Hang Seng Bank Archives - MARKETECH APAC

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Bank has partnered with DDB Group Hong Kong for its latest anti-fraud campaign that uses Cantopop songs to help customers identify sophisticated financial scams.

Developed by DDB Group Hong Kong, the campaign uses familiar Cantopop songs with reworked lyrics to provide consumers with helpful information on financial scams. The song lyrics contain information on different types of fraud, including how to identify scam calls, tests, online sellers, and social accounts.

To ensure that the campaign also gains more traction, the song featured a lineup of artists such as Tonick, Per Se, Serrini, and Nancy Sit that can appeal to various demographics and cover the bank’s diverse customer base.

While this is not the first time that Hang Seng Bank has featured Cantopop artists in their campaigns, this is the first time that the bank has been able to incorporate financial messages into the melodies.

The campaign is Hang Seng Bank’s response to the increasing fraud cases in Hong Kong. The bank is investing their resources in ensuring that people have awareness of the various forms of fraud and that they understand the best prevention strategy to avoid becoming the next victim.

The songs are accompanied by music videos and a live performance at ‘Hang Seng Bank Anti-Fraud Music Concert’. In partnership with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the free concert featured all the singers performing their anti-fraud song renditions to heighten public awareness of fraud prevention.

Jordan Cheung, chief marketing officer at Hang Seng Bank, said, “Scams are a financial crime that can happen to anyone, and so we really want our customers to know what to look out for. At the same time, we understand cybersecurity is not something everyone is interested in. We hope creating easily digestible information in the form of well-loved Cantopop songs will be an effective way to get some important messages across to help protect our customers.”

Also speaking on the campaign, Koman Ko, managing partner at DDB Group Hong Kong, added, “We really enjoyed the challenge of decoding fraud information and creating more understandable messages in the form of catchy lyrics. We hope the outcome is entertaining and, most importantly, arms customers with information to protect themselves from being scammed.”

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Bank has recently launched a service concept branch depicting what the future of banking looks like. Said concept branch opened at the Festival Walk shopping centre.

The new branch features Hong Kong’s first smart teller, which combines a personalised service model with leading-edge digital technologies. Customers can use the smart banking counter located in the lobby of the new branch to conduct most types of banking services, including Hong Kong dollar, Renminbi and US dollar cash deposits of banknotes.

Moreover, it also features a digital branch service executive, which can provide assistance with most personal account-related enquiries, which enables customers to save time by removing the need to wait for traditional teller counters.

In addition, the ‘Future Banking’ concept puts strong emphasis on the ability to personalise e-banking services.

Diana Cesar, executive director and chief executive at Hang Seng, said, “Our ‘Future Banking’ service concept has been developed to meet the future needs of our customers. Our innovative approach, coupled with the adoption of advanced technologies and a sustainable development philosophy, allows us to offer our diverse customer base with creative, caring and forward-looking banking services.”

She added, “The opening of our new branch in Festival Walk also marks the beginning of our ‘Future Banking’ service commitment, which is fully aligned with Hang Seng’s brand values. We will continue to innovate and reinforce our position as a customer-centric industry leader, reflecting our vision to be ‘Ever Growing, Ever Innovating’ in the service of our clients.”

When brands are about to launch a campaign, oftentimes, enlisting a celebrity or social media influencer to be its face is the no-brainer next step. Earlier in 2022, we saw one banking brand turn this reality on its head. What would happen if a brand takes matters into its own hands and launch its very own influencer instead?

This was the case for Hong Kong-based Hang Seng Bank through the introduction of ‘Hazel’. Unveiled in January 2022, the virtual influencer embodied both the impressive technology of digital and the power of data to create a persona that would resonate well with consumers. Such direction has led them to become MARKETECH APAC’s ‘Innovation of the Year’ for 2022.

We spoke with Jordan Cheung, chief marketing officer at Hang Seng Bank, to better understand how ‘Hazel’ was conceptualised, and how, since her launch a year after, she’s remained relevant in the digital world.

Embodying the brand’s goals in a ‘red sea’ of advertising

Whilst banking used to have a bad rap as a complex endeavour saved only for smart and cerebral individuals, contemporary times now show otherwise–the youth are now considerably interested in taking ownership of their finances. This is where Hazel comes in.

In a bid to connect with the younger consumers and keep the brand’s persona fresh and interesting, Hazel was brought forth. Cheung said she represents a unique way of driving digital engagement.

The campaign launch video of Hang Seng Bank’s virtual influencer Hazel.

“The launch of Hazel aims at helping Hang Seng to [break through] from the advertising red ocean to secure the brand with top-of-mind awareness [showcase] our advantages on our online capabilities and offline networks, and [create] lasting impressions among our customers,” he said.

But before Hazel could be launched, Hang Seng Bank revealed that there had been a more intricate process which involved conducting a study amongst its consumer base – the 18 to 30 year-old bracket. Therefore, the Hazel we now have is the culmination of today’s youth’s unique values and persona.

As true to her slogan #AllOfTheAbove, she aspires to be independent, not wasting time to lead a life full of excitement; and is able to explore at will, try new ideas and experiences, and always ready to take on new opportunities.

“From a [post-campaign] research tracking, we got [around] 69% of positive verbatim from [the] young generation, with 59% [of] frequent digital users showed liking towards the campaign and 68% of [the] interviewees saying they will consider Hang Seng digital banking,” shared Cheung.

How Hazel built and retained her relevance

In the wide world of the Internet, influencers will always rise–and then some will fall. In order to stay relevant within social media, Cheung explained that they never stopped at Hazel appearing in one video, but instead took on multiple collaborations and launched new projects over time.

When Hazel was first introduced in January 2022, she already had a dedicated Instagram account, plus a song collaboration with Hong Kong-Canadian singer Jay Fung, ‘Always By My Side’. This was then followed by another partnership with actress-singer Laiying, which further got the attention of the music industry.

Hazel, as she appears on a collaboration with The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

But what would be the biggest one would be the tie up with The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), which featured Hazel donning concept sustainable costumes made by the institute’s graduates in Textiles & Clothing.

Among the highlighted collections are designs which symbolised the beauty and independence of modern-day women and the ‘beauty’ created by eco-friendly materials.

At present, Cheung revealed that Hazel is set to appear this 2023 at the bank’s metaverse branch in the virtual world, made in partnership with The Sandbox.

When asked about how they are able to manage to keep up with the trends while handling a virtual influencer, he noted that continuously understanding its fanbase helps keep them relatable.

“Understanding the trend (like how consumers are following authentic & relatable influencers

than those offering picture-perfect lifestyles), leveraging data & result to draw [insights,] and [to] keep exploring the newest technology is all what we have been focusing on,” Cheung said.

So, what’s next for Hazel?

With the launch of Hazel, Cheung said they have observed the market’s positive reception of virtual influencers, seen through the wide traction on Hazel’s Instagram page, with people voicing out that they want to see more of her.

“From YouTube Brand Lift Survey (BLS), we also [saw] a 10.7% increase in relative lift for ad recall, which is higher than industry average of 7 – 8%,” he noted.

As of this writing, she has garnered around 3,000 followers on Instagram, with contentincorporating a combination of her adventures and amplification towards the bank’s latest offerings, from promos to their services.

Cheung later said that for the foreseeable future, they are looking forward to combining the best of technology in AI and analytics to further improve Hazel’s digital reach.

“We’re working on bringing Hazel to the next level through latest technology like motion capture and AI that allows virtual and augmented interactions with customers – by then, Hazel can attend live interviews and offer live unboxing experience to audiences. We’re also actively looking at other collaboration ideas that can bring to live Hazel’s character and personality more,” he concluded.

This recognition is based on Google Analytics results on the most-read stories of 2022, along with editorial validation on the significance of a leader’s contribution, campaign results, and overall impact.

Hong Kong – As the line between reality and the virtual world is disappearing in favor of the metaverse setup, Hong Kong-based bank Hang Seng Bank has introduced its new key opinion leader: meet Hazel, a virtual spokesperson for the bank’s digital banking brand.

True to Hazel’s mantra of ‘It’s our world now!’ to communicate a virtually-integrated lifestyle, Hang Seng Bank aims to showcase with their latest virtual persona on how technology and innovation have released many of life’s constraints, making it possible for people to do more and achieve more.

Hazel first debuted on Instagram during Christmas 2021, where she shared visions of a young and active lifestyle that slash marks fashion, sports and other creative arenas. She even released a collaboration with Hong Kong-Canadian singer-songwriter Jay Fung.

Her first appearance in Hang Seng Bank’s promotional video was released this month, where it focuses on discovering the new era of digital banking and feeling empowered to achieve #AllOfTheAbove—an ideal lifestyle with unlimited possibilities.

Lucia Ku, head of customer propositions and customer management at Hang Seng Bank, and the one who spearheaded this virtual persona launch, said, “We want Hazel to embody young ideals. When we set out to develop Hazel, we surveyed nearly 750 young people between the ages of 18 and 30 to deepen our understanding of their preferences and attitudes to life. We then injected the essence of our findings into the personality of the character created.

According to the campaign, Hazel is a 25-year-old teen with diversified interests and skills. She is at once an illustrator, a model and a dreamer. She seizes every opportunity to play to her strengths and try new things. She is also a fashion trendsetter who is passionate about music, art and sports, particularly yoga. Hazel’s life philosophy echoes that of many young people: she aspires to be independent, impatient to lead a life full of excitement, is able to explore at will, try new ideas and experiences, and always ready to take on new opportunities.

In addition, Hazel’s digital-savvy, slasher-focused approach to life reflects Hang Seng’s deep understanding of customers’ changing attitudes and needs. It is emphatically focused on innovation and advancement to provide seamless online/offline, omni-channel future-proof banking services that empower its customers to, like Hazel, choose #AllOfTheAbove.