The National Commercial Bank Jamaica (NCB) recently embarked on an upgrade of its banking platform aimed at making transactions faster for business and personal customers in May of 2019. The system, costs $2 billion and was purchased from global IT software giant Infosys and "is the same platform utilized by some of the most leading- edge banks in the world." The new platform will allow connectivity to third-party platforms, providing the opportunity, for example, for local fintech companies to "integrate within NCB's technical ecosystem to create new financial products and services".

The upgrade project is the most significant the bank has undertaken in recent history. The decision to upgrade over the weekend of May 17, 2019, was taken after undertaking multiple rounds of rigorous testingwhich indicated that core systems would have stabilized prior to payroll date. Once the upgrade is complete, business customers will be able to manage and deploy payroll and transfers in less time than it usually takes and perform 'self-serve' transactions that previously required the assistance of a customer care agent. Personal customers will get a new interface and be able to automate transfers and bill payments and opt for transactions notifications in their preferred format - SMS, email, or mobile app.

The upgrade, slated to last for up to six weeks, was expected to cause temporary disruptions to regular services, especially over the initial period May 17-20, including the unavailability of online banking and mobile app services, and a 1 p.m. closure of all NCB branches on May 17, 2019. However, the system upgrade has not gone as planned. After taking their telephone, online and mobile app services offline on May 17, 2019, NCB was unable to restore those services on May 20, 2019 as originally planned and communicated to their customer base. Some services were restored on May 23, 2019, but others were still offline up to month end. As a result, customers were unable to access any self-service options via telephone or online (including their mobile app); a number of in-branch services were also affected, inconveniencing millions of customers across the island. Technical difficulties also caused some corporate customers who process their

payroll through the financial institution to be unable to pay their employees as scheduled and personal banking customers with accounts at the financial institution unable to complete basic transactions. Customers have been forced to visit NCB branches for most banking services, resulting in long lines and extended wait times. While NCB ABMs and point-of-sale machines remain operational, but can only process a few types of transactions.

The situation at NCB has sparked outrage among NCB's business and personal banking customers alike who have taken to social media to voice their displeasure with the bank. The payroll issue has been the most controversial, garnering media attention, with all major media outlets (television, press, radio) covering the story for several days. This has forced NCB's management to actively manage a growing public relations and customer service crisis. NCB has taken to social media to apologize to customers and group CEO, Patrick Hylton has also issued a news release to the media:

"The issues being experienced by our customers have our total and undivided attention. Despite our teams working around the clock to manually upload and process payroll files as a result of unavailability of our upgraded platform, some customers have yet to receive their salaries and for this we are deeply sorry. Unfortunately the stabilization has not occurred in the expected timeframe. We will not rest until we are able to restore our systems and more importantly, our customers' confidence. We are committed to turning this around and creating an experience and platform that is worthy of your loyalty."

Predictably, NCB's marketing team has been in crisis management mode since May 20, 2019 and are still formulating an integrated marketing communications strategy to respond to the issue. So far, NCB has offered extended opening hours on May 27 & 28, 2019 and also announced plans to reimburse customers who incurred late payment fees for utility companies as well as loans and credit cards held at other financial institutions due to delayed salary payments. NCB will also ensure that customers do not incur late fees on NCB loan and credit card facilities and will be working closely with Jamaican credit bureaus and other stakeholders to mitigate the impact of late payments on

customers' credit reports. The team however recognizes that these measures may not be enough to placate customers, who are likely to experience even more issues over the six- week implementation period for the new system.

"How do we get customers to not be totally fed up with us before this system upgrade is over?" asked Nadeen Matthews Blair, Chief Digital and Marketing Officer in an emergency team meeting on May 27, 2019. "We know that customers are currently frustrated with the bank, that payroll issue was just really bad luck. We know the system upgrade was badly needed- cybercrimes are on the rise in Jamaica and this new system will make our customers so much safer, not to mention the improved banking experience they will have as a result of the upgrades. We need to find a way to communicate with customers that these teething pains are worth it"

Adapted from various local news sources.

Question You have been appointed as team lead for the upcoming campaign. Using this case as a background:

1) Explain clearly how you will evaluate this campaign. (8 marks) please answer the question

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

To effectively evaluate the campaign in light of the challenges faced by the National Commercial Bank Jamaica NCB I would employ a comprehensive and s... View the full answer