Facebook campaign 'bargain advertising' for Kiwibank

Friday, 22 February 2019

Kiwibank is donating to support Mike King's charitable work.

Kiwibank might be handing $50,000 (since doubled to $100,000) over to charity, but it's reaping many times that in benefits from its Facebook profile photo frame campaign, marketing experts say.

The bank has been running a promotion through which, for every person who puts a 'I am hope' frame around their Facebook profile picture, it would donate $1 to Gumboot Friday – a promotion to raise money to pay for counselling for children, run by I Am Hope, New Zealander of the Year Mike King's charity.

The amount was initially capped at $50,000, then increased to $100,000, and at early afternoon on Friday, 185,000 people had added the frame.

Robert Aitken, head of the marketing department at Otago University, said the reach of the campaign meant the bank was getting a good deal for the money it was donating.

**READ MORE:

Kiwibank is getting a brand boost, too.

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'Judging by how quickly and widely it has taken off, I would say it's a bargain.'

Massey University banking expert Claire Matthews said she had been surprised by the uptake of the campaign. 'There are lots of these sorts of campaigns, but my Facebook feed has been filled by this one because of the number of people changing it.'

Ricardo Menendez, Auckland Action Against Poverty co-ordinator, said $50,000 was a small amount for Kiwibank, which made a profit in the last half-year of $62 million.

'They should have committed a considerable amount of money from the get go rather than tying it to the number of people willing to attach themselves to the bank's logo. Raising awareness of mental health is crucial but I don't think it should be tied to Kiwibank's willingness to donate to the cause.'

Sommer Kapitan, senior marketing lecturer at AUT, said it was 'very, very good' for Kiwibank.

But if the intentions behind it had not been good, it would not have worked so well.

'Most of us didn't change our profile pictures just to pat Kiwibank on the back. We were supporting the cause and trying to take a stand ourselves against youth suicide.'

She said research on brand activism showed that when companies' messages were supported by genuine practices related to the social cause, it was good for the cause, but good for the company image, too.

'It gets our attention as consumers, cuts through the clutter. We all shared the Mike King 'I am hope' frame to help make a difference in mental health, to show our values.

'The fact that the viral profile pic frame also has Kiwibank nicely stamped inside nearly every one of my Kiwi friends' profile pics is not bad for the brand. They are already known for being local and authentic Kiwis, for making sure people have access to home loans. Now their brand gets a little extra boost for being tied to this cause. It's a win-win. And, in my opinion as a scholar on brand engagement with social causes, they are also putting their money where their mouth is and doing brand activism the right way.'