This internet bank turns customer concern into a marketing tool

Nordnet wants to be your new internet banking buddy. Last week the online banking company, operating out of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland, cleverly addressed in a series of comedic ads a big concern of today’s banking customers: the lack of bank transparency and the hesitation (as Nordnet shrewdly puts it) ‘to trust complete strangers on the internet with all your savings.’ Their new ‘transparent banking’ ads blend meta-humor with a brilliant ‘anti-marketing marketing tactic’ that’s getting a lot of attention. Agbeat writes how, ‘transparency is an abused buzzword in the public and private sector, and we barely even pay attention to the promise anymore, but Nordnet wanted to stand out and prove themselves’.

When it comes to public companies, transparent is less of a cutsey marketing tactic and more of a mandated element. But Nordnet can still teach pubcos a lesson here. The bank knew that their target market’s main concern when it came to banking was selecting a bank that would be honest with them and work with them when it came to effectively managing their money. To poke fun at this worry and to stand out from the crowd, Nordnet focused their commercials directly at the customer concern. As a public company, whether in times of crisis or trying to win new investors, addressing the public’s concerns head on and without being asked can really be an effective investor marketing tool.

 

Check out this actor in the Nordnet commercial ‘hav[ing] a cup of coffee with another actor’ he’s ‘never met before’.

 

This next one is aptly titled, ‘Trust random people on the internet with all of your savings.

They’ve released four commercials in total, and all are getting great responses online. In addressing consumer concerns head-on, Nordnet establishes an immediate connection and trust with potential clients. While the actor on-screen jokes about transparency, Nordnet’s really saying, ‘Don’t worry, we get it. And we’re different.’ Though the buddy system seems a smart move, AGbeat takes a look at the downside of such promises: “The anti-marketing marketing tactic can work well, but of course, it does set the expectation that a company be completely transparent from head to toe, which is a tall order for a financial institution”.

Nordnet’s ‘transparent banking’ campaign comments on an important element for public and private companies alike. Transparency in marketing and IR communications could win more votes in the long run, and it’s important to ask the question of whether or not it’s more beneficial to immediately address a widespread concern within a company or industry before it causes harm. In Nordnet’s case, they took banking’s lack of transparency and made their ads so transparent that the actor reads straight from scripts and talks about the teleprompter. This clever way to spin an issue into their own expertise is what causes the campaign to stick in the brain.


Marika Hirsch
Marika Hirsch

As Blender’s Content Manager (aka ‘Resident Wordsmith’) Marika enjoys bringing readers the latest and greatest in both digital trends and IR tips. Follow along on Twitter: