“The pandemic as well as other factors such as the unrest and loadshedding has taken its toll. For many of our clients as well as staff the challenges have been difficult to navigate through resulting in so much negativity,” says Schalk Kotze, head of Affluent Banking at Standard Bank South Africa.
“We believe it is now more than ever critical to share our successes to drive positivity in the country,” he explains. “It is so important for us to have hope and optimism and focus on the positive, and to see that despite the challenges that life throws at you, it is through these hardships that we learn to be resilient and to endure,” he adds.
And it is this that led the Bank to launch its Signature Moments campaign.
Dedicated to showcasing people’s triumphant moments and celebrating that moment in life where they achieve their goal, the hope is that these stories will inspire or stimulate others to take action to achieve their dream.
“The campaign emphasises that there’s no better time than the present moment to take inspired action to support your goals and create a better tomorrow, today,” says Kotze.
Lindy-Lou wanted to provide the home she never had for her daughter. A lesson her father taught her in childhood meant she could achieve this Signature Moment. What is your Signature Moment? Tell us and you could win R5000 #HowAboutNow #ItCanBe https://t.co/921Lw0mlEW pic.twitter.com/2KU30zdDsg
— City Press (@City_Press) January 30, 2022
“We asked our clients, and all consumers, and staff to tell us their own stories of success, and they responded with the most inspiring stories from purchasing a house or car, graduating from university, or buying furniture for their grandmother,” says Kotze.
Asked what the most heart-warming story is they have received to date, Kotze says it is impossible to pick one. “We have had multiple stories from people of diverse backgrounds and each story is unique in its own right.”
Most of the stories he says centre around being human, such as having a baby. Another common one is achieving their goal to get their degree.
“We have not done any formal analysis to date, but antidotally those are the most common stories,” he adds.
People sent their stories to City Press and Kaya FM, who partnered with Standard Bank on the campaign. Both Kaya FM and City Press encouraged consumers to share their Signature Moments by running a competition with a monetary prize up for grabs.
The key messaging was on the back of encouraging consumers to make their dreams happen now.
Stories were amplified on both and Kaya FMand City Press with the aim to garner organic Signature Moments stories. Social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter were also used.
Abegail’s Signature Moment was getting her budding fitness company moving, now she hopes to teach more and more people the long-term value of movement too. #HowAboutNow #ItCanBe. What is your Signature Moment? Tell us and you could win R5000 https://t.co/YkbzFZ07gl. pic.twitter.com/kYx3kAzils
— City Press (@City_Press) February 14, 2022
While the campaign only started last year, and is still very young, the responses have been overwhelming.
“It has gained good traction so far, but more than that we feel it has given good value to our clients,” says Kotze.
He says the campaign has been very rewarding for the bank, as it is not like any other campaign they have ever done, adding that the campaign shows the human side of banking and that the bank is a human-first organisation.
“We are on a journey of personalisation and this campaign is helping us to get to know our clients and their families.”
Standard Bank, he says is the conduit or platform for this to take place. “We also offer the support, tools, and offerings our customers need to turn their dreams into actionable realities.”
