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A Paragon of Brand Evolution

Multi-channel marketing from a

design perspective

Des

ign

thin

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by

Kar

en K

eung

for

Bric

k S

tree

t Sof

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H S B C

Blue Sky with Plane

Raffi Asdourian on Flickr

Licensed under CC BY 2.0

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The importance

of knowing and

understanding the local

market is ingrained in

our corporate culture.

John Carroll, Executive Vice President and Head of Marketing, HSBC Bank USA

World Map

C. Randall from Cornell

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Since 2001, HSBC’s endline “The World’s Local Bank” has followed the brand

name like an echo. Arguably, it’s an example of one of the most successful

branding initiatives undertaken in the finance sector. It’s no surprise then that

when the brand dropped the claim, their ad campaigns shifted. The transition

subtly re-focuses HSBC’s campaigns with a product-driven approach.

Their pre-shift and post-shift campaigns align seamlessly; leaving little evidence

that a conversation ended between the consumer and the brand. For continuing

the conversation, and connecting people internationally, HSBC’s work with JWT

London and Mindshare Global warrants applause and analysis.

As a brand evolution HSBC succeeds in establishing their place as a global

leader. What’s significant about their approach, from a design perspective, is the

philosophy and consistency HSBC has achieved over the last fifteen years.

What conversations could we have to inspire our audiences? What values

does our organization embody and how? The following showcase considers the

messages and artwork of HSBC’s most iconic campaigns to date.

1.1 Preface

The world’s local bank

SECTION 1.1 — 3

4 —

Print ads, majority of which

are horizontally oriented.

Placements run in traditional

media such as magazines

and newspapers, and are

also suitably designed

for large placement in an

urban landscape, especially

adaptable to the airport space

HSBC dominates.

2.1 Campaign 01

Your Point of View

Initially launched in 2005 by an integrated team from JWT

London/Mindshare Global. yourpointofview.com

(now inactive)

An interactive website that

presented users with photos

of various subjects and

asked them “What’s your

point of view?” with a list of

descriptive words to choose

from. Poll results could be

instantly viewed, sorted, and

compared with other results

from around the globe.

Accompanied by screen

banner ads online.

The award-winning campaign responded to the need to listen

to and respect consumer individuality. HSBC was building its

business in the belief that different people from different cultures

and walks of life create value.

Live interactive theatre events

in New York City store

windows. One depicted a

beauty queen, another a

group of sports fans, and the

third a painter. Observers

were asked to text message

one-word reactions to each

scene, which were then

projected onto TVs mounted

on the backs of each display.

Online Print Experience

SECTION 2.1

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Online Flash banner ads.

Shown in successive animation (from left to right).

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We at HSBC, the world’s local bank,

strongly believe in the potential of

difference. In a world of increasing

sameness, we believe it’s important to

value different points of view and there

should be somewhere everyone can air

these views and see the views of others.

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Why is HSBC doing this? yourpointofview.com

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4 panelled banners, made

up of two alternating images

with a pair of words inverse

overlaid on each.

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Red border and signature

HSBC cut-out element.

Operates as an anchor for text

on vertical format ads.

Simple, barrier-free copy. Small call-to-action to visit

website URL.

Campaign Anatomy

SECTION 2.1

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1.2 million interactions with from

over 130 countries.

3, 844, 027 interacted with the online

screen banner ads.

Click-through success rate of 0.2%, 500%

above the industry average.

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HSBC Bon Mauvais

Ewan McIntosh on Flickr

Licensed under CC BY 2.0

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2.2 Campaign 02

Different Values

Launched Fall 2008, as an evolutionary extension of the “Your

Point of View” campaign by JWT London.

The series featured triptychs (as opposed to the four-or-more-

panel images in Your Point of View) either made up of the same

image and three different associated one-word values, or three

different images overlaid with three of the same values.

In a record-breaking reveal, ten of 17 new ads were featured

in the October 27 issue of New York Magazine. It was a first

for both HSBC and the magazine in terms of one advertiser’s

presence in a single issue and the corresponding week online.1

HSBC Launches "Different Values" Advertising Campaign As The

Largest Single Issue Advertiser In New York Magazine History

20 October 2008

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yourpointofview.com was

updated to reflect the new

creative material.

Rolled out in an array of

national magazines including

Time, Vanity Fair, Vogue, GQ,

Harper’s Bazaar, as well as

in TV, transit, and outdoor

advertising. Airports were also

updated to these new ads.

Online Print

Cinematic TV spots created,

notably “Lumberjack” in which

a tree hugger and her logger

boyfriend find themselves

holding different values, as

well as a series of ads on

cultural differences.

Further viewing:

“Lumberjack”

Cultural Differences (3)

Video

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People’s reaction to the campaign is a bit of a

values Rorshach test. HSBC’s global footprint

gives us the insight and the opportunity not

only to be comfortable, but confident in helping

people with different values achieve what’s

really important to them.

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Tracey Britton, Head of Marketing HSBC USA

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3 panelled banners, with one-

line values overlaid.

Red border and signature

HSBC cut-out element.

Operates as an anchor for text

on vertical format ads.

Simple, barrier-free copy.

Small call-to-action to visit

website URL.

Campaign Anatomy

SECTION 2.2

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HSBC Durian Advertisement

Dedicated to Durians

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2.3 Campaign 03

Potential

Launched in the spring of 2011 by JWT, HSBC’s Potential

campaign begins an evolution away from the retail banking image

even before officially announcing the step away from the “world’s

local bank” tagline.

This campaign features posters with unexpected facts about

cities and cultures around the world coupled with captions

relating to finding and seeing potential.

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We want our customers to feel inspired

by HSBC and the potential for what we

can achieve together in this world. Our

leadership position in financial services

[...] helps our customers navigate today’s

interconnected world.

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Nick Nocolaou, Chief Executive Officer HSBC Sri Lanka and Maldives

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Single image posters,

various formats adaptable to

environment.

Red border and signature

HSBC cut-out element.

Simple, barrier-free copy.

Campaign Anatomy

SECTION 2.3

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The key to moving HSBC’s marketing into a new era [...] is to start a ‘fresh conversation’ with customers. Strong brands have an organic sense: you can shape them and mould them, but never set them in concrete.

In the summer of 2011, chief executive

Stuart Gulliver announced a $3.5bn (£2.2bn)

cost-cutting drive for HSBC. Most crucially,

in a marketing context, Gulliver decreed that

HSBC drop its famous strapline 'The world's

local bank', as he argued it could no longer

justify the claim.2

Chris Clark, Group Head of Marketing at HSBC

HSBC’s Chris Clark on a new era for the bank’s marketing

31 May 2012

Marketing Magazine UK

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2.4 Campaign 04

In The Future

HSBC’s current campaign launched in 2012 by JWT London is

inspired by economic and financial magazine covers.

Creative material from this campaign features a single image,

much like the previous Potential campaign, and aims to “start a

meaningful conversation with the audience to continue across

media.”3

Current creative campaign

material can be viewed on

HSBC.

A corresponding TV spot

about a young American girl’s

lemonade stand received

much attention, intended to

reinforce the message that

the global financial landscape

is shifting so that even the

smallest businesses will be

multinational in the future.

A follow-up was released a

year later.

Further viewing:

Online Video

Work: In The Future

JWT London

3

“Lemonade”

“The Lemon Grove”

SECTION 2.4

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In the future, investors will need to be explorers.

In the new economy growth could come from unexpected places, so investors might need to look beyond their comfort zones. HSBC’s Emerging Markets Index can help you navigate the fastest growing markets. There’s a new world out there.

There’s more on investments at www.hsbc.com/inthefuture

Issued by HSBC Holdings plc. AC22967

In the future, even the smallest business will be multinational.

Whether you trade in Dollars, Euros or Renminbi, global markets are opening up to everyone. At HSBC we can connect your business to new opportunities on six continents – in more than 90 currencies. There’s a new world emerging. Be part of it.

There’s more on international trade at www.hsbc.com/inthefuture

Issued by HSBC Bank plc. AC22967

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In the future, the food chain and the supply chain will merge.

In tomorrow’s global economy, every resource will be counted. HSBC is one of the world’s leading supply chain organisations. We help companies keep tabs on stock across six continents – and five oceans. The future starts today.

There’s more on world trade at www.hsbc.com/inthefuture

Issued by HSBC Holdings plc. AC22967

Clever hybrid imagery shot in

studio-style on white background.

Red border element with signature

HSBC cut-out element.

Simple, barrier-free headliner with more

information in paragraph format.

Small call-to-action in form of URL.

Campaign Anatomy

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Are HSBC’s ads really that relevant?

Does everyone relate to the content in HSBC’s campaigns?

Or do the campaigns speak to a specific audience? Namely, a

group motivated by entrepreneurism, excited by globalization,

and optimistic about the future. In the Future marks HSBC’s

departure from “relatable” to “inspirational” — distancing the

brand from the retail banking image, and leaning towards the

potentiality of investments. The transition however, is subtle,

preserving the aesthetic and philosophy the brand has built over

their last decade of campaigns.

Business & Leadership on HSBC’s Campaigns:

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We’re very much

focussed on the sort

of person who has an

international outlook

That’s not necessarily

someone jumping

on and off planes,

but someone who

is interested in the

world.

“There’s an intelligence about the creative and the point being

made that relates to the message HSBC is attempting to

convey, but also goes beyond that annoyingly condescending

assumption many banks seem to make about their customers

– namely, that they are unable to understand anything other

than happy people running along beaches with a cheesy bank

signature tune in the background.”

Andrea Newman, Group Head of HSBC Advertising

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Presence HSBC is a paragon of brand storytelling. Transitioning from one messaging

context to another, HSBC has managed to re-introduce itself through a solid

storyline. For their campaign, Your Point of View and its extension, Different

Values, HSBC used an insightful, surprising, and creative way to establish both

their foundation of knowledge, as well as a connection to their consumers.

The scale and placement of their next campaigns effectively establish HSBC’s

global presence and position as a financial services firm that aims beyond the

markets it currently participates in. For example, they expertly leverage the

brand’s global presence and use it as the next anchor to transition in their new

campaigns: Potential and In the Future.

By focusing on communicating facts and making fewer claims, HSBC

establishes presence in two important ways:

3.1 Design Thinking

Principles & Values

24 — SECTION 3.1

• Present to consumers with whom their brand equity

evokes trust and legitimacy

• Simultaneous relevance in today’s context and the

future’s promise

This communication strategy successfully reaches the upwardly mobile consumer,

inviting them to do business with a brand that is similarly optimistic about future

opportunities.

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Consistency

The consistency of imagery and design elements in HSBC’s

campaigns is deliberate. The direction flows from a reputation of

global presence and mass appeal, but is not constrained by it.

Clean backgrounds and consistent design elements such as the

rectangular red border instantly win familiarity points. Typography

remains consistent — their brand guidelines sanction the use of

two typefaces: Univers and Times New Roman.

Designed for flexibility, the format of the ads have no challenge

adapting to the environment in which the ad lives. A particularly

extensive application HSBC has invested in are airports. Long

tunnels and moving conveyer belts make excellent vantage

points where ads typically appear in succession; further

amplifying the campaign’s story.

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Ease

“Everything must be made as simple as possible, but not

simpler.” — Einstein

HSBC uses campaign copy that is short short, sweet and free of

technical banking jargon. This makes it much easier to connect

to a wider audience and tap into their emotions. Many of their ad

placements being in transitory areas such as subway stations

and airports make it crucial for the reading of words and imagery

to be palatable yet easy to recall.

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It’s that global footprint that caught our attention and the fascinating world that their ad campaign reveals.

I first saw the ads in the subway and find myself walking along inside the train to see the entire series.

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HSBC Airport Ads Share Remarkable Insight to Our World, Rev Blog

Thesis Context, Sooyuny

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Design Thinking

Reactions

3.2

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4.1 Remarks

Their ad campaigns continue to educate, surprise, and spark a

conversation so continuous you wouldn’t believe campaigns are

spread years apart. Ultimately this is what makes a successful

campaign — a company showing us what most of us might miss,

gains our trust and business.

HSBC, whether tagged with the endline “world’s local bank” or

not, has shown us that they operate as an interconneted agency,

using their placements in local cultures to gain global scope and

scale.

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About Karen

Design thinking by Karen Keung for Brick Street Software

Karen Keung is an award-winning design

student currently pursuing an Honours degree

in design at the York University/Sheridan

College joint program in Toronto, Canada. She

possesses a fresh and clean aesthetic sense

and hopes to continue to develop her skill set

at the intersection between print and screen.

She has a keen interest in learning, whether it

is about successful advertising campaigns or

types of chocolate.