BMO MasterCard

Details

CLIENT: BMO Bank of Montreal
PRODUCT: BMO MasterCard
TIMING: 2008- Ongoing
MARKET: Canada
LANGUAGE: English & French

Introduction

BMO Bank of Montreal is one of the leading financial institutions in Canada, with locations nationwide. In 2008, BMO Bank of Montreal commissioned Magnet Search Marketing with the challenge of lowering their overall online credit card cost-per-acquisition for the BMO MasterCard despite recent market challenges.

Since Q4 2008, major banks & credit card providers are being seen as contributors to the current state of the economy. With Canadian’s tightening their wallets, it has since become more challenging to preach the benefits of a credit card. In addition, the credit card industry is very competitive- with numerous options available to Canadians adding to confusion during the card selection process.

Target Insights

When selecting a credit card, the typical credit card search to conversion process typically takes 1 week, with the majority of search queries related to non-Branded terms. Search Engines are a fundamental step of the initial ‘information gathering’ phase and the typical converter will conduct 1-5 searches prior to application fulfillment. Major Bank loyalty it seems is also secondary to card benefits*.

*Source: Google & Compete Credit Card Study 2008

Solution

To meet the challenge, Magnet leveraged these consumer insights to develop a sophisticated paid-search account structure that aligned with credit card search pattern behaviour and expectations.

• Increased reach and frequency by expanding keyword set, running numerous creative executions and maximizing campaign settings
  • Search terms were segmented into various categories including: Credit Card Type, Benefits, Affinity Partners, Branded and the majority General Non-Branded.
• Addressed competitive presence by testing multiple keyword matching strategies and aggressive CPC bidding
• Highlighted relevant card benefits and versatility to consumers through highly targeted creative messaging
• Maximized conversions through the implementation of individual landing pages per Ad Group each with a clear, highly visible ‘Account Sign-up’ call to action

Results

Despite the industry decline in online credit card application completions, Magnet was able to decrease the cost per acquisition by 50% in 2008. The campaign has been renewed for 2009.

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