Juggling global with local views

Upon joining HSBC Singapore in 2003, the scale of the new challenge facing Wendy Lim was brought home from the least likely of sources -- her mother. As the bank's senior vice-president and head of country marketing recounts, her mother was less than impressed that Lim had left the environs of Citibank for "a Hong Kong bank". "I knew I had a big task in front of me when I had to justify my move to HSBC," recalls Lim, noting that the encounter crystallised the nature of the brand challenge then facing the bank in Singapore. Commonly referred to by its old moniker -- 'Hongkong Bank' -- HSBC's positioning as a blue-chip global contender had yet to seep into the local consciousness, thanks in part to a fledgling retail presence that was barely three years old at the time. "The brand campaign launched in 2001, so everything is relatively new," explains Lim. "If you look at some of our competition, they have had a headstart, so we are definitely the new kid on the block." Like many savvy marketers before her, Lim has embraced the situation, leveraging HSBC's challenger status to unveil a range of marketing communications campaigns that have caught the eye. This year alone, an HSBC retirement planning execution recreated an underwater world at a bus shelter, while an insurance campaign saw a 'measuring tape' bellyband inserted into Today newspaper. As Lim explains, the critical issue is to ensure that all of the bank's target audiences are involved in the dialogue, rather than focusing too closely on the nascent retail business, or its longstanding wholesale customer base. "The objective for me is really to look at making it relevant to the target audience," Lim notes. "There is a role for us to try to extend the brand to make it relevant to different groups." This task is helped by the centralised structure of the bank, which Lim believes is a rarity among Singapore players. "Most of the other banks are in silos -- at best, you will have centralised customers. HSBC is the only really centralised bank in Singapore -- that gives me the opportunity to manage the brand." Lim's career prior to HSBC has provided an apt background for her current role, which requires her to juggle the marketing demands of disparate product groups under a single brand flag. At Citibank, she worked on the wealth management, investment management and loans sides of the business, while an earlier stint in the AT&T regional marketing team brought home the realities of pan-Asian marketing. "I have toggled between local and regional, and having both perspectives helps -- especially in a large global company," says Lim. "A lot of people have friction with group/regional but, having done that job, it actually allows me to work more easily." Most recently, of course, HSBC launched its new global brand campaign, the first since the bank switched its advertising and media accounts to WPP Group from Lowe. The new blitz aims to take the successful 'World's local bank' positioning a little deeper, by emphasising the different perspectives of individual consumers. In Singapore, the campaign has so far involved outdoor and online in cooperation with creative and media partners, JWT and MindShare respectively. "It's really looking at the different media and different objectives," says Lim of the bank's global and local marketing campaigns. "We have been very willing to try new things. Unfortunately, in a market where it's such a monopoly of media choices, you just have to give new things a go." And making sure that HSBC is no longer seen simply as 'Hongkong Bank' provides added fuel for Lim's brand offensive. "It forces us to be more creative."