2013 Gold Financial Services and Utilities

Client Royal Bank of Scotland/NatWest

Other Contributors Sapient Nitro – Digital build

How did the campaign make a difference? The target audience (parents) often reject what they perceive to be unnecessary technology, but are easily influenced by their kids to use newer technologies. This campaign got students to ask their parents for cash, introducing them to Get Cash. In 24 hours, over 2,200 unique songs were sent, asking recipients to download the app and send money. Downloads experienced an average uplift of 63%. Usage increased from a value of £7,500 to over £1.2m.

What details of the strategy make this a winning entry? Parents are easily influenced and encouraged by their kids to use newer technologies, as their kids educate them about the benefits and ease of use. The strategy was therefore to engage with parents by using their kids as the catalyst and start to alter their perceptions of the mobile banking app. A high ratio of parents and children share the same bank. To add context and relevance to the story, specific parent/child interplays were chosen, as well as the time of year. The September delivery date coincided with the start of the university academic year. Via the narrative of running out of money and asking mum and dad for a little financial help, students became the conduit to communicate with the parent segment. This allowed for greater emotional cut-through compared to talking directly to this audience segment.

How did creativity bring the strategy to life? The foundation of the campaign was a YouTube homepage takeover. A personalised video maker allowed students to create their own video to send to a relative; it was hosted by the musical comedy duo Barnaby and Richard, who relayed the students' requests through a cheeky, catchy song. The completed song was generated and a link emailed. This was supported by a Get Cash demo video, also hosted on the RBS/NatWest YouTube channels.

Results The homepage masthead achieved excellent engagement. The video maker experienced an interaction rate of 11.9% (industry average 4.94%) with an average interaction time of over 11 seconds and a click-through rate of 0.35% (benchmark 0.11%). In just 24 hours, over 2,200 songs were created. The coverage gained led to an increase of 520% in traffic to the RBS/NatWest mobile landing pages. The Get Cash demo video trended at five in the 'Popular videos around the Web' list at youtube.com/charts during the weekend following campaign launch.