HSBC

Targeting an extremely niche audience – C-level executives of domestic business looking to expand internationally with annual sales of $1 million – HSBC wanted to elevate the awareness of its commercial banking brand to the number one position among its competitors, while delivering aggressive, highly qualified prospects over a two-year period.

The strategy was to develop a digital hub, offering content and tools for the target using many credible partners. Mindshare positioned HSBC as the consummate authority on international trade by creating the program/brand “Business without Borders,” making BWOB.ca the main hub of information.

BWOB was developed in partnership with HSBC, Rogers Publishing (Canadian Business, Profit, Maclean’s, L’Actualité and Small Business magazines) and The Economist.

Research of over 800 Canadian business decision-makers provided insights on exporting, and relevant content was written by editor specialists. Both on and offline was treated as editorial (versus advertorial) to ensure its credibility and value, along with an aggressive CRM and PR push, driving traffic to BWOB.ca.

By opting in, clients received access to proprietary tools and exclusive research. BWOB also featured an online forum for conversation and

idea sharing between business owners and industry leaders, government and academia.

BWOB breakfast series were launched in markets across Canada, with all partners participating.

The inaugural HSBC Business Awards, Canada’s first awards given to successful businesses expanding outside of Canada, were also launched to raise BWOB’s profile.

HSBC Commercial Banking has achieved the highest awareness among the target audience for providing information for businesses expanding outside of Canada. BWOB is ranked higher than any Canadian government website for information on exporting.

At the halfway point (year one) it has achieved 50% of the aggressive qualified leads. The site has received 153,230 total visits (104,668 unique), as well as 361,668 page views, and average time spent on the site has increased to 2.38 minutes.

Based on the current success, HSBC is rapidly closing the gap with its competitive set, and this Canadian program is now being expanded throughout the entire HSBC worldwide network.