Yorkshire Building Society

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Mortgage Campaigns

Brahm have worked with Yorkshire Building Society since 2003. At this time Brahm were briefed to develop to look at the potential role for communications in acquiring new customers for the UK’s third largest mutual. The resultant proposals and their adoption by the YBS Board led to the production of the first major advertising campaign for the society for over a decade.

The campaign was launched in April 2004 as a test within the YBS heartland in the north of England. The campaign proposition was developed in response to their brief to ‘attract more loyal and long term customers to take up their mortgage products’. The mortgage market has become increasingly more rate led in recent years which results in a much higher rate of customer churn & less revenue for the providers to invest in new products. YBS therefore had a commercial requirement to redress the balance of the mortgage business they were attracting.

Brahm’s strategic recommendation focused on utilising the awards YBS had won for a number of their mortgage products to promote a message which would re-define ‘value’ away from being simply the mortgage with the lowest rate. By acknowledging what a headache finding the right mortgage can be for people, the campaign focused on the message that YBS has the right product for you amongst their range of award winning mortgage products.

The multi-media campaign was led by a 30 second TV commercial was supported by press, outdoor and direct marketing activity. The results of the campaign were tracked and it succeeded not only in attracting a greater volume of customers but also a less promiscuous & more profitable customer profile.

The effectiveness of this initial campaign was also recognised within the Financial Services Industry when YBS won two awards at the Financial Services Forum Awards for Marketing Effectiveness 2004. The Yorkshire Building Society advertising campaign developed by Brahm won the top award for ’Most Effective Advertising Campaign’ and the Judges Award for the ‘Best Contribution to Marketing Learning.’

After a further burst of advertising activity in January 2005, we ran a new TV commercial in September 2005 supported by national press and a branch marketing campaign. All of the communications activity is being tracked by YBS and to date has exceeded targets set by the society for new customer acquisition.

For further information please contact David Lavelle, Head of Advertising or Ruth Holgate, Business Development Manager, on 0113 230 4000 or email greatoutcomes@brahm.com