Presence Marketing Helps HBSC Build Foot Traffic

Who says banking can’t be fun? When HSBC Bank USA wanted New Yorkers to know of its presence in their neighborhoods, it set up faux game shows, complete with real prizes, in front of local branches. The result was increased brand awareness and foot traffic, and even new accounts.

Working with New York-based Renegade Marketing Group, HSBC ran the Smart Wheel promotion in August and September. Renegade set up the games outside more than 30 New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County branches, complete with a prize wheel, a tuxedoed host, and a hostess in a red-sequined dress. The marketing teams asked consumers trivia questions about New York, gave away premiums, and dangled a chance to win an HSBC-branded Cadillac STS.

“There is something wonderfully arresting about seeing a man on the street in red-sequined tails standing next to an attractive hostess in a red evening dress spinning a giant red-and-white wheel,” says Drew Neisser, Renegade’s president/CEO. “This is not an expected sight in Buffalo, Rochester, or even Manhattan for that matter.”

Neisser describes the campaign as an example of the effect of cognitive dissonance. “It is human nature to ignore things that are not part of your life and routine. The Smart Wheel broke up the routine and created a reason for consumers to take notice of the [HSBC] branch that was right in front of them all along,” he says.

Every participant of the Smart Wheel game won a piggybank-shaped keychain, which had to be claimed inside the branch. Once there, consumers were engaged by HSBC staff, who could answer questions about the bank, help interested consumers open accounts, and encourage existing customers to upgrade theirs.

“Since most people typically walk or drive right by a branch unless they were planning to go in, this promotion was particularly successful at changing traffic patterns and getting people to notice the branch and the promotion,” Neisser says.

The primary measure of the Smart Wheel promotion was traffic into the branch. One branch, for example, had more than 700 visitors the day of its event, which Neisser says is more than seven times its usual daily traffic. A secondary measure of this promotion was the quality of the brand experience, and Neisser reports that consumers told him that the game was highly engaging and universally liked.

“The element of surprise stopped people, the game itself got them involved and the fact that every player won a prize completed the brand experience,” Neisser says. “Several players told their friends about the game, and better yet, many came back with friends in tow.”

The promotion even led some Smart Wheel participants to open accounts with HSBC. Because changing banks is not something one typically does spontaneously, this was a terrific side benefit of the promotion, Neisser says. As for the other game participants who haven’t taken action yet, “many of these folks will convert to HSBC customers when the typical catalysts for changing banks occur like a getting new job or a new home,” Neisser says. “When these life changes occur, they will be far more likely to think of HSBC than they were before encountering the Smart Wheel.”