Integrally integrated
Campaigns with physical activations should be targeted and amplified digitally.
Issue № 125 | London, Sunday 16 February 2025
Read on to learn why:
① Understanding your target audience is the foundation of all good marketing.
② Your team are your secret weapon when it comes to digital amplification.
③ Citi is chasing growth by getting private wealth clients into alternatives.
④ Trump banning a digital dollar may reduce enthusiasm for CBDCs worldwide.
⑤ Personal insights are the key to successful LinkedIn content.
⑥ A compelling vision of the future will help retain your best employees.
⑦ DEI programs should be protected, not jettisoned.
📸 But first, flashback to November 2021 when I told you that a forthright CEO is marketing’s greatest asset, and most dangerous threat. Well, Tesla is founding out the hard way.
What's new
HSBC UK launched a marketing campaign for its revamped Premier account this week, Marketing Communications News reports.
In short:
“Everything’s Premier is HSBC UK’s most ambitious integrated campaign to date for the UK and highlights how a Premier account transforms everyday banking into an exceptional experience, offering unprecedented access to premium services across health, wealth, travel, and international banking.”
“Iconic London formats have been elevated to signal premium. London Red buses have been wrapped in standout black premier creative, stunning 3D creative transforms London’s iconic Piccadilly Lights screen into an immersive visual journey, while across the river, a similar experience is being projected onto City Hall. The eye-catching displays boldly showcase how a simple bank card unlocks a world of exclusive benefits.”
“The launch sees Premier dominating the audiences commute at relevant London stations, identified through audience footfall data, with takeovers at Canary Wharf, Bank, Eurostar and Waterloo. […] A sleek, high-tech bank safe stands at the heart of the experience, challenging participants to crack the code for a chance to unlock exclusive Premier prizes. […] Everything’s Premierruns for a month-long period, with the flagship activations appearing across London for one week.”
Why it matters
Although I’ve done B2C, the bulk of my marketing experience has been B2B. And, as such, because I’ve focused on hyper-targeted, often digital-first, campaigns which result in mountains of data, it’s tempting to dismiss an integrated physical launch like this - consisting of expensive activations - as old-fashioned. Not at all. This story matters because it’s a best-in-class example of how to combine traditional but well targeted promotions with digital amplification. Bravo, HSBC UK. 👏🏻
① There are two elements that jump out at me. First, it might appear like HSBC have thrown a lot of money indiscriminately at expensive physical advertising. But look more closely. They understand their target audience. They know that the densest concentration of £100k+ earners (the minimum criteria for a Premier account) is to be found in London’s commuting hubs. And they understand that audience: showcasing the benefits of the product that are new and will resonate with them. As an HSBC Premier and a Monzo customer, this campaign has clarified exactly which account is right for me. (Hint: I have no interest in Greggs sausage rolls but complementary health services and global travel insurance certainly appeal.)
② The second, more unexpected element is how HSBC has taken a physical campaign and amplified it not just on paid media (it was all over popular podcasts this week, for example) but also shared media. The day the campaign launched, HSBC employees all took to LinkedIn to promote the launch. Ram Thapa, Jose Carvalho, and of course HSBC UK’s CMO Becky Moffat herself were just some of the posts from the HSBC team in my feed this week. A great example of translating the impact of a physical campaign to digital channels.
What to do about it
Take action
The three key lessons from HSBC’s launch are:
Understand your audience: Good marketing always begins with this step. It’s critical to understand your customers and their needs, what their pain points are, and how you can help them. This is the very foundation of your value proposition and, without it, nothing you say or do will resonate with them (a free sausage roll from Monzo will never sway me.)
Target them where they are: It might well be online - and most digital channels offer impressively accurate targeting - but don’t dismiss the obvious: physical locations. If your audience concentrates in physical locations, then traditional activations make a lot of sense.
Amplify your message digitally: If a tree falls in the forest but no one posts about it on LinkedIn, does it make a sound? You should always be thinking about how to maximise the return of all your marketing activity. Leveraging your team to post about it on social media greatly increases its reach.
Get help
Two ways I can help you: 1) as a full-time member of your team; or 2) via InMarketing, an advisory service for senior leadership teams in finance and technology.
🔎 Audit 🧭 Strategy 🖋️ Positioning ✅ Planning 🤷🏻 Problem-solving ☎️ Counsel
Top stories
The other articles that are worthy of your time.
FINANCE
Citi's Sieg: New clients take backseat to getting more from current
③ Citi is chasing growth by getting private wealth clients into alternatives.
“Citi's path to its wealth management ambitions lies not so much in bringing in new clients as in deepening relationships with existing ones. That's what Citi Head of Wealth Andy Sieg said. Citi's private bank — which serves wealthy clients — is already working with about a quarter of the billionaires in the world.”
“They and other clients have entrusted Citi with about $1 trillion to manage. But they also have roughly $5 trillion held either at rival institutions or off to the side for other purposes. That $5 trillion is where Sieg and others are looking as they seek to boost the firm's haul of net new assets — which he called ‘our northstar’."
“Citi sees a big opportunity in helping investors move more money into private markets. S&P Global has predicted the amount of money invested worldwide in alternatives like private equity, private credit and private real estate will hit $15 trillion this year, up from nearly $12 trillion at the end of 2023. Citi's chief investment office is recommending investors put anywhere from 15% to 30% of their portfolios into alternatives. Many Citi clients are nowhere near that, Sieg said.”
TECHNOLOGY
Third of central banks delay CBDC timelines
④ Trump banning a digital dollar may reduce enthusiasm for CBDCs worldwide.
“The majority [of central banks] - 75% - still plan to issue a CBDC, with over half allocating more internal resources. The proportion of respondents expecting to issue a CBDC in the next three to five years has grown to 34% from 26% in 2023.”
“Yet, there is some cooling on the issue, with 15% of respondents saying they are now less inclined to issue a CBDC, up from zero per cent in 2022.”
“Meanwhile, 31% have delayed their issuance timeline, citing legislation and a desire to explore a wider range of solutions.”
MEDIA & MARKETING
Social Tree Global’s UK fintech influencer report
⑤ Personal insights are the key to successful LinkedIn content.
“The top 10% of LinkedIn influencers shared
in-depth analyses on fintech innovations,
personal perspectives on industry trends, and
multimedia-rich content.”
“Authentic storytelling and expertise-driven content outperform generic posts. LinkedIn is no longer just a networking platform, it has become a space for
market eduction,
brand positioning, and
leadership in financial innovation.”
“Key strategies for success:
focus on thought leadership,
leverage video and infographics,
engage consistently,
use LinkedIn polls and discussions, and
collaborate with industry peers.”
WILDCARD
How to get people to resign
⑥ A compelling vision of the future will help retain your best employees.
“Giving employees an explicit incentive to leave their jobs can be an effective way to separate the committed from the time-servers. […] A pay-to-quit scheme makes it more costly for workers to feign enthusiasm for a job. But it can have unintended consequences if it is a standing offer: people may end up joining a firm in order to resign and get an exit bonus.”
“There may be a subtler and cheaper way to prompt resignations among people who are not a good fit. […] Some employees of a consumer-goods firm were asked to reflect on what mattered to them and whether their jobs fulfilled their individual sense of purpose. In the months following these workshops exits from the company increased substantially among participants, compared with employees who did not take part, and did so particularly among lower performers. Productivity rose.”
“The success of a resignation offer depends partly on what kind of future awaits people who stay. [If there is] more downsizing and restructuring to come, the people most likely to take the money are often strong performers, who have the best chance of landing a new job. […] Plenty of people suspect that bosses require people to come back into the office partly in order to prompt resignations, and the evidence from the LinkedIn profiles of workers at financial and technology firms in the S&P 500 is that RTO mandates do cause turnover to spike. Churn is greatest among women and among more experienced and skilled workers, and that firms subsequently have more trouble filling vacancies.”
Off cuts
The stories that almost made this week’s newsletter.
FINANCE
👩🏻⚖️ Lawyers hit back against FCA email deleting plan
🥈 Morgan Stanley cedes title of chief Goldman Sachs rival
📖 NatWest beats annual profit expectations as bank targets ‘new chapter’
📊 Barclays profit leaps by a quarter as investment activity booms
TECHNOLOGY
🤖 AI: After DeepSeek, America and the EU are getting it wrong and how it will divide the best from the rest
👎🏻 OpenAI rejects Elon Musk’s bid to gain control of the company
🦄 The five UK fintechs tipped reach unicorn status
⛓️ R3's Corda reaches USD 10 billion in on-chain assets
🦉 Lloyds partners with ‘Duolingo of money’ to target Gen Z
MEDIA & MARKETING
💸 Why private equity firms are investing in creative agencies
🎙️ How we work: Setting up and running a B2B podcast
👨🏼💻 How to optimise blog content for better conversions
🙋🏻♂️ CMO job moves and hiring trends to watch
📲 B2B social media marketing: How to create your strategy
The last word
⑦ Martha Lane Fox on Trump’s dismantling of DEI programs in the US:
“There is so much more national opportunity to be had by creating a more inclusive and diverse business community than by diminishing its importance. Not only could we create more economic equity but we will have increased UK competitiveness.”
Don’t settle for marketing.
Strive for InMarketing.
Wishing you a productive week,
