Chinese Banks Try Self-Promotion
Hard Facts, Not Gauzy Image,
Are Focus of Ad Campaigns
As Competition Draws Near
SHANGHAI -- China's banks traditionally never had to work for customers. Instead, they were state-run companies that offered the same basic savings accounts.
Now, on the cusp of a wave of increased competition from foreign entrants, the nation's banks are ramping up advertising spending.
China's banks are rushing to promote themselves as the long-awaited opening of the banking market in December draws closer, when World Trade Organization rules dictate that foreign banks should start getting access to the market. Chinese banks worry they could lose customers to the new foreign entrants.
In most cases, their ads are different from the fuzzy, brand-building ads that Western banks often prefer. Chinese banks are spending money on detailed advertisements in the mainstream media, in part because of a lack of direct-mail advertising. To digest data and product specifications in a typical ad, it can even help to have a calculator handy.
In a series of two-minute infomercials on Shanghai TV, for example, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China customers are depicted weighing the profit potential of deposit options with their banker after an interest-rate increase. A China Construction Bank magazine advertisement, topped by a photo of a family enjoying Disneyland, uses hundreds of words to explain a credit-card promotion. China Minsheng Banking announces its "T Plan" savings account with a bold headline -- and a complex table that shows the maximum payout of 3.02%.
Just four Chinese banks split nearly 70% of the market's $1.9 trillion in individual deposits, so building name recognition isn't necessary. Bank of China alone has 118 million individual depositors, 200,000 employees and 11,000 branches.
Instead of brand-building by the banks, "we've seen more in China around products and specifics," says Oliver Stratton, head of the banking practice in Hong Kong at Bain & Co., a consulting firm. Bain estimates Chinese financial institutions are spending as much as $450 million annually on advertising -- much of it to promote credit cards, which bankers consider a way to get a foot in the door with customers. Television is estimated to account for 70% of the spending.
Some bank annual reports say the banks are lifting advertising spending by one-third from the previous year. A number of banks and advertising agencies declined to comment about their specific campaigns.
In addition to fending off new competition, the banks are trying to boost revenue from consumers. The challenge for deposit-flush Chinese banks is to prove their own financial savvy and nudge customers into new products -- from credit cards to foreign-currency accounts -- that generate fees.
Tom Doctoroff, chief executive at WPP Group's JWT agency in Shanghai, says Chinese customers respond to "tools to help you succeed."
But Chinese banks are thrusting inherently complex products at people who a decade ago couldn't even get a home mortgage from their bank. Also, product minutiae are pumped into mainstream media like newspapers and magazines because Chinese banks often don't send monthly statements, eliminating a favored U.S. marketing channel: direct mail.
In a fact-crammed, 15-second TV spot, Bank of Communications shows restaurant diners flying through the air with a credit card to pay their bill -- and a chance to win in a marketing promotion. ICBC also pushes specifics of various products with colorful ads on a big Web-site portal, sina.com.
Even some global players, such as HSBC Holdings, known for more general image-building campaigns elsewhere, have added detail to promotions in China.
To be sure, some Chinese bank marketing focuses more on image than financial details, such as Bank of China's sponsorship of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and its pick of skater Yang Yang as Image Ambassador.
中国银行业风行务实广告
中国的银行业原来从不需要为争取客户动脑筋。作为国有企业，它们向居民提供基本的储蓄服务，且服务内容别无二致。
而现在，身处海外同行竞争大潮的风口浪尖上，中国的银行业正在大幅增加广告支出。
随着12月底这一国内银行市场对外开放的最后期限日益临近，各家银行开始争先恐后地对外推销自己，它们担心自己的客户会被外资银行抢去。中国在加入世界贸易组织(WTO)时承诺，将在今年年底之前对外资银行开放国内市场。
相关报导
? 中国网络广告市场方兴未艾
? “剧情广告”走红日本
与西方银行倾向于做内容笼统的形像广告不同，中国的银行选择了在主流媒体上做内容详细的业务广告，这在一定程度上是因为直邮广告在中国还不发达。要搞懂它们在这类广告中罗列的数据和产品说明，甚至需要借助一台电子计算器。
以中国工商银行(Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd.)在上海电视台所做的2分钟资讯广告为例，电视画面上银行客户在得知加息的消息后正与银行工作人员探讨着选择哪类存款更合算。而在中国建设银行(China Construction Bank Corp.)的一则杂志广告上，一张全家逛迪斯尼乐园的照片赫然在目，旁边配以数百字的信用卡促销文案。中国民生银行(China Minsheng Banking Corp.)的广告则以大字标题突出宣传其“T计划”，并配以一张复杂的图表，显示该项目的最高回报率为3.02%。中信银行(Citic Bank)一则宣传黄金投资的广告也同样细致入微。
鉴于中国1.9万亿美元居民储蓄存款的近70%都存在了四大国有银行，因此扩大知名度并非这些银行的当务之急。仅中国银行(Bank of China Ltd.)就有1.18亿个个人储蓄帐户，20万名员工以及11,000家分支机构，而美国花旗集团(Citigroup)在全球100个国家的客户也不过2亿。
咨询机构贝恩公司(Bain & Co.)在香港的银行事务负责人奥利弗?斯特拉顿(Oliver Stratton)说，中国的银行更注重做详细的产品广告，而非形像广告。贝恩公司估计，中国各金融机构每年的广告支出高达4.5亿美元，其中大多数都用在了促销信用卡上，银行家们认为广告可以拉近他们与客户的距离。银行业约70%的广告支出用在了电视广告上。
一些银行的年报显示，它们的广告支出比上一年增加了三分之一。许多银行和广告公司拒绝具体评论各家银行的广告促销行动。
除了要将新来的竞争者挡在门外，各银行也正努力从客户身上赚取更多收入。对于吸收了大量存款的中国各家银行来说，其面临的挑战是要向客户证明其高明的理财手段，并劝说客户体验从信用卡到外汇帐户等一系列新的金融产品，以便自己能从中赚取服务费。
WPP Group驻沪广告机构JWT的首席执行长唐瑞涛(Tom Doctoroff)说，中国客户对“帮你成功的工具”感兴趣。
但各家银行在推销其复杂金融产品时面对的是一些10年前还不知按揭贷款为何物的广告受众。此外，由于中国的银行往往不向客户每月寄对帐单，因此它们只能通过报纸、杂志等主流媒体发布产品说明书，直邮这种在美国行之有效的营销渠道在中国却畅通不起来。
在交通银行(Bank of Communications Co.)的一则15秒电视广告中，用信用卡付帐的餐馆食客获得了在信用卡促销中赢大奖的机会。工商银行则通过互联网门户网站新浪网(sina.com)来详细宣传其各种金融产品。
甚至汇丰银行(HSBC)这类在别的国家更偏重做形像广告的跨国银行也在中国推出了内容详细的产品促销广告。
当然，中国也有一些银行将形像广告置于较产品促销广告更优先的位置，比如中国银行就获得了2008年北京奥运会的赞助商资格，它还挑选短道速滑运动员杨扬作自己的形像大使。一些知名度较低的银行做广告只是为了让人们知道自己的存在，比如在中国光大银行(China Everbright Bank)的一则电视广告中，画面上出现的只是一个欢天喜地走入万花筒的小女孩以及一位像弹奏竖琴般拨弄着喷泉的妇女。
即使一些强调企业形像的广告也会附上产品介绍。比如在招商银行(China Merchants Bank Co.)一则报纸广告中，虽然葵花向太阳的画面占据了主要版面，以喻该行时刻想着客户的需求，但详细介绍招商银行最近上市融资的文字也赫然在目。
James T. Areddy
