Results and Effectiveness

Just two weeks into the campaign, which culminated in a YouTube vote, an HSBC-branded online banner scored 23,017,372 impressions and 17,545 clicks, while 32,677 visitors watched competition video clips. After seven days, the campaign’s iPhone application ranked among the top 11 of 150 weather apps offered by the platform. In terms of business result, over 1 million of HSBC customers have switched to eStatement since campaign launch.

Creative Execution

The team recruited Sammi, a hugely-popular Commercial Radio Hong Kong DJ, who was keen to star in his own production to kick off the YouTube video-clip competition. Demonstrating a flair for comedic drama, Sammi played a “goonish green” who flies into a rage over the needless avalanche of paper generated by Hong Kong. Videos soon flooded into YouTube after being shot on mobile phones and camcorders, pushing the HSBC-branded channel to No.1 in a league table of locally-viewed YouTube favourites. Working with the Hong Kong Observatory, the team also created an iPhone application for free download. This provided daily forecasts and enabled users to compare current temperatures with records stretching back 10 years – to illustrate the effect of global warming.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

HSBC eStatement campaign successfully leverage on environment urgency to create dialogue with customers. Campaign not only turn an engaging UGC platform into an advertising channel, and also invite media partners & audience to be part of campaign in creating their green message. This campaign successfully arouse urgency by deliver engaging content in environmental friendly medium, we scored two major Hong Kong “firsts” by being the first to use a branded YouTube contest channel and first to launch a free iPhone weather forecast application as a promotional tool. Prompt for action in every touch point, while audiences are engaging at perfect state of mind. This campaign potentially interacts with 60% of Hong Kong population. Heavy usage on social media platform included unbranded viral email, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, as well as TV screens on buses and at Pacific Coffee and McDonald’s outlets, where customers were urged to enter the competition.