Slobbering over home loan trough

The ANZ attempted to cash in on the BNZ's Pig Tales campaign.

Financial institutions are raiding their substantial piggy banks to fund a hotly-fought battle for the nation's mortgage and term deposit business.

The Bank of New Zealand is the latest big spender. It splashed out on "roadblock" TV advertising over the weekend - ads running simultaneously on the main free-to-air channels - to launch Pig Tales, its new brand campaign intended to engender a warm and engaging image.

The launch of the ads, featuring cartoon piggy banks on holiday at a Queenstown-style resort, followed a week of "teaser" advertising centred on the disappearance of the nation's piggy banks.

The teaser campaign - on TV, bus shelters, and in newspapers - even prompted competitor ANZ to try cashing in on the piggy bank theme with a last-minute "guerrilla" newspaper campaign suggesting it knew where all the porkers had gone.

Financial institutions spent $164 million on advertising last year, according to Nielsen Media Research. That figure, which does not include the money paid to advertising agencies to develop campaigns, looks set to rise this year as lenders battle for a slice of one of the industry's most lucrative earners: the 2-year fixed mortgage.

The aftermath of a mortgage price war in late 2004 means that around the end of this year $36.5 billion worth of mortgage money - 42 per cent of the market - will be looking for a new home.

BNZ's general manager of marketing and business development, Shona Bishop, said the timing of the bank's Pig Tales brand relaunch was not related to the flood of mortgage renewals.

"This is not a one-hit wonder campaign. You will see Pig Tales continue for a substantial period of time," she said.

"While there are some peaks in customers looking for a home loan this year, there will be another peak on something else next year."

The strategy behind Pig Tales - a radical change in how the bank projects itself - was about "aiming to win hearts and minds and widen our brand appeal," Bishop said.

"It's about confidence and a different position. It's about fun and warmth and engagement. For us as a company, that's really who we are. Perhaps we haven't shown that publicly enough."

The campaign followed a change of advertising agencies for BNZ after long-time partner Colenso BBDO was replaced by Y&R at the end of last year.

Y&R chief executive Jon Ramage, who was with Colenso when it held the account, said BNZ were brave to go with the piggy bank theme, but needed to ensure they differentiated themselves from the competition.

The theme of the campaign had been rigorously tested and met with an "overwhelmingly positive" response from customers who found it warm and "emotionally engaging" Bishop said.

But Dave Bibby, a senior lecturer in advertising and marketing at AUT, remained unconvinced. He said he found the campaign "cute, curious and confusing". As a prime target for bank mortgage business himself, he felt the campaign lacked an element of credibility.

"It appeals to the child in us, everybody relates to a piggy bank. Having said that, I'm not sure that's the way to appeal to people in my demographic [a near-60-year-old with home and investment property borrowings]," he said.

"I'm not quite sure what the benefit is they're trying to put across."

Bibby said he was also bemused by ANZ's "guerrilla" attempt to cash in on the piggy bank theme.

"I'm surprised ANZ bothered to take credit for something that was relatively confusing. I guess the only successful outcome was that they've muddied the waters a wee bit. If you're a brand leader you don't acknowledge other brands."

Bibby said one marketing strategy used very effectively by the country's major banks was sponsorship.

Being seen as supporting popular events or organisations helped to build credibility and brand position in the finance sector which was increasingly driven by "sales promotion" activity, Bibby said.

"At the end of the day what their advertising is trying to do is give them credibility with the punters - because it's almost a commodity market - it's like the petrol business really."