CMBA$913-$ Marketing Management

Case Study

Guidelines:

Write a cover page, including the name of University, subject code and name.

Answer the case study using the prescribed outline in A$4$ MS word format

Solve the case study based on critical thinking given from the case study in the class.

Submission deadline before exam.

HSBC

HSBC wants to be known as the "world's local bank." This tagline reflects HSBC$\text{'}$s

positioning as a globe$-$spanning financial institution with a unique focus on serving local

markets. Originally the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, HSBC was

established in $1865$ to finance the growing trade between China and the United Kingdom. It's

now the second largest bank in the world.

Despite serving over $100$ million customers through $9,500$ branches in $85$ countries, the

bank works hard to maintain a local presence and local knowledge in each area. Its fundamental

operating strategy is to remain close to its customers. As HSBC$\text{'}$s former chairman, Sir John

Bond, stated, "Our position as the world's local bank enables us to approach each country

uniquely, blending local knowledge with a worldwide operating platform."

Ads for the "World's Local Bank" campaign have depicted the way different cultures or

people interpret the same objects or events. One TV spot showed a U$.$S$.$ businessman hitting a

hole$-$in$-$one during a round in Japan with his Japanese counterparts. He is surprised to find that

rather than paying for a round of drinks in the clubhouse, as in the United States, by Japanese

custom he must buy expensive gifts for his playing partners. In another international TV spot, a

group of Chinese businessmen take a British businessman out to an elaborate dinner where live

eels are presented to the diners and then served sliced and cooked. Clearly disgusted by the meal,

the British businessman finishes the dish as the voice$-$over explains, "The English believe it's a

slur on your hosts' food if you don't clear your plate." His Chinese host then orders another live

eel for him as the voice$-$over explained, "Whereas the Chinese feel that it's questioning their

generosity if you do$."$

HSBC demonstrated its local knowledge with marketing efforts dedicated to specific

locations. In $2005$ it set out to prove to jaded New Yorkers that the London based financial

behemoth was a bank with local knowledge. The company held a "New York City's Most

Knowledgeable Cabbie" contest, in which the winning cabbie got paid to drive an HSBC$-$

branded Bank Cab fulltime for a year. HSBC customers could win, too. Any customer showing

an HSBC bank card, checkbook, or bank statement was able to get a free ride in the Bank Cab.

HSBC also ran an integrated campaign highlighting the diversity of New Yorkers, which

appeared throughout the city.

More than $8,000$ miles away, HSBC undertook a two$-$part "Support Hong Kong"

campaign to revitalize a local economy hit hard by the $2003$ SARS outbreak. First, HSBC

delayed interest payments for personal$-$loan customers who worked in industries most affected

by SARS $($cinemas$,$ hotels, restaurants, and travel agencies$).$ Second, the bank offered discounts

and rebates for HSBC credit card users when they shopped and dined out. More than $1,500$ local

merchants participated in the promotion.

HSBC also targets consumer niches with unique products and services. It found a little$-$

known product area growing at $125$ percent a year: pet insurance. The bank now distributes

nationwide pet insurance to its depositors through its HSBC Insurance agency. In Malaysia,

HSBC offered a "smart card" and no$-$frills credit cards to the underserved student segment and

targeted high$-$value customers with special "Premium Centers" bank branches.

In order to connect with different people and communities, HSBC sponsors more than

$250$ cultural and sporting events with a special focus on helping the youth, growing education,

and embracing communities. These sponsorships also allow the company to learn from different

people and cultures around the world.

The bank pulls its worldwide businesses together under a single global brand with the

"World's Local Bank" slogan. The aim is to link its international size with close relationships in

each of the countries in which it operates. HSBC spends $$600$ million annually on global

marketing, consolidated under the WPP group of agencies.

In $2006,$ HSBC launched a global campaign entitled "Different Values," which embraced

this exact notion of multiple viewpoints and different interpretations. Print ads showed the same

picture three times with a different interpretation in each. For example, an old classic car

appeared three times with the words, freedom, status symbol, and polluter. Next to the picture

reads, "The more you look at the world, the more you realize that what one person values may be

different from the next." In another set of print ads, HSBC used three different pictures side by

side but with the same word. For example, the word accomplishme