Newspaper Creative Benchmark Report Breaking Up with Banks March 2011

It’s a component of the Newspaper Effectiveness Metric which is run by the newspaper industry marketing body, The Newspaper Works. A monthly study designed; To measure and identify the effectiveness of newspaper creative To help improve understanding of how to use newspapers effectively To improve the understanding of the roles newspaper advertising can play To improve the standard of newspaper creative To provide a consistent metric that is accepted as the industry standard These pieces of creative were included in the March 2011 study

Pre/post effectiveness studies, measuring in-market effects and how newspaper work with Television Comparison of creative against category averages Comprehensive analysis of how newspapers can best be used to influence purchase behaviour The Newspaper Works’ effectiveness partner:

Recognised industry measures + Newspaper measures Proprietary newspaper measures The Newspaper Works’ effectiveness partner: Ad Recognition Brand Linkage Message Comprehension Brand Equity Impact Role Map Action Map Newspaper Creative Diagnostics

CBA, Suncorp, and nab were three of nine ads tested in Sydney Each respondent group was only exposed to one of the three ads Sample: Australians 16+ Sample sizes: CBA111 Suncorp 105 nab 109 Fieldwork: 10 th -18 th March 2011 Conducted online by Ipsos MediaCT Benchmarks used: Newspaper Norms (see appendix for details)

The Context nab used Valentines Day 2011 to begin a multi-media campaign where the main message was that they wanted to ‘break up’ with the other banks, with the aim to set themselves apart from the ‘Big 4’ bank group. They began by announcing their ‘break up’ with the banks with a single tweet, and then followed up via Full Page Newspaper ads. The campaign quickly became a news item, with the other banks under pressure to respond. While some banks chose to continue with their own strategies, other banks responded both directly and indirectly. This is a creative review of the nab ‘announcement’ and ads from competitors that ran in newspapers, within the same period.

Branded Newspaper Benchmarks

Ad benchmarked : nab Market: Sydney ( Feb/March 2011) Size: FPC Position: News Tested: March 2011

Ad benchmarked : nab Market: Sydney ( Feb/March 2011) Size: FPC Position: News Tested: March 2011

Market: Sydney ( Feb/March 2011) Size: FPC Position: News Tested: March 2011 Ad benchmarked : nab

Newspaper Norms The brand linkage scores for both the CBA and nab ads are very high and reflect the long term status of those advertisers. The scores achieved by Suncorp across all three metrics are very good for a smaller competitor, with the level of Interest shown in their ad at significantly high levels Note: Ad Recognition and Brand Linkage can be affected by weight of campaign and timing of research

All three ads perform well against brand metrics with the Suncorp ad proving that a smaller competitor, with a ‘cheeky’ message can cut through to gain relevance and differentiation from the mainstream brands

Respondents were mostly very clear on the purpose of the ad and expressed clear understanding of branding. Example verbatims of their opinion of the ad, included: ‘It gave banks a more human side’ ‘It is very clever and attention grabbing...also personal’ ‘it's a clever tact that the nab has taken, every one knows that the big banks do what they want and we feel ripped off by them so distancing themselves from the pack is a positive step’

Example Verbatims “Its a goodbye letter to the banks, saying that you don’t want to be with them anymore” “nab is different to the other 4 banks” “nab going it’s own way” n.b. 6 of 107 comments fed back that text size was too small for them to read and understand the message

This ad from nab was designed to grab attention and start a conversation as part of a larger, integrated campaign (scoring significantly high scores against Extension). The scores achieved across Role Map and Action Map are reflective of this. Newspaper Norms nab challenged the market Significantly different to Newspaper Norm

Respondents were clear the ad was for a savings rate. Example verbatims of their opinion of the ad, ranged from very positive, to somewhat ambivalent : ‘It's a smart bit of advertising, it makes me think about my own bank it's position with the battle of the banks’ ‘To be honest it just seems like an ad for saving account interest and I did not take much interest and in fact did not read the small print’

Example Verbatims “Interest rate of 6% is permanent – not just for a limited period” “The interest rate stays the same” “Get a good interest rate on your money” “low interest rate for honeymoon period” “taking out a loan for your honeymoon is cheaper than any other bank with lower interest repayments”

The ad achieves solid results for Creative Diagnostics and is successful in driving brand reappraisal and significant results for driving call to action. The likely actions demonstrated via Action Map follow the same pattern as the nab ad. Newspaper Norms CBA responded by presenting a key ‘reason to believe’ Significantly different to Newspaper Norm

While there was some misattribution, respondents mostly appreciated the ‘Anti Big 4’ message. Example verbatims of their opinion of the ad included: ‘Anybody who fights against the big 4 banks is ok with me’ ‘The banking industry needs a shake up. Go Suncorp!’ ‘Very informative. Makes the brand attractive.’

Example Verbatims “switch from one of the big 4 banks to Suncorp” “move your accounts to this bank” “there is no need to be loyal to the big banks” “smaller banks offer more personal attention” n.b. up to 15/107 respondents thought this ad might be for BankWest, and 5 thought it might be part of the nab campaign

Newspaper Norms Suncorp met nab’s challenge, then raised the stakes This ad performs well against most positive Creative Diagnostics, with the headline standing out. The ad does a great job of driving Reappraisal and Public Agenda. Of the three ads tested, this one is the most likely to generate a physical action i.e. ‘visit store / look out for’ beyond Web Search. The other actions follow a similar pattern to both the nab and the CBA ads. Significantly different to Newspaper Norm

Looking more closely at Rolemap

5.6x Higher than norm 5x Higher than norm 2.1x Higher than norm 2.9x Higher than norm 7.8x Higher than norm 3.8x Higher than norm All newspaper norm. Updated March 2011.

All three ads tested here are successful in driving reappraisal of their brands, as they joined in on the ‘battle of the banks’, begun by nab’s break up letter. Of the three, the CBA ad does the most to drive a call to action while the nab and Suncorp ads both speak to the Public Agenda What is most interesting is that while nab used this ad to begin the conversation around their ‘Break Up’ campaign, Suncorp were able to take advantage of this strategy for their own benefit, positioning themselves as the scrappy challenger, taking a role highly appreciated by most respondents In fact Suncorp were the only one of the three, to generate any significant intention for branch visitation and achieved the highest scores for generating Web search

Established in 2006 by the major Australian newspaper publishers: – News Limited – Fairfax Media (including Rural Press) – APN News and Media – West Australian Newspapers Represents paid national, metropolitan, regional and community titles. Primary aims: – To promote newspapers as a powerful medium for advertisers – To ensure that newspapers are perceived as being contemporary and relevant in a transforming media landscape

Creation of All Newspaper norms Testing of randomly selected newspaper display ads 5,100 ad observations in total 40 test ads, 100+ observations per ad Population representative sample of the five mainland state capitals Conducted online by Ipsos Media CT, July-August 2008 Sample size 1,737

Newspapers are a powerful medium to utilise across a broad range of strategic roles. Six strategic advertising roles have been validated both qualitatively and quantitatively, resulting in the creation of Role Map, one of two proprietary newspaper metrics. Role Map demonstrates how consumers connect with newspaper advertising across the six roles, comparing the performance of creative against a footprint of all ads tested. Retail average Statements are tailored to be appropriate to the advertising category.

Newspapers are recognised as an effective medium for delivering a Call to Action. Action Map, the third proprietary newspaper metric, expands on this strategic role to provide an understanding of the types of action a newspaper ad inspires. Measured via forced exposure, people are asked about the actions they would consider taking (or have taken) as a result of seeing the ad. New measure introduced in March 2010, norm not yet available.

Another proprietary newspaper metric provides a set of creative diagnostics unique to the attributes of newspaper advertising. They’ve been developed to help identify areas for improvement where results across other brand and advertising measures may require further analysis and interrogation. Retail average Statements are tailored to be appropriate to the advertising category.