House of Fraser were about 8 years late in entering the highly lucrative and competitive marketplace for store branded credit cards.

The re-launch of their recognition programme and launch of a new credit card had to satisfy the commercial objectives and investment of both House of Fraser and GE Money by attracting new customers and migrating existing store card holders to the new credit card. The core challenge was that, due to the cross-over of ‘loyal’ shoppers in Marks&Spencer, John Lewis and House of Fraser, most of their customers already had a store branded credit card from a competitor.

At the heart of the strategy was a very simple yet powerful insight. Namely, that customers compartmentalise their shopping behaviour: ‘Marks&Spencer is for food and underwear. John Lewis is for things for the home. But House of Fraser is where I go to buy nice things for me.’With a clearly differentiated marketing strategy from our competitive set the new card was positioned as the best way to get more of the things you love. A creative strategy, that adds glamour and sparkle to a more financially rewarding programme than the competitors', gave us a strong brand positioning. Recognition. You Deserve It.

Prior to this campaign, 2,349 accounts were opened on average per week. In launch week, 9,555 accounts were opened: An increase of 307%. Since launch week - 61,628 new cards opened: up 32% on same period last year.Amongst the customer base, spend on card has increased by 12%; transactions have increased by 10% and visits are up by 6% on the same period last year.During the Christmas Event credit sales were up 424% on last year and Penetration at 44% (18% last year).