KBZ Bank: Credit Smart

KBZ Bank was preparing to roll out the first credit products Myanmar had ever seen. In a market with no experience of consumer credit, the commercial opportunity came with a serious reputational risk: promoting credit use without helping people understand it could lead to misuse, debt problems and a backlash against the bank.

KBZ needed a launch that would educate the market about the risks and rewards of credit at the same time as it built demand, and that would prepare journalists to cover the products responsibly.

Ruder Finn Era, then ERA Communications, devised the Credit Smart campaign concept. The idea was to make financial literacy the front door to the product, so that every touchpoint taught as well as sold.

The campaign combined video content that tackled common myths about credit, an ongoing programme of social media content, and PR round tables where media could question the bank's experts before the products reached the market. By educating both consumers and journalists, the campaign built informed demand and reduced the chance of the misuse stories that could have derailed the launch.