2014 Silver Best Use of Technology

Client Barclays

How did the campaign make a difference? In a world where customers' inboxes are bombarded with a relentless onslaught of generic, one-size-fits-all loan offers, Barclays has a point of difference – they are able to tell their customers exactly how much they could borrow before they apply.

They sent every customer a unique video tailored with the information they'd need to know about taking out a loan – especially their personal lending limit.

The project was one of the first to develop and execute a campaign featuring personalised video on such a scale in UK financial services. Over 40,000 variable data points were used to make a communication that was fully realised creatively: using an individual's information to dramatize the product benefits.

Strategy Emails about loans typically feature only limited personalisation. Merely using the word 'loan' often disengages those not looking to borrow immediately, while legal requirements can make emails long and complex – a vicious circle.

By giving customers all the personally relevant information they needed to make an informed decision, in a format that was engaging and easy to digest, Barclays could take the pain out of the loan consideration process.

Telling customers how much they can borrow removes the fear of rejection when considering applying. But few people knew Barclays could do this and those with no immediate borrowing needs had very little reason to open a generic lending email.

The strategy included engaging not just those in the market for a loan right now, but also put Barclays front of mind for those might want to borrow in the future.

Creativity Targeting and data selection was done using Teradata based upon a Lending Propensity Model, taking into consideration an array of behavioural, transactional and risk criteria to generate a personalised lending limit for eligible customers.

Key data sets (customer's name, loan amount, interest rate and term length – 40,000 variables in total) were used to create a bespoke video using the Idomoo/BTGS Personalised Video as a Service (PVaaS) platform. The customer's name was used in the voiceover and various visual elements, like a car number plate and house signage, to emphasise that the loan and video were personal. Customer data was even used to tailor the voiceover language – addressing those over 50 by title and surname and those under 50 just by their first name.

180,000 personalised videos were embedded via Experian Cheetahmail to play directly within mobile-optimised HTML5 emails.

Results The project was revelatory for Barclays – the first time they had combined insight, data and video technology to achieve this level of personalisation for their customers.

In the finance sector, this was a real breakthrough in personalising communications – with impressive engagement results.

Since the launch of the campaign in 493 Barclayloans taken out by customers have been directly attributable to the campaign.

The videos have proven a really compelling way to engage and educate customers about the personal lending amounts available to them, leading Barclays to consider how to use more personalised videos to enhance future communications.