23 MILLION POLISH INVESTORS NOT JUST KIELBASY: MARKETERS SPEND BIG IN PENSION DOUGH FIGHT

In the race to attract 23 million potential consumers by the end of the year, financial services marketers are pouring $150 million into advertising in Poland’s biggest public communications issue since mass privatization-pension reform.

By September, the 8 million Poles under age 30 must select a private pension fund, while the 15 million aged 30 to 50 may either remain with the existing government pension plan or pick one of the new private funds by December.

Ad budgets from companies launching pension funds, including Citigroup, Commercial Union, American International Group, Nationale Nederlanden and Winterthur, are so high — $8 million to $10 million on average — that the pension fund industry is expected to help boost Polish ad spending 30% this year. That’s on top of the 50% increase last year in top agency billings.

“It’s a rather extraordinary situation — you have 16 companies all launching at the same time, all backed by millions — and all with just a few months to really market their products,” says Patrick Acheson, group account director of Saatchi & Saatchi, which handles Nationale Nederlanden’s fund.

With the flood of ad messages, it’s not easy for marketers to get noticed. Strategies differ, but none are able to exploit differences in quality.

“Due to the way the system is set up, no fund is any different than another. So the prevailing method of marketers seems to be ‘He who shouts loudest gets brand awareness,’” says Greg Paine, media director of McCann-Erickson Polska.

The fund promising to shout loudest, PKO Bank Handlowy, is spending around $20 million on advertising its Handlowy fund in a bid to grab 10% of the market. The ads, vignettes created by Ammirati Puris Lintas, feature a boy named Bogdan who describes the fund in a light, simple way. The tagline is: “Bogdan says Bankowe.”

“It’s easy to remember, it rhymes and it’s everywhere,” says Andrej Czajkowski of the boutique agency Czajkowski & Brajdic. “They will certainly get share of voice.”

Young & Rubicam’s campaign for Citibank’s DOM (“home”) fund, with the sleepy slogan “You can feel good anywhere but you’re most comfortable at home,” shows some marketers are playing it safe. But most observers are applauding the liveliness of the campaigns, particularly given the subject matter.

“Let’s face it — it’s the ultimate in low-interest subjects,” says Mr. Paine.

“Agencies have been far more original than they might be under other circumstances, since everyone’s trying to stand out at any cost,” says Mr. Acheson. “The trick is of course to do something that’s daring but still relevant.”

hoping for big ego

Chicago-based Leo Burnett designed everything from the logo to the direct marketing campaign for BIG Bank — in which Portugal’s Banco Commercial Portugues is the major investor — and even came up with the fund’s brand name, Ego.

“When you think of retirement, you think of yourself,” offers managing director Jaroslaw Ziebinski.

Because Poland’s pension reform was based on those of Argentina and Chile, the agency even sent a research team to South America.

“The same old themes we saw there are cropping up now in Poland — lots of testimonials, images of strength and solidity,” says Jan Mosiejczuk, Ego’s account director. “Everyone used the same motifs, so the consumer was confused. That made it easy to know what we had to avoid.”

As a result, Burnett’s ads take an emotional approach. The spots center on the slogan “Stay Yourself!” and all are based on the idea that retirement doesn’t have to cramp one’s style.

Already 22% of all commercials — and over 50% in prime time –are for pension funds, and media directors said competition for prime slots is fierce.

Even the Catholic Church plans its own licensed pension fund, to promote moral investments.

“They’re buying everything,” says Martin Boglowski, media manager at MediaCom. “All the best slots are gone well in advance. Funds have only a few months to achieve brand awareness, and they’ll do anything to get it.”

Poland’s most expensive commercial break, during the TVP1 daily news, often went unsold at $25,000 for 30 seconds, but is now packed with five pension fund commercials.

The pension fund boom won’t last forever. Some funds are expected to merge next year, while others are likely to stop advertising by yearend. But with retail banking launches in the works and credit cards taking off, the financial services category promises to continue the ad boom.

Crain News Service