Westpac were the last of the big banks to offer Apple Pay and their customers noticed. They needed to employ a customer defence strategy that would reverse poor perceptions of the bank and avert churn.

The challenge was to generate uptake and usage of Apple Pay in a way that would help Westpac differentiate itself from the category. Placing the customer at the very core of the approach ensured that customers felt like they were with a bank that understands their lives — not just has the latest piece of tech.

Observing the behaviour and attitudes of the key under 35 target segment uncovered a single-minded creative expression: Free up a hand, pay the easy way. The strategy was to demonstrably show customers how Westpac was helping to solve a common problem in a simple, easy way.

A two-part campaign to achieve this launched with a TVC to emotionally prime and engage customers. A contact strategy then utilised eDMs, DM, digital banners and an online banking interface to immediately reinforce the rational benefit.

To contribute to uptake and usage, customers were offered an incentive; $10 back if they used Westpac with Apple Pay 5 times or more in the campaign period, with an additional donation to a charity on their behalf.

By incentivising usage, rather than uptake, Westpac improved perceptions and generated a new pool of customers worth significant lifetime value. They achieved 157% of their uptake target, and stimulated usage from 82% of their Apple Pay enabled customers. 58% used it 5 times, triggering the incentive. Despite being last to market with Apple Pay, Westpac leveraged technology to change customer behaviour, improve perceptions and generate value.