties form the foundation of HSBC’s new campaign. Marketing strategies are most impactful when they’re tailored to resonate with local audiences, and HSBC has taken this to heart. The bank has adopted a culturally sensitive approach to marketing, meticulously integrating local nuances into their campaign strategy across the nine markets.
A shining example of this approach is evident in their efforts within Hong Kong. HSBC identified the key offerings that would be most valuable to the local market – digital customer onboarding, international credit matching, and global transfers. The selection of these offerings was driven by an in-depth understanding of the specific needs and pain points of the Hong Kong market, demonstrating the bank’s commitment to address locally-relevant issues.
In China, HSBC adapted their marketing efforts to match the unique digital landscape of the country. Recognizing the popularity and effectiveness of local platforms like WeChat, HSBC leveraged them to communicate their services within a familiar environment for their customers, allowing them to reach a broader audience more effectively.
HSBC’s sensitivity to local market nuances is also showcased in India. They strategically placed Out of Home (OOH) advertisements near IT parks and visa offices – locations where their potential customers are most likely to frequent. This kind of strategic marketing underlines HSBC’s commitment to understanding the customer journey in the context of local settings.
Moreover, HSBC ensured its marketing messages resonated with under-represented groups, working towards building a more inclusive ecosystem. By acknowledging and embracing cultural, language, and socio-economic differences within the APAC region, HSBC is setting a benchmark in culturally competent marketing.
Using a Multi-Channel Strategy
HSBC is using various channels like live displays, OOH, radio, search, owned social channels, and internal and external communications for this campaign. This multi-channel strategy will drive a significant impact, raising awareness and connecting with customers effectively, both digitally and non-digitally.
Measuring the Impact and Effectiveness
HSBC’s new marketing campaign is driven by ambition – an ambition to redefine international banking and double its international growth over the next five years. Achieving this goal necessitates not only the implementation of a robust campaign strategy but also the establishment of rigorous measures to evaluate its impact and effectiveness.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) play a pivotal role in this process. HSBC uses a blend of traditional and modern KPIs to gauge the success of the campaign.
The bank tracks standard marketing metrics such as website traffic, conversion rate, and return on investment (ROI). These KPIs enable HSBC to understand the reach and impact of its campaign. For instance, a noticeable uptick in traffic to their landing page would suggest that their marketing efforts are successfully attracting potential customers.
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Moreover, HSBC extends this tracking to the digital realm. The bank considers the number of impressions and clicks as indicators of the reach and engagement of their digital ads. These metrics provide insight into the effectiveness of the campaign in resonating with online users and prompting them to take desired actions.
In addition to these marketing metrics, HSBC also evaluates the role of influencers in their campaign. The bank measures the number of impressions generated through influencers, offering a clear picture of the reach and effectiveness of these collaborations. An impressive number of impressions indicates the influencers’ ability to engage with potential customers effectively.
HSBC also assesses the impact of their public relations and communication efforts. They look at metrics like the amount of editorial coverage they receive and the engagement of their colleagues. The active involvement of their internal team in the campaign is a testament to their successful internal communication strategy. In terms of public relations, HSBC uses metrics such as impressions, corporate reputation, and traffic analytics to understand the effectiveness of their external communications.
In essence, HSBC’s approach to measuring the success of their campaign is comprehensive and data-driven. The bank uses a wide array of metrics to assess the campaign’s impact and effectiveness across various channels, providing them with a holistic understanding of the campaign’s performance. By meticulously tracking these KPIs, HSBC ensures that they remain on course to achieve their ambitious growth objectives.
Stephanie Ng
Role of Stephanie Ng, Global Head of Marketing, Wealth, and Personal Banking at HSBC
Ng brings a blend of technology and banking experience to her current role at HSBC, where she focuses on integrating technology into wealth and personal banking services. Ng leads a diverse team to drive HSBC’s marketing strategy and maintain a customer-centric approach in all initiatives.
Understanding the ‘Hidden, Financial, and Emotional Barriers’
Hidden, financial, and emotional barriers are the unfamiliar aspects, economic implications, and personal, psychological challenges individuals face when moving abroad. By addressing these barriers through its services, HSBC aims to alleviate the anxieties that come with moving and living in a new country.
The Broader Goals and Brand Messaging
As a globally recognized bank, HSBC’s vision extends beyond just facilitating transactions. The bank seeks to provide holistic solutions tailored to the dynamic needs of their customers. The recently unveiled marketing campaign fits seamlessly into HSBC’s broader goals and brand messaging.
HSBC aims to go beyond traditional banking by offering solutions to the real-world challenges faced by their customers. These challenges can be amplified for international customers, who must grapple with complex financial situations across different geographical borders. Understanding this, HSBC has committed to facilitating smooth transitions for customers moving between countries.
HSBC’s recent campaign is not only about banking services. The ‘Unforeign Exchange’ online community is an example of how HSBC seeks to address the emotional challenges faced by their customers, aiming to create a sense of community and belonging among individuals making similar international transitions.
The creation of an online community for expats is an example of how HSBC is going beyond their banking remit to create a sense of community among its customers, reinforcing their brand message of ‘Opening up a world of opportunity.’
HSBC’s new marketing campaign reflects their broader goals and brand messaging. The campaign’s focus on providing comprehensive banking solutions, understanding customers’ needs, and fostering a sense of community aligns perfectly with HSBC’s vision of delivering beyond just banking and truly putting their customers at the heart of their operations.
