Media & Marketing:Advertising is all around us in all forms of communication and consumers are exposed to hundreds of commercial messages every day. For advertisers, one option to break through this clutter is disruption.
In his book Beyond Disruption, Jean Marie Dru, president and chief executive of ad agency TBWA, characterises disruptive ideas as "inspiring, refreshing, daring ideas that defy market and category rules".
Niall O'Grady, director of strategy and marketing in Permanent TSB, was recently named marketer of the year by Marketing magazine for leading the bank's strategy in rejuvenating an ageing customer base and ensuring that new customers could establish a profitable and broad-based relationship with the company.
O'Grady says he is unfamiliar with the notion of disruptive advertising, but he acknowledges that it is a good description of the marketing strategy pursued by Permanent TSB as it fights other banks for market share in the personal current account market.
Permanent TSB's ad campaign featuring a Mafia hit man advising consumers to switch their current account - launched in 2005 - was a radical departure from its traditional advertising.
The approach has got results. It is estimated that AIB has a 35 per cent market share of all new business in the current account sector, Bank of Ireland has 22 per cent and Permanent TSB has 20 per cent. Ulster Bank, which has maintained a conventional advertising approach, trails with a 14 per cent market share.
O'Grady says 2007 was a record year for Permanent TSB, with 68,000 new current accounts opened. This was the highest number since the bank launched its current account switching campaign in 2005.
He adds that the segment his advertising targets is 25-34 year olds, a difficult group to impress.
"There is little point in Permanent TSB targeting under 25-year-olds because AIB and Bank of Ireland have exceptionally strong relationships with the student population, and there is nothing to be gained from targeting the over 35-year-olds, because they have committed relationships with their chosen bank and are extremely unlikely to move."
He adds: "AIB and Bank of Ireland have the comfort of size and size does matter. There is no point in us saying to 20- somethings, 'we're the third biggest bank, move to us'. We would get no result. We have to tell our potential customers that we are better than AIB and Bank of Ireland and we have to tell them that with a single sharp message. We have had to bombard this target audience almost to the point of irritation to get our message across and persuade them to switch."
Of course, advertising doesn't work in isolation. Permanent TSB was the first bank in the Republic to offer credit interest on current account balances, facilitating text alerts and launching individualised cards.
More than 5,000 customers enlisted to have a personalised photograph printed on their ATM cards in the four months after the inventive was launched.
Newspaper inserts have formed a large part of O'Grady's advertising strategy. The bank placed inserts in national newspapers every week for 20 weeks in the early stage of the campaign.
O'Grady acknowledges the importance of online advertising, but is still a fan of traditional media. "Inserts get us in front of the eyeballs of our target market in a very big way.
"While online is increasingly important, I strongly feel that if you get the execution right, newspapers and magazines are the fastest and most efficient way to get your message across."
This year, O'Grady is looking for ways to make it easier for new customers to sign up to Permanent TSB without having to come into a branch. He also believes that marketing has to position itself at the commercial heart of the business.
"If you think your marketing role is to support, then that's what your role will be. There's an opportunity to take a broader view in serving the business."
