Creating Variety Shows, Featuring Customers in Commercials... Savings Banks Diversify Marketing Strategies

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-seop] The marketing strategies of the savings bank industry are changing. Unlike in the past, when efforts to attract consumers were limited to offering preferential interest rates or launching high-interest special products, they are now supporting entertainment production or even engaging in participatory marketing.

According to the financial sector on the 20th, Pepper Savings Bank is supporting the production of Discovery Channel's original program "Sing Together." In the roulette game featured in the program, the name "Pepper Onni Pizza" is used, and prizes such as gift certificates worth 2 million KRW, 10 don of pure gold, 3 million KRW in cash, and 10 million KRW in monthly rent are provided.

In the case of SBI Savings Bank, last December they conducted a corporate PR campaign called "SBI is looking for SBI." The campaign aimed to share stories of families, friends, and pets whose initials are S.B.I. Among the submitted customer stories, three selected customers appeared directly in TV commercials.

OK Savings Bank is actively utilizing its group’s representative character, "Uttman," in YouTube marketing. The channel features parody videos starring the OK Savings Bank character "Uttman," as well as content such as cooking shows ("Cookbang") and ASMR. The flagship content, "Uttman Movingtoon," has attracted significant attention, with 7 out of the last 10 videos posted recently surpassing 1 million views. On the 19th, a cartoon book titled "The Uttman Story That Makes Your Heart Beat Like a Carrot" was published, themed around Uttman.

The change in marketing approaches in the savings bank industry is interpreted as a consensus that attracting customers solely through interest rate benefits has significant limitations. A savings bank official explained, "Originally, the main customer base of savings banks was the elderly, and product advertisements were based on regions, focusing on interest rates or limits. However, as interest rates have fallen and the market size has grown independently, marketing related to corporate image rather than direct interest rate advertisements has increased."

There is also analysis that this is part of a strategy to actively capture the 20s and 30s generation, who have high loan demand and high digital and mobile usage, ahead of the launch of open banking services. Another savings bank official said, "As industry competition intensifies and open banking services are dominated by commercial banks, it is necessary to improve positive perceptions of savings banks to attract the younger generation. This is a strategy to instill a positive image of savings banks among increasingly savvy customers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.