Baltic PR Awards 2012 Category: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION Organization: SEB banka Country: Latvia Project name: Business solutions come to you! Place:3rd

1. Category: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION
SEB Banka (Latvia)
An opportunity to try on the shoes of our customers
Summary
To strengthen the cooperation with companies in the SME segment throughout the Baltics, SEB decided to take a
step towards being even more innovative and decided to not wait for customers to come to branch offices, but to
visit the customers in order to help them manage their daily financial planning. “Business solutions come to you”
is the initiative which was carried out in all three Baltic States and performed as part of the SEB brand promises
– to prove that we strive for rewarding relationships. This initiative emphasises the bank as the cooperation
partner for companies, offering valuable consultations and providing solutions and products for the company‟s
employees and managers. As during the first half of the year the number of new SME customers increased by
12% in Latvia and by 5% in Estonia, SEB decided to become even more familiar with the customers‟ shoes by
visiting them at their business locations. During the campaign, all companies had, and in Estonia still have, an
opportunity to apply for a consultation on the SEB website. To make it happen, 10 green SMART cars were used
by customer executives in all three sites to visit customers all over the country. Communication and marketing
plans were created by using an integrated communication approach.
Situation
Mutual relationship between the bank and its customers and the needs of customers are quite different – from
everyday financial services to the most complicated financial transactions. Knowing how busy our customers are
and, due to increased customer demand for our services, we decided to improve our „equipment‟ – both in terms
of transportation and substance – and come to our customers. The goal of our campaign „Business solutions come
to you!‟ was to take a ride in environmentally friendly SMART cars and visit at least 1000 small and medium-
sized enterprises in Latvia, and the same number of customers in other Baltic States, among which historically
there has been close cooperation, taking into account the representation of the SEB Group there. Our goal was to
find out the customer needs, provide consultations and educate them about deposits, financing options, employee
motivation and other financial services.
Objectives
It has always been important to us to find out the needs of our customers in order to be able to offer timely
support and consultations; therefore, one of the objectives of our campaign was to provide as much high-quality,
valuable advice as possible to small and medium-sized enterprises in the Baltic States. During the consultations,
we evaluated the company‟s existing liabilities, business goals and competitor situation, as well as provided
financial solutions for increasing the company‟s growth, employee loyalty and motivation. The campaign goal
was to form long-term relationships and attract new customers, as well as increase positive publicity. Another
goal was to involve our Facebook page followers in the bank‟s activities by following the movement of SMART
cars in Latvia on an interactive Google map, by publishing pictures of the cars.
Strategy
To distinguish SEB from other banks in the business customer segment as the best and most professional
consulting services provider. Client executives should meet their clients to draw a map of the current and future
state of the company‟s finances and offer the most suitable solutions for the company, its employees and key
persons.
Execution
Arrival of SMART cars in Latvia, internal communication between employees through the intranet.
30 July – campaign opening event and press conference „Health of Latvian Companies in the Last Five Years‟,
after which mass media representatives were given the opportunity to try out 10 environmentally friendly
SMART cars and take part in a photo shoot. Journalists were taken to the conference in SMART cars.
Radio 101 contest with the main prize from SEB banka – 101 lats. Contestants had to take their picture with a
SMART car and publish it on the social media (Facebook).

2. Category: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION
Creation of an interactive Google map on Facebook, where the page followers could follow the movement of the
SMART cars in Latvia.
30 July – 28 September: consultations of entrepreneurs in Latvia; April – June: consultations in Lithuania;
September – October: the campaign continues in Estonia.
October 10 – collecting the campaign survey data in Latvia.
Documented Results
Internal communication: boosting loyalty toward the initiative, click rate for several articles exceeds 100%, click
rate higher than the average for business messages.
External communication: Extended amount of positive media publications during the SMART campaign in all
three countries, increased word of mouth communication as cars created a buzz both in capital cities and in the
countryside.
Media relations: the amount of publications in Latvia reached an audience of more than 3 million (2 million
inhabitants), and the number of audience reached in Lithuania was 2.7 million (almost 3 million inhabitants).
Social media – number of followers on Facebook increased by 10%.
Business results – target visit index both in Latvia and Lithuania was above 100%. Latvia – 1400 visits, Lithuania –
1250 visits.
During the consultations, entrepreneurs were introduced with the „Company Financial Designer‟, which based on
cash flow, helps to objectively assess individual company progress and plan for business growth. More than 300
customers have used this option during the first months of operation.