FINANCIAL SERVICES
Caja de Burgos Pension Plan/Spain Spain took the lion’s share of awards in the European competition this year, winning five gold PRO Awards. What has become apparent to award administrators and judges over the years is that Spanish marketers really understand the lifestyles, demographics, and purchasing behavior of their consumers. Add to that sophisticated copywriting and knockout creative, and you’ve got the recipe for successful promotions.
This promo was no exception. With the help of promotion agency Ros & Asociados, Spain’s Basque Country-based Caja de Burgos created a program that stood out from the big prize promotions that seemed to be creeping up everywhere. The Pensions program was very personal – just as one’s finances are – and was designed to appeal to self-employed males who already owned a minimum of four of the bank’s products. The bank identified its targets and it went after them – all 9,355 of them.
They received direct mail materials inviting them to stop by their local branches to learn more about pension plans. Those that set up meetings received stylish cotton bathrobes and slippers, those who opened medium-sized accounts received embroidered monograms on their robes, and those who opened large accounts received a set of three monogrammed towels (you can never have too many monograms!). Everything about the program was intimate, especially because targets could learn about the various account options in the comfort of their own homes.
Interestingly, Caja de Burgos was able to remind customers of the offer when they were inside the banks branches without letting any non-targets in on it. Posters in 300 branches pictured bathrobes and slippers with no copy. Only those who had received the mailing got it, and it reminded them to, perhaps, approach their bankers and talk pension.
The program generated an incredible 40 percent response rate from its initial mailing, and 1,536 people opened new pension plan accounts. The results surpassed the bank’s expectations by 53 percent.
