A man on a first date reveals that he has already reached his monthly savings goal. He then asks whether he can take advantage of the restaurant’s mid-week discount. His date does not look as though she has just heard something boring about personal finances. Quite the opposite, she wants to marry him. The waiter has the same reaction.
That is how ING Australia opens its new Saving Is In campaign, developed with Ogilvy Australia, in which habits that have long belonged to the less exciting side of conversations about money are treated as highly desirable qualities.
The idea, however, does not rely solely on the humour of a first date. ING’s Sense of Us research found that among Australian singles, 41 percent consider someone who sticks to a budget more attractive, while 46 percent are drawn to someone who saves regularly.
“Our research shows that smart money habits have become a major green flag for Australians,” says Carly Yanco, Chief Marketing Officer at ING Australia. With the campaign, she adds, the bank wants to make everyday saving habits as culturally relevant and attractive as spending has been for years.
Behind the whole story is also a concrete change in the bank’s offering. ING Savings Booster represents the biggest change to ING’s savings model since 2008. New savings customers can earn a variable interest rate of up to 6.00 percent per annum on balances of up to 500,000 Australian dollars for the first four months, provided they grow their balance by at least 100 dollars by the end of each month.
The first date is just one of the situations in which the campaign looks for people willing to go a little further to save money. In another execution, a driver enters a kind of battle of patience with a parking warden, waiting for the moment when parking becomes free. Another story follows someone buying Christmas decorations months in advance, during a period when seasonal discounts make them considerably cheaper.
For Lily Lange, Head of Brand at ING Australia, it was precisely these small wins that mattered more than presenting saving as yet another financial obligation. “For years, spending got all the glory while saving sat quietly on the sidelines. We wanted to show that there’s something undeniably attractive about having your finances sorted, with the ING Lion adding his own cheeky seal of approval,” Lange said.
Max McKeon, Executive Creative Director at Ogilvy, describes the first date as a particularly fitting setting for the idea. A situation in which people usually try to make the best possible impression allowed the team to treat a monthly savings goal, a discount and financial discipline as something the character openly takes pride in, rather than as a subject that should quickly be changed.
The campaign launched on August 9 during The Block on Channel 9 and the 9Now platform, and is currently running across television, social media and OOH channels. The films were directed by Stef Smith, with production by PHOTOPLAY / PLAYTIME.
Judging by the world ING has created for Saving Is In, the question on a first date is no longer simply who will pay the bill. Perhaps the more interesting question is who has already reached their savings goal before the bill even arrives.
