by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) A healthy rate of personal savings is a sign of a healthy economy, but South Africa lags behind the rest of the developing world when it comes to this, even during these tough economic times. We know we should defer consumption and put something aside in savings — but data shows that we Africans suffer from the opposite problem — indebtedness, or spending too much.
According to the Reserve Bank, SA experienced its highest personal savings rate of over R17 billion in 1996. This has decreased steadily over the years to a negative amount of –R22.5 billion in 2007, picking uo somewhat since then but still in negative territory, at –R983 million, at the end of last year. Over the years, our ministers of finance have repeatedly encouraged people to save. Of late, this advice has fallen on deaf ears, largely because credit has become so easy to access.
SA’s massive personal-debt burden shows that, as a nation, we’re caught in the trap of being a consumerist society that has a ‘buy now, pay later’ mentality, spending more than we earn in regular income Neither high unemployment nor poor financial education helps the situation. Many households, across all strata of society, find themselves servicing the interest on purchases that would have been far cheaper had they been paid for by savings (and not expensive credit).
Banks have come under significant fire from government because of this, so it’s great to see banks showing people how to save instead of how to spend. This week, we look at the ‘green’ bank, which recently came up with an arresting way of getting people to think about saving.
Joe Public’s billboard for Nedbank: “Make saving for a #RainyDay happen”
Nedbank, in promoting its “Savvy Save” account, is trying to tap into the positive aspects of saving, hooking into the well-used saying, “Saving for a rainy day”. The way the bank decided to approach this was with the clever use of an indoor billboard in Sandton City, Johannesburg, which ran for a week early in May 2014 — with an added dimension.
There were droplets of water that fell in a steady, ongoing flow in front of the billboard, emulating raindrops. Through clever programming ‘magic’, these droplets were manipulated to form legible words as they fell. Passers-by were invited to text what they are saving for and, almost instantly the words appeared, falling like raindrops in an easy-to-read message. But they were just drops of ‘rain’. The effect was magical!
Hat tip to Joe Public
A tip of the hat must go to Joe Public for marrying the medium to the message so perfectly. “Saving for a rainy day” may be a cliché, but it’s also something people need to be inspired to act upon, in a feel-good way. This billboard literally got people stopping and staring, or taking out their mobile phones to snap a shot.
It turns out the company that made this ‘rain magic’ is from the UK — the land of rain, where else? Known as Aquascript, this technology uses computer systems to control hundreds of valves that produce droplets that fall at exactly the right space and time to form letters or other shapes. Interface that with an SMS system, and voilà — a waterfall that people can read, help ‘direct’, engage with and marvel at.
The guy in the poster with the infectious grin is the same character from the Nedbank TV ads, ‘Eugene’, who gets reminded by a ‘voice from above’ that it’s better to save for a rainy day than to buy what he can’t afford straight away. He is also seen on the Nedbank website, as the ‘savvy’ guy featured in various banking products.
Continuity
Using the same, likeable character makes for good continuity between the bank’s various products and campaigns.
The ad was effective, because it ticked most of the marketing boxes required to deliver a memorable message. It was interactive, entertaining, attention-grabbing, aligned to the target market, and created considerable word-of-mouth. Search Twitter for “#rainyday Nedbank” and you’ll catch some of the buzz it’s created.
The nett effect? A plethora of selfies, a TV shoot, radio interviews, press coverage and more must have delivered blockbuster returns to the brand.
Clever, Joe Public. Very, very clever.
Ad of the Week, published on MarkLives every Wednesday, is penned by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki), the CEO of Ornico, a Brand Intelligence® firm that focuses on media, reputation and brand research.
If you are involved in making advertising that is smart, funny and/or engaging,
please let Oresti know about it at info@ornicogroup.co.za.
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