With HSBC and Hang Seng quite active online over the past few years, it's a smart move for the top tier bank. However, its lack of experience in digital marketing is evident in the design and execution of this campaign.
The ad depicts a cartoon drawing of a basketball game to attract participants to a contest where they can win $15,000 in gift certificates. Only when you click through do you realise that it's not basketball but rather an eight-day investment game where you are required to hedge various currencies, use "news" to determine the direction of interest rates, and review interest rate yield charts to determine your next move. Meanwhile, a rather irritating basketball player cartoon flashes dirty looks as you work through the simulation. While the incentive to win $15,000 can draw a lot of leads, considering that you need at least US$10,000 to open one of these accounts, it is doubtful that Standard Chartered will attract the right leads.
Moreover, the campaign doesn't integrate with its website or offline message of "believing since 1853". Practice makes perfect, however, and I expect that Standard Chartered's next attempt should be a slam dunk.
