Why is this work relevant for PR?

PayPal’s approach to our 2018 mCommerce Index is a prime example of B2B PR engagement with earned storytelling at the core. The approach reflects a response to the legacy of the PayPal brand in the Australian market (and growing list of competitors in the financial services space), a creative approach to storytelling to reach our target audiences and getting cut through on a budget. It also builds on insights data collated from previous iterations of the mCommerce index to develop a high-impact, earned-centric campaign that delivered real business results.

Background

Situation: With new disruptors and fintechs entering the market, PayPal Australia faced the risk of being positioned as the incumbent payment provider, the ‘old guard’ of digital payments. Corruption revelations and the Royal Commission saw trust in financial institutions fall to record low levels (i). Banks threw money at the problem, outspending PayPal by as much as $73 to $1, and attempted to distract Australians with retail-focused messaging (ii). Brief: Reinvigorate PayPal’s mCommerce Index (launched 2016) to ensure PayPal stood out in this sea of distrust, outsmarting competitors and reaching new audiences. Objectives: · Arm Australian small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) with practical insights · Reach new audiences in new formats and forums, maximising information available through an integrated approach to assets and materials · Create a business development tool for PayPal, giving the sales and marketing teams valuable insights to share with their customers

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

In addition to creating a fully integrated media and internal business engagement campaign, PayPal recognised an opportunity to extend the research report to reach a key segment not previously covered by the mCommerce index and to tie into ever-growing numbers – female entrepreneurs and business builders. We partnered with Business Chicks, Australia’s largest and most influential community for women and a trusted source within the business and media space to condense our long-standing report into a Masterclass video ‘How to make your business more mobile friendly’ which provided tips, advice and tactics to help business owners up-skill and ultimately drive sales. We also developed a range of assets designed specifically for targeted use by our sales and business developments teams, government relations teams and marketing and communications functions. This was an end to end creative strategy with clear business objectives in mind.

Describe the strategy (30% of vote)

PayPal’s primary audience are SMBs who sell online and are prospective/existing customers. Since launching in 2016, the mCommerce Index has supported SMBs through digital transformation by providing insights and advice about mCommerce and other trends disrupting retail. The Index is split across two waves each year – the May Trends Report, and the September Index. Ahead of the September edition, we knew that SMB owners were increasingly time poor. One of the biggest challenges they face is the amount of information available and knowing how to apply it. PayPal research also showed that 86% of SMB owners felt stressed in the lead up to Christmas, because they knew 43% of their revenue comes from to Christmas . Based on these insights, we developed an engaging and accessible strategy for SMBs to digest report insights and understand how they could apply them to set themselves up for success before Christmas.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

Media Relations: We executed a multi-tiered earned media strategy targeting key broadcast, radio, print and online publications, leveraging key insights and trends - the rise of subscription models and online marketplaces – to create a timely and mediagenic narrative. Business Chicks PayPal Australia’s Masterclass – ‘How to make your business more mobile friendly’ Key outtakes - ‘Here’s The 3 Things You Need to Know If You Have an Online Business in 2018’ - were included in an EDM sent to Business Chicks’ 110,000 subscribers and amplified via LinkedIn & Facebook. Marketing Outputs: • Owned content on the PayPal Australia blog, emails and web banners; • Featured stories in the PayPal Biz Newsletter; • Optimised experience for SMBs using an updated landing page • Social media advertising and sponsored posts across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram • Sharing eye-catching illustrated creative assets to demonstrate thought leadership and knowledge of SMBs.

List the results (30% of vote) – must include at least two of the following tiers:

Business Outcomes: • 76 new SMBs activated a PayPal account, a further 45 resumed usage of inactive accounts. • Mobile payment volume increased by 36.9 payment transactions per active account on a trailing twelve months basis, up 9% in 2018. • Activated and empowered PayPal’s sales team with the findings; kick started conversations with prospective customers. 2018 saw the Government Relations team use the report in a direct mail campaign. • Key findings are used as proof points within the B2B digital acquisition program. They are the highest performing creatives and are the most successful in converting audiences who were previously not responding to acquisition, with an average 19% higher Click Through Rate compared to non-mCommerce related messages. PR: Earned media drove activity across TV, radio and print. Our target was six top tier stories across the year: • Doubled KPIs and achieved thirteen top stories including CNBC, AFR, Daily Telegraph, news.com.au, AAP and mass radio coverage; over 428 pieces • Total AU media reach of 28 million across the two reports • CNBC broadcast to 21 markets in APAC and reached 400 million+ Marketing Outputs: • 11,038 unique website visits - average dwell time of 0:03:07, increases of 7% and 3% compared to 2017. • Paid media saw 30,779 clicks to site, an 80% increase YoY. 132% lift in CTR YoY, delivering at 0.20% for the campaign overall. • Average time on site increased 3% YoY from 0:03:01 to 0:03:07