The Brand
Newcastle Permanent Building Society (NPBS)
The Media
Outdoor, Radio, Digital, TV
The Objective
Exceed average market growth by 5% and address consideration and awareness challenges specific to key regions (Newcastle, Northern Rivers, Mid-North Coast).
The Brief
With Newcastle Permanent significantly outspent by the bigger banks (The Big 4) on its own regional heartland, achieving audience cut through would be no easy feat. The subsequent brief: To develop a new brand platform and execute it through strategic media placements.
The Execution
Newcastle Permanent had something the big 4 didn’t – local insight. The ‘Surprisingly Good Local Banking’ campaign leveraged just this. The down-to-earth tagline “Not bad” was paired with inside jokes that locals would be more likely to notice, understand and appreciate.
This messaging rolled out over traditional and digital formats. Starting broad with 15′ sec teasers, the first iteration of ads featured regional moments across TV, digital and outdoor placements. Later, the focus became more narrow, hyper-local messaging targeted locals across outdoor, buses, radio and digital.
The combination of strategic targeting and authenticity in messaging, resonated with locals. Making every dollar work harder in driving preference for Newcastle Permanent.
The Results
Although smaller in budget, the insight behind this locals-only creative was something the big 4 banks couldn’t pull off with the same authenticity. Overall the campaign achieved:
- Increased home loan customers at a rate 11% higher than the industry average
- More than doubled the target goal (5% higher than industry average)
- Consideration and unprompted awareness significantly increased during the campaign as well.
“Although we have smaller budgets compared to the big banks, our advantage is a deeper understanding of regional towns and suburbs, allowing us to connect with locals over things only they would know about.” James Cudmore – Newcastle Permanent Chief Customer and Product Officer.
