#LEAwards 2021 highlight: Maybank SG's digital blitz drives loyalty among younger card members

Most of us – if not all – carry more than one bank card with us, so that we may selectively enjoy the benefits from each card. Maybank saw that as an opportunity to provide the best of all worlds for cardholders. Maybank Singapore wanted cardholders to decide their own benefits. By curating several cashback categories that can be customised on a yearly basis, alongside developing two new card designs that adopt a minimalistic outlook, Maybank was able to offer a one-stop solution to an issue many of us go through without giving much thought over.

Maybank’s ability to identify an underlying problem to what was deemed normal to consumers and come up with a solution that fits all secured them a spot as a finalist for Best Loyalty Programme – Launch / Re-Launch at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE’s Loyalty & Engagement Awards 2021.

Challenge

Maybank noticed that customers were often frustrated with pre-determined card benefits that may not be fully relevant to them, who then apply for multiple cards in order to enjoy different benefits offered on various card programmes. Furthermore, card benefits offered on customers' existing cards may become obsolete as they progress into different stages in life.

The Maybank Family and Friends Card cashback categories were determined by the bank using its customers’ historical data on their spend behaviour. Despite using data to curate the top essential cashback categories for the product, Maybank was still unable to cater to all customers of different lifestyles and life stages.

After considering customers’ sentiments and feedback, Maybank Singapore wanted to create a timeless card with the refresh or relaunch of its Maybank Family and Friends Card. Through this, Maybank wanted to increase the acquisition of new customers of all ages and lifestyle, improve customer engagement by allowing customisation of benefits, and improve customer retention by staying relevant throughout their different life stages; whereby customers will have the flexibility to change their benefits annually.

Strategy

Maybank spent over a year in preparation for the relaunch. About SG$1 million was spent on the system enhancement – to facilitate personalisation of card design and cashback categories – and launch communications. As part of its strategy, Maybank curated eight cashback categories: groceries, dining and food delivery, transport, data communication and online TV streaming, retail and pets, online fashion, entertainment, and pharmacy and wellness.

Customers could select their preferred cashback categories via “Maybank TREATS SG”, Maybank’s lifestyle mobile application. The eight cashback categories offered were also parameterised backend, with the flexibility to be expanded or substituted according to the evolving needs of the market.

Maybank also introduced two new card designs to appeal to younger customers. The brand found that minimalistic card designs have been gaining popularity among the Millennials, and hence decided to develop clean-looking cards that come in silver chrome and lilac chrome.

In addition, Maybank wanted to allow card members to track and maximise their cashback earnings. To this end, the brand developed a “Benefit Optimiser” dashboard within the app to help cardmembers keep track of their spending in each category.

The dashboard allowed cardmembers to know if they have met the required spend for the month in order to be eligible for the 8% cashback, as well as the cashback awarded under each category based on their spend amount. With this feature, customers can now better plan their spending across the various categories they have selected to maximise their cashback monthly.

Lastly, to promote social responsibility, Maybank provided cardholders with the flexibility to donate their cash back to Maybank Charity of Choice and enjoy tax deductions on their cashback donation at the same time.

Execution

Maybank adopted a multi-channel approach for its campaign, with an objective of driving landing page hits to the F&F Take Control web page to drive consideration and sign-ups, as well as building reach against core audience segments to generate consideration.

To showcase the new benefits of the refreshed Family and Friends Card, Maybank decided to use video, with a mobile-first intention. As such, the videos were specifically shot in 4:5 aspect ratio to fill up the entire mobile screen, unlike the traditional 16:9 or 1:1 aspect ratio. This created a better viewing experience for many of us who are on the phone most of the time.

Maybank left no stone unturned and delivered its video and media assets across selected traditional, digital, and OOH advertising platforms; with the focus of mobile-first. the brand also engaged mid to high-tier key opinion leaders to promote the card, who featured their spending at grocery stores and getting around at MRT stations.

For existing customers, the campaign was communicated via internal channels such as ATM machines and the TREATS SG app. An SMS was also sent out to its existing Family and Friends card members to communicate on the refreshed card benefits.

As the primary delivery platform for the campaign was mobile, most of Maybank's digital buys were targeted towards mobile users across Facebook, YouTube, Google Networks, and other programmatic networks. To re-target those who have seen the advertisements, the brand enhanced the always-on SEO/SEM by adjusting the ad copies of its credit card campaign to feature the new Maybank Family and Friends Card. All the digital assets had their unique tracking UTM codes in URLs and QR codes to measure awareness and conversion.

To amplify its reach, Maybank also created OOH assets that targeted the heartlands areas, bus stop shelters, SMRT trains and platform doors, and retail malls. Lastly, Maybank was confident in the new card’s benefits and placed a safe bet on word of mouth. KOLs and other micro-influencers stepped up to help promote the benefits with their own applied cards, which was a great testament to a long beneficial loyalty initiative.

Results

The relaunch of the Family and Friends Card was met with resounding success, as Maybank saw higher customer engagement, which led to improved card spend and card active rate. Furthermore, it was able to increase card base driven by higher acquisition by 100%, based on monthly run-run. The brand was also able to achieve greater customer loyalty and retention, on the basis that cardmembers can re-select the most relevant cashback categories yearly to suit their lifestyle needs.