Taking a stroll through online banking for children’s pages with the banks is an education. With compliance with New Zealand's strict guidelines and criteria for advertising to children, the advertising standards authority, asa, in mind, we'll take a look at the presentation and care banks do to attract young customers that could easily stay a lifetime.
The Proverb, train a child in the way he/she should go and when he/she is old, he/she will not depart from it can work well for the bank. Give me the child by seven and I'll give you the man/woman.
When parents open their child’s bank account they can also start a Kiwisaver ccount. This is important as the initial deposit from the government for $1000.00. This makes the banks efforts to present a credible, attractive image vital for their business. In many instances, the bank is simply boring, using text for parental instruction about the children’s savings accounts on offer.
To see the accounts on offer for yourself, I include below links that will take you to the savings accounts.
In alaphabetical order using the abbreviations:
ANZ youth account
ASB Kids
bnz kids
HSBC NZ
Kiwibank First Saver
NBNZ schoolplus
PSIS Dollars and Sense account (PSIS is a co-operative)
Rabodirect
TSB
Westpac Kids' space
A serious look through these websites will demonstrate the attention the bank has for its younger customers. Which one would appeal, in a child's eyes? Which one offers an exciting fun page? Which bank, by showing how it attracts the young, is seriously seeking a lifelong customer? Which presentation appeals to parents? We'll answer these and demonstrate the premise that a bank ought to take a child's online banking very seriously indeed.
To illustrate my point I have asked parents and young children to scroll through the accounts for their comments.
Jacob (6) and his mother looked at them all. Jacob chose Kiwibank as it had a car money box. His mother saw that the child did not receive that car immediately. There has to be six deposits made in person. Plus there are Raymond stickers to collect.
Second in Jacob’s opinion was Rabobank. It has a digger! And great colours! His mother preferred this above Kiwibank as it offers interest rates, tells exactly what will happen and the fact that it is an on line bank.
She gave second place to Westpac. Jacob liked the helicopter!
I also asked Brooke (9) and her Dad to scroll through. Brooke lost interest early. Nothing was attractive for girls. This is important. All the banks offer are things mechanical. What do girls like to see? Food and flowers? Glitter and fairies? Pink? Girl’s clothes focus on pink.
Her Dad liked ASB and Westpac, with Kiwibank third. He felt confident with the presentation and the accounts. Nothing about the giveaway stickers, (Kiwibank) though. He thought they looked stupid, and that silly name, Raymond. Who would want them?
The charity work that banks offer has interest to the parents and children as they are introduced to this aspect of a bank’s public profile. The Westpac helicopter is the most visible and better advertised. The bnz’s kiwi work is shown on the site, easily accessed and children will watch the slides with a parent. ASB’s community support is well recognised. Other sponsorships offered by various banks are more than welcome.
But where are the old fashioned money boxes? Any child likes to shake and hopefully break into their money box. Even more, when full, take it into the bank themselves. Banks can charge to count and bank cash. There is a real opening for any bank to encourage savings by the immediate giving of a money box in its own colours and with a reminder of its charities.
Children’s savings accounts are the banks future business. On line banking is here to stay. With an attractive children’s page, with fantastic graphics for girls and boys, with a money-saver give-away, with incentives and good communication skills, a bank can be confident that the parents like what they see, the children love to look and count and what’s more want to put their valuable pocket money in there.
Any bank looking to improve the image it portrays to its future customers can contact by email: damianseeto@gmail.com. Damian comments on computer games for the designers as they work on their productions before they reach the ever growing market and demand.
References:
they play games: www.thesmartbean.com
©2009 Looking Glass Ventures LLC All rights reserved
‘We are a small team of impassioned parents and educators drawn from the alumni and student body of Harvard University, MIT and Stanford University.’
New Zealand’s strict guidelines: www.asa.co.nz
Advertising Standards Authority New Zealand PO Box 10675 Wellington 6143 Ph (04) 4727852 Fax (04) 4711785 Email asa@asa.co.nz
The Proverb: www.biblos.com
©2004-2011 http://bible.cc/proverbs/22-6htm Biblos.com is an extension of the On Line Parallel Bible Project http>//bible.cc
Kiwisaver account: http://www.kiwisaver.govt.nz/
newzealandgovt.nz © copyright 2011 Inland Revenue
The government site contains the Kiwisaver information from the Inland Revenue. Parents and participants in the scheme would be wise to study this site. There are many financial institutions, including banks, offering Kiwisaver conditions for savings.
