BBL turns to sports marketing to boost young-customer base

BBL is familiar with the corporate sector, which accounts for 44 per cent of its loan portfolio of Bt1.6 trillion, while retail clients account for just 12 per cent. 

The bank is attempting to make its brand well known among younger people, especially in regard to its credit cards, for which it has been offering attractive promotions to boost spending and the number of new cards throughout this year.

Credit-card spending growth has hit the bank’s target of 12 per cent this year, while the number of new cards issued has reached 400,000, senior vice president Choke Na Ranong said yesterday.

BBL wants to increase the young-customer base, among first-jobbers in particular, because these clients currently account for less than 10 per cent of its credit-card base of 1.7 million, he said. It is aiming to increase that proportion to 10-15 per cent, which he said would be a challenging goal. Therefore, the bank might not tighten credit-card approvals if this category of customer generates profits. 

Next year, BBL projects issuing some 500,000 credit cards, 100,000 more than this year, because the economic outlook looks better over the course of the next 12 months. 

It expects around 100,000 of the new cards will be for first-jobbers, a segment that will be targeted by the bank, said the executive. 

Meanwhile, the bank yesterday announced its designation as the official payment-card partner in Thailand of a leading English Premier League soccer team, Chelsea Football Club. Choke said the partnership was part of the bank’s strategy to change its style “from conservative to sporty”.

The first joint activity under the partnership will be six-day, five-night tour packages to London, including air tickets, hotel accommodation and match tickets for two people, provided for lucky-draw winners who spend via BBL’s debit cards and credit cards. 

The bank will launch a co-branding of its credit card with Chelsea FC in the second half of next year. 

BBL is not targeting the number of co-branded credit cards it will issue as it forecasts that the partnership will attract a greater number of new debit cards, because customers who qualify for credit cards must have a monthly income of at least Bt15,000, he said.

Thaweelap Rittapirom, executive vice president of BBL, said the bank had turned to using sports marketing in communicating with the young generation because of their great interest in sports such as soccer, plus the fact that the wealthier among them were becoming more interested in sports. 

Chelsea FC has a huge fan base in Thailand, which represents a new generation of potential customers for the bank to focus on, he said. 

Retail banking at BBL currently comprises 16 million accounts, of which one-third are young customers aged up to 25. Under the five-year partnership with the English club, the bank expects to be able to boost the proportion of customers in this age group to 35 per cent, Thaweelap said.