Hong Leong Bank shows benefits of planning early in CNY spot

Hong Leong Bank (HLB) has launched its Chinese New Year campaign with a video entitled "The Grown Ups’ Table", which aims to convey the message that dreams and future success begin with the actions taken today.

Done in collaboration with m/SIX Malaysia and Naga DDB Tribal, the video features a little girl who aspires to sit at the adults’ table during reunion dinner. She starts strategising ways to make it happen very early before Chinese New Year by mimicking her aunts and uncles as a way to prove that she is an adult. The video has a heart-warming ending where the little girl is allowed to join adults’ dinner table.

In a statement to A+M, a spokesperson from m/SIX said instead of focusing on tradition, the video "draws insights from relatable experiences" that children go through during the festive period and "translates it into an actionable message" which encourages early planning to reap successes of tomorrow. The spokesperson added that the video will be uploaded on various platforms such as Facebook, Youtube, Google search, TV, radio, KOLs, Google Display, and China Press.

The video garnered 2,300,663 views on HLB's YouTube channel at the time of writing, while its Facebook video had 5.1k reactions, 342 comments, and 3.2k shares.

Zalman Zainal, chief marketing and communication officer of HLB, said the bank believes aspirations can become reality with the right amount of hard work and conviction, and it hopes that 2020 will "exemplify the tenacity and virtue" that Ah Girl, the little girl in the video, demonstrated.

“Ah Girl’s efforts don’t go unnoticed as she is rewarded by her family members with a nod of approval, signifying that hard work always pays off. With that in mind, we want to help Malaysians create their own prosperity with a range of tailored banking products and services that will help them achieve their goals and earn themselves their own nod of approval," he added.

Domenic Fuda, group managing director and CEO of HLB, said this campaign is aimed to encourage all Malaysians to start seeding their dreams by taking action today to realise tomorrow’s goals and prosperity.

“The year 2020 is a special one as the Chinese zodiac cycle starts from the top and we should consider it a year of renewal to reignite and revitalise our aspirations for the new year," Fuda said. "At HLB, we want to help seed the dreams of Malaysians by assisting them to secure their future aspirations of abundance and prosperity with financial products and services that are built around their needs."

"Being very aware of CNY tropes, we challenged ourselves to find a way to turn a sweet little girl into that iconic Nosy Aunty we see every year," said Michelle Goh, Naga DDB copywriter. “In the end, the lesson we learned from the experience reflected into our video, that pursuing little ideas can take a lot of hard work, but when it pays off - it rewards you greatly,” Goh explained.

"We worked closely with Hong Leong Bank to push the boundaries of telling Ah Girl's perseverance story beyond just the traditional campaign film approach," said Wong Jiin Jiek, Naga DDB Art Director.

"Using short tactical vignettes and Instagram Stories, we were able to inject a new flavor of showcasing product promotions and features while adding more depth to Ah Girl and her "favorite" relatives across new viewing platforms," Wong continued.

The campaign also sees HLB providing rewards for customers using its e-wallets or cards. This is in line with its growing emphasis on digital banking and cashless payment. Just last year, the bank launched a digital day campaign which consisted of a series of situational webisodes with the purpose of helping Malaysian customers understand how they can benefit from going cashless. It also held a promotional weekend where there was a host of attractions, benefits, promotions and partnerships to encourage transition into cashless solutions.

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