Specials with Mashreq Credit and Debit Cards Qorus Banking Innovation Awards 2022

Mashreq’s vision includes an ambition to enable innovative possibilities for our clients. One such discussion happened some 18 months earlier in Mashreq, wherein our Head of Payments, Kartik Taneja asked the team to come up with an Offer which is so compelling that the customers don’t mind queueing up to avail the same. A. Background: All banking Offers or non-banking Offers were full of all types of conditions for the customers, spend XX to avail Y. Some times the reward of getting Y was also missed as the customers wouldn’t have fulfilled a condition or 2. So the main objective was to come up with an Offer which is tangible, operationally possible, scalable and can engage both our customers as well as the proposed partners. Through brain storming sessions within Mashreq we came up with an exciting Offering:, “To offer a very popular item from a well-known merchant at AED1 to all Mashreq Credit and Debit card customers, the main idea was not only to be innovative in our offering but also create an engagement tool which is compelling for our customers and is not scarred by any T&C. B. Convincing the Partners: Once we were clear internally that we want to launch our AED1 Offers with the TOP international brands, our next step was to engage with these brands and to convince them to run these Offers in partnership with them. We engaged with multiple brands, however we faced the following obstacles: 1. None of them had done any such ambitious Offers in their offerings in the UAE or any other part of the world. 2. Moreover, in order for this to make financial sense and also make sure that we limit the Offer to a customer on a particular day, it needed to be ringed fenced. Moreover, since the customer experience was the key focus element, our attention was directed to ensure that the redemption process was seamless and doesn't break-down when 10s of 1,000s of customers try using it on a particular day. Some big names tuned us down, since it was too new a concept for them and didn't quite match their internal business plans. Some others were interested in partnering with us, however the redemption process and the reach of these merchants wasn’t up to mark to serve over 500K Mashreq customers. C. Final Choice and Operational possibility :Through many rigorous sessions with various merchants, we finally short listed Baskin Robbins as our first partner to launch our campaign. The choice of the partner seemed right as they fully covered all the requirements, over 200 outlets across UAE (reach), 31 Flavors of Ice Cream (choice), technology of redemption codes on their ERP systems and ability to limit the codes as single use (seamless) were all in place. Since they are one of the most experienced merchants, we also had the confidence in their ability to manage and serve Mashreq Customers D: First Offer and course correction: The first Offer went live on the 1st Aug’21 which offered a Baskin Robbins Junior Scoop Cup for AED1. The regular retail price for this scoop was AED 8.50 (discount of ~90%). We were very excited about the same, however the Offer didn’t do as well as expected and engaged c. 800-900 customers only. We saw our selves back to the drawing board and challenged ourselves to improve this engagement. We noticed that we had put in a spends conditions of AED50 and Offered only 1 Ice Cream Scoop. After elaborate discussions, we decided to go with the improved version of our campaign, with no spending condition and 2 scoops of Ice Cream, thought process being who eats Ice Cream alone! E:The Success: We ran the second campaign on the 15th August’21 and were humbled by the positive and thrilling RESPONSE noise it created in the UAE. F: Results Testimonials: Since then we have had over 15 such campaigns and we have now engaged 200K++ customers through them. The campaigns run on ZERO advertising budget, however we now are able to spontaneously generate a buzz on social media. We have had over 5Million impressions, reach of 500K+ customers, 10k+ social media engagements and 200k+ campaign video views and counting........plus near ZERO complaints and happy customer comments and feedback all over social media. We also see that some other big banks in the region are also following the AED1 campaign engagement tool. We are happy to be innovators of a seamless engagement tool for not only Mashreq customers but will also be responsible for generating happiness for other customers. Following is the overview of the offer: Offer Description: Customers are offered a very popular item for just AED 1 with Mashreq Debit and Credit Card on a single day, with no other conditions. We offered itemise such as a Burger Meal at Burger King and/or chicken strips at Texas Chicken, chicken or cheese burger at McDonald’s, 2 Baskin Robbins Junior Scoop Ice Cream, any Dunkin Hot Coffee (medium), 3 Dunkin Donuts, a jar of Nutella, Nescafe, 3 packs of Juice or Lipton tea bags. Offer Redemption: 1. Mashreq Credit and Debit card customers were sent unique digit codes via SMS and EDM a few days earlier than the day of the campaign 2. On the day of the campaign the customer would need to visit any one of the outlets spread across the UAE or the e-com site (noon.com) to redeem their offer 3. At the outlet/website, customers would present their intention to avail the offer, show/ add the code to the cashier/checkout and choose the treat. 4. The codes provided were single usage codes and the offer was limited to the payment of AED 1 through a valid Mashreq Credit or Debit card 5. Customers had a choice of to dine -in and/or take out Customer Communication: The offer was well advertised and communicated across multiple channels: 1. Digital & Social: Social Media (Organic & Sponsored) Posts on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube Videos 2. Social Media Influencers: Facebook and Instagram influencers 3. Digital Partner Advertising: Home Page Banner on the noon App 4. BTL: Customer SMS, e-DM, Mobile In-App Banners and Push Notifications 5. Radio: RJ mentions 6. Mashreq Head Office Branding: Reception, cafeteria screens, elevator screens and Mashreq staff community centre 7. Word-of-Mouth: LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok and WhatsApp messaging by Mashreq employees 8. Social Media Influencers