[Financial Essay] Savings Banks' Untact Summer Marketing 'Eye-catching'

YouTube. Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic is changing summer marketing strategies at savings banks. In line with the non-face-to-face (untact) trend sweeping the financial sector, savings banks are focusing on differentiated ‘content’ that penetrates customers' daily lives. They are making various attempts, from utilizing social networking service (SNS) platforms to in-house character marketing, striving to capture customers' hearts.

Expanding Customer Touchpoints through YouTube

Recently, the savings bank industry has been focusing heavily on YouTube marketing. YouTube channels allow non-face-to-face communication with customers through content reflecting the company’s characteristics, and they attract high usage not only from the young 20s and 30s generation but also from middle-aged users, which has drawn strong industry interest.

JT Chin-ae Savings Bank and JT Savings Bank, subsidiaries of the J Trust Group, launched the YouTube channel ‘Jump Up TV’ in April to communicate with customers. The channel’s concept is a challenge variety show where men in their 40s and 50s realize dreams they couldn’t pursue due to family responsibilities. Lee Hoon, the advertising model representing men in their 40s and 50s for J Trust Group, appears alongside J Trust Group employees in videos challenging new things, encouraging viewers to share in the joys and sorrows. Recently posted videos such as ▲Golf lessons for beginners ▲Self-grooming for pet dogs have each surpassed 20,000 views, showing great popularity.

Employee Participation in Vlog Production

Vlogs by savings bank employees also attract attention. Welcome Savings Bank has been releasing videos titled ‘Promote Welcome’ on its YouTube channel ‘Welcome to Jjantech’ since June. These videos reimagine experiences that financial company employees might have. Thanks to employees in their 20s to early 30s at the assistant manager level or below taking charge of planning, acting, and filming, the videos faithfully capture the joys and hardships of young workers’ office lives, earning positive responses.

Pepper Savings Bank focused on interns’ episodes. The video ‘I’m an Intern,’ launched in March, applies the format of observational entertainment to vividly portray a month-long program covering an intern’s first day, orientation, work meetings, and more.

Friendly Jjeompi Utman Pepperlu Summoned... Character Marketing Trend Sweeping Savings Banks

The savings bank industry is also actively conducting marketing using in-house characters. The strategy is to enhance corporate recognition and break away from the conservative image of financial companies by using friendly image characters.

JT Chin-ae Savings Bank is considered a leader in character marketing among savings banks. It has continued communicating with customers during the COVID-19 crisis by posting pet dog content featuring its brand characters ‘Jjeompi’ and ‘Jjeompi Friends’ on its official Facebook page. Recently, its Facebook followers surpassed 257,000. It also launched the ‘Jjeompi Pop Check Card’ using the Jjeompi character.

OK Savings Bank uses the character ‘Utman,’ which is OK spelled backward, in TV commercials and on Facebook, while Pepper Savings Bank introduced ‘Pepperlu,’ a kangaroo-inspired character associated with Australia, to approach customers.

A savings bank official said, “Due to COVID-19, face-to-face contact with customers has decreased, forcing changes in traditional marketing methods. Even in difficult circumstances, we will continue to communicate with customers through marketing using YouTube channels and other means.”