The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) is one of the biggest banking and financial institutions in the entire world. Serving over 39 million customers, HSBC's global support network extends up to 62 countries.
The bank has a rich and diverse history that spans over 158 years. It is listed on several global stock exchanges and has stepped up its ESG efforts to become a climate-conscious business.
This HSBC campaign, which was submitted for the D&AD Young Blood Awards, is another of my favourite Humber projects. As a part of our group course work for Ad Studio 2, we were asked to choose our favourite competition brief and devise a creative campaign for the chosen brand.
As a team, we decided to appeal to HSBC's internationalists. The ask was to craft a compelling narrative that unveils the full potential of HSBC's global networks for the internationalist audience in a specified priority market. This endeavour was a synergistic effort involving a stellar team comprising:
The Brief:
The brief, as set by HSBC for the competition, sought a campaign to revitalize HSBC's global brand image. The target defined was that of internationalists who are optimistic, ambitious for growth, and appreciative of diverse perspectives. A big consideration within the brief was to tailor the campaign to feel authentic and relatable to ONE of the following markets: MENAT, India, ASEAN, or China while maintaining international appeal.
The Process:
As account managers, Ujjwal and I started our research by a deep study of the brief. This was followed by a secondary research into HSBC's business operations, culture and market presence. A key finding from this research? HSBC's gigantic relevance in the MENAT region. Here's how we substantiated our target audience for the campaign.
We also created a target persona for the brand - Amir Abdullah. He is what we consider an ideal HSBC customer who's always on the lookout for whatever comes next.
Post this, we proceeded to extract a creative brief from the larger brief.
Creative Brief:
Get: Ambitious professionals who conduct business across continents and time zones
To: Recognize that HSBC supports the idea of ‘desiring more’
By: Telling them that the philosophy of success begins with “more is never enough”
Insight:
When it comes to ambitions, there's no such thing as "enough".
Big Idea:
HSBC lets you pursue your ambitions, wherever they may take you.
Research and Strategy:
Our research and target market realization heavily informed our insight and big idea. Once we had our creative idea locked in place, it was very easy to conceptualize our campaign. The creative team strategically designed OOHs that would empower the ambitious clientele of HSBC. Beyond this, we brainstormed and came up with conceptual social and experiential activations that would further elevate the idea of 'whatever comes next'.
Executions:
Master Creatives (OOHs):
Social Media:
Campaign Activations:
Comments