CASE STUDY: HSBC Red's mobile ads tempt women with free shoe offer

Background

Major mobile operator in the Philippines Globe Telecom teamed up with Out There Media to offer mobile advertising solutions to tier one advertisers including FMCG, fast-food and banking brands. HSBC was among the clients contributing to some US$4 million worth of advertising committed upon the launch of the offering on Globe Telecom.

Aim

HSBC wanted to reach Filipino women in Metro Manila and Cebu, aged 25 to 45 years of age, to encourage them to sign up for the female-targetted HSBC Red MasterCard. The campaign sought to drive uptake of the credit card by rewarding spending with complimentary shoes from major high street chain Charles & Keith.

Execution

In October 2010, HSBC Philippines toegther with their media agency partnered with Out There Media to promote and drive registrations for the women's HSBC Red MasterCard. The campaign offered a reward of complimentary shoes to consumers who register for the card.

Out There Media manages a mobile advertising channel consisiting of consumers who have chosen to opt-in to its next-generation permission-based programme with Globe Telecom in the Philippines. The channel currently consists of 1.7 million Globe Telecom subscribers.

Targetting females aged 25-45 in Metro Manila and Cebu, HSBC recahed subscribers by way of an SMS dialogue through which subscribers can simply reply with their personal details to register for the Red MasterCard. Their details are then passed to HSBC's customer service desk for a follow-up call.

Successful registrants who spent with the card were rewarded with 3 complimentary pairs of shoes.

Initial message: Want to take home free shoes from Charles & Keith? Reply Y today for free.

Call to action: Apply for a new HSBC Red Mastercard and get three pairs from Charles & Keith. To start reply Red, your name, contact number for free.

Follow through: HSBC will contact you within 48 hours. You can also visit Hsbc.com.ph to apply today. T&C apply.

Results

• 42.5 per cent of subscribers responded to the initial key message
• 34.9 per cent provided their personal details during registration
• 14.8 per cent total conversion rate.
• Cost per acquisition rate of PHP32.38 (USD$0.74)

There was an excellent first-day uptake, far exceeding client expectation of five per cent response rate to the initial message. There was also an overflow at the customer contact centre, and a campaign to continue with MMS and mobile site iterations.