The Swiss retail banking market, after
a decade of consolidation, is now seeing
intense competition. For this reason,
many banks are increasingly interested
in today’s youth – as they might
turn out to be tomorrow’s wealthy or
affluent clients.
That is the rationale behind UBS’s current
national drive to attract younger
clients. With a view to building longterm
relationships, UBS has repackaged
its main youth-oriented product lines
and services into a bundle for teenagers
called “Generation” and another for
students called “Campus”. Both are
free and offer face-to-face meetings
with client advisors, a Europe-wide
youth discount card, and a link to the
UBS KeyClub bonus system.
Still, it is hard to generate much interest
by promising monthly account
statements, preferential interest rates
and regular meetings at a bank. To
help things along, UBS is working with
Apple/iTunes and its slightly longer
track record in the area of cool. With
the launch of Apple’s Music Store in
Switzerland in early May, UBS offered
young clients online music downloads
by way of a plastic card that works in
the same way as a prepaid mobile
phone card. And they can also use the
KeyClub points they get with their
new account to buy iPod products
(players and downloads) at a discount.
The same goes for all UBS KeyClub
members regardless of age. In fact, as
part of the iTunes Music Store launch,
UBS offered every resident in Switzerland
one free downloadable song.
UBS is also getting as much face time
as it can with young clients around the
country. During a heat wave in mid-
June, for example, you would have
found a number of client advisors –
wearing red polo shirts and white
baseball caps – at a temporary stand
set up on the grounds of a public
swimming pool. In Zug, client advisors
served ice cream outside their branch
while in Berne a counter hall was fitted
out as a lounge complete with a DJ
and eleven young advisors ready to
explain what Generation and Campus
were all about.
The project is an ambitious one for the
Swiss retail segment as UBS looks to
achieve substantial growth in the
youth market over the next few years.
It has already generated a significant
number of new bank accounts, and
the national television and movie ads
have been widely recognized for giving
UBS a fresh and youthful image while
remaining true to the firm’s brand
image. Sooner or later, young people
will have to figure out how they deal
with their money. At that point, the
institution they choose will depend on
whether they find one on their wavelength
– and UBS is doing its best to
show them that it is.
