Westpac NZ has launched a campaign to encourage and empower Gen Z and Millennial shoppers to resist pressure to buy more than they need, know their limits and stick to it, or ‘spend with a friend’ who can talk them out of impulse buys.
The quirky campaign created by Saatchi & Saatchi NZ plays off the hangover analogy as an unexpected way for the bank to engage this younger audience in financial literacy.
Research[1] shows younger New Zealanders are less engaged with their money compared to other age groups and more likely to spend impulsively. This puts them at higher risk of being left with a nasty debt hangover from events such as Black Friday.
They are also a generation who are both exposed to more retail spending triggers than any before, and have technology in their hands to literally ‘Buy Now’.
Buy now, pay for it later
Westpac NZ Chief Marketing Officer, Sarah Williams says, “Big sales events are great, they give people access to goods at lower prices and they stimulate retail activity for businesses. But there is a flip side. And that is the trap of over doing it, spending beyond what you can afford, which means paying for it later, both literally and metaphorically.
“This campaign is designed as a light-hearted way of getting younger New Zealanders to be a little more conscious of their shopping behaviour and their limits, as they head into a very seductive retail sales period. It’s certainly not about ‘not shopping’, but about conscious shopping.”
The campaign consists of a social series of six films shot for mobile, of which the titles speak for themselves. Bad Decisions, Spend With A Friend, Know Your Limit, Still Paying For It, Never Again (Again), and Recovery. A series street posters follow similar themes with headlines like Avoid Black Friday Hangovers and Pace Yourself.
Staying clear and sharp
Westpac have also partnered with Ārepa drinks to bring a special edition Prevention drink. It’s designed with key nutritional ingredients to help brains stay clear and sharp while they navigate all the temptations of Black Friday. These will be given out in shopping malls and in social channels.
Steve Cochran, Chief Creative Officer at Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand says, “Young adults generally tend to ignore bank advertising, so getting their attention is hard enough, let alone getting them to lean in and engage with your messaging. We think this campaign will do just that. And have enough impact that we’ll help avoid a few self-inflicted financial headaches.”
The campaign films were directed by Sam Kristofski of Flying Fish, who also shot all the stills. Spark Foundry planned the media strategy and Digitas created the website assets. The campaign kicked off a week before Black Friday Sales week and runs until December.
Cochran adds, “We see this campaign going beyond just Black Friday. Young people are as susceptible to spending hangovers all year round.”
[1] FiftyFive5 pulse survey conducted on behalf of Westpac New Zealand in February 2024 among 598 adults aged 18-74 years. Sampling is nationally representative on entry to the survey.
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