The Challenge

Halifax had become a plc in 1997 but the transformation in ownership structure was not matched by major business success. Although it was retaining share in mortgages and savings it was losing current account business.

A new chairman and chief executive Lord Stevenson and James Crosby developed a strategy of “extraordinary growth”, with a commitment to steal market share from the big four clearing banks.

The focus of the campaign would be the current account, the anchor product in the banking business, backed up by credit card and mortgage activity. The pair set aggressive acquisitions targets of 400,000 customers in 2001, double the average achievement of the previous three years.

The most profitable acquisitions were switchers, people who moved their current account from one bank to another. The challenge was that this was a small sector of the market and to hit the target Halifax would either have to take 40% of the switchers or grow the market by a third.

It created a new current account product – paying significantly more interest than rivals – and decided that it would communicate like a retailer rather than a bank.

That meant a focus on substance – rather than adopting the traditional split with the brand message between TV and detail in press. The campaign would also boost staff morale by using staff as spokespeople in the ads.

The TV Solution

The strategy broke on Boxing Day 2000 with a current account ad staring Howard Brown from the Sheldon Branch. That execution was followed by a credit card ad with Yvonne McBride from the Belfast branch in February and a mortgage ad staring Matt Thornfield from Halifax branch breaking on April 8.

All three 60-second ads showed the staff members singing classic songs reworded to convey the brand and the product message. Cut down 20-second versions of the Howard ad also appeared later in year.

The TV work was backed up by aggressive press advertising highlighting the price comparison with rival products. Halifax also significantly increased its TV budget with Nielsen Media Research figures showing spend in 2001 was £14.1m compared to the £8.9m spent in 2000.

“Nothing emphasises the importance of the contribution made by our front line colleagues better than the television advert featuring Howard Brown,”

Lord Stevenson, chairman, HBOS

Results

The commercials achieved massive cut-through and by October 2001 86% of the target market of adults with current accounts recognised the advertising.

The ads also pushed Halifax up the consideration chart. On current accounts Halifax jumped from seventh to first as soon as the Howard commercial broke and stayed there throughout 2001. Short-listing on credit cards and mortgages also improved.

Staff also liked the ad 76% agreeing that it represented them in a positive way and 78% agreeing that it had made the Halifax a real competitor to the other high street banks.

The strategy brought in business with 2001 beating its target by more than 25%. More than 500,000 new accounts were opened, a 150% uplift on previous performance. The new accounts boosted profitability with profit per account increasing by 43% in 2001.

The added benefit of the idea was the ability to transfer the approach to other media and improve performance. Direct mailings and online showed the impact, with the cost of credit card recruitment in the former media falling by £45 and click-through rates boosted significantly for share dealing, mortgages and web-saver accounts.

“We harnessed the power of TV to change the brand.”

Tim Male, head of advertising and media, HBOS