Known-faces front Citibank's HK retail banking splash

The move comes as Citibank is embroiled in a fiercely-competitive contest after interest rate deregulation forced banks to focus on fee-paying services.

This has seen HSBC market its Premier and Standard Chartered its Priority Banking services more aggressively.

This month, Citibank consolidated its media assignment, appointing The Media Edge as its agency of record for its US$20 million assignment to gain better economies of scale. The pair featured in Citibank's latest campaign are Yip Wing Sie, the conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and Siu Yat, a founder of internet marketing and IT solutions company, Outblaze.

The campaign, developed by the bank's global agency of record Dentsu Young & Rubicam, is the third for CitiGold in less than a year. All the executions use a similar concept - that of associating membership with status - however, the latest version uses better-known personalities.

"What we are saying is that CitiGold does not just provide services, it also provides status,

said DY&R Hong Kong general manager Luca Valdrighi.

"The major difference between the first and this latest phases is that, we have used more popular personalities with the aim of reaching a wider audience but not everyone,

he added.

Personalities used in previous campaigns included nutritionist Yue Man Sie and business management professor, Y.C. Chan.

Citibank said that DY&R had played a pivotal role in reaching its first phase business objectives, including business growth and customer perception.

CitiGold saw a 50 per cent increase in the number of new customers per month, while unaided brand awareness rose from 20 to 28 per cent, said the agency.