In Argentina, it is common to split the cost of items rather than pay for them outright. With a 50% inflation every year, people's wages lose half their value per year, so Argentinians are forced to buy things in instalments and end up paying for products for as long as 24 months, whether it is a big or small purchase. The brief was to make something different for Valentine's day in social media, with a very low budget. The objective of this campaign was to connect with people (engagement), as well as reinforcing its positioning as a bank that understands people and brings them real solutions.

Previous to Valentine's Day we offered a promotion for those people who had made a joint purchase or a gift for their ex-partners, and who are still paying the installments. We produced four spots with different stories of heartbreak with a tragicomic tone and we invited people, customers and non-customers of Itaú, to tell their own stories. The prize: that the outstanding installments to be paid are cancelled by Itaú.

We realized that to be still paying for an item bought for an ex is exactly the kind of issue that a bank can help with, so this was a perfect space for Itaú. In Valentine's day we knew there would be enough loved-up messages, but there was plenty of room for tragic comedy, and allows us to talk in a slightly more colloquial, fun way to engage with a younger audience. Our target audience were people between 25 and 34 years old, living in Argentina, with active bank account, who bought any item in installments for a previous couple and is still paying it.

We created four spots, each one telling a story related to an item bought for a partner (as a mattress or a perfume), and shared them on social media.

The spots were launched during 02/11 and 02/15 and invited people to comment the story of their credit card pending instalments in the most recent post of Itaú Argentina's Instagram account feed. The six best were chosen by a jury of senior marketing executives, and then submitted to a public vote. The winner was announced on 25th February. We had a very small media buy to help the idea take off on social, but it got a lot of momentum organically that helped it spread on its own.

We wanted to win the conversation on Valentine's day in Argentina, and became the campaign with most buzz and the only one to reach press. In just 2 weeks we got: Social media impressions:

4.9 Millions

50 media outlets

95% positive sentiment

+30% engagement rate

74% Engagement rate

+125% YouTube VTR vs. benchmark