Argentina is experiencing one of the worst crises in its history, and in that context nobody wants to open a bank account. The 2018 inflation rate was 47.6%, and in 2019 it is expected to be very similar. This crisis meant we had to capture new clients, and we saw an opportunity: to offer people a product that really solved their problems.

We created an account that refunds every month’s inflation to our clients, and by using real data we showed them the amount their income is losing, and how it would grow month by month if they deposited it in the Itaú. The main aim of this campaign was to attract new clients, of course, but also to be able to use hard data to communicate that we had a solution to a problem that affects us all.

Sensing the rejection felt by people towards most banks and their insignificant promotions, their concern at the devaluation of their income and constant price rises, we came up with another form of speaking to them and something we could offer them that they really needed.

We created what many thought was an unbelievable product, but were able to make it possible: a bank account they could open on a mobile in just 5 minutes that protects each client’s income from inflation, adding to their accounts every month the amount of money their salary would have lost. We thus ensured that people were unaffected by the fall in their purchasing power.

Our target was the working middle class. All those people who leave home every day to earn their living. Those who suffer most from the harsh reality of the country and see how their hard earned salary loses its value. Those people aren’t interested in opening a bank account, and even less in promotions that have little to do with their daily reality. So we came up with a product just for them, solving an immediate need: to protect their income every month. We also made opening an account very easy. So clients wouldn’t waste valuable time going to the bank, they could do it on a cellphone in just 5 minutes.

We launched a comprehensive campaign on national TV, street ads, digital and radio communicating our product and differentiating it from the products of the other banks. Every month we communicated the percentage of inflation announced by the government, so that people could visualise how much value their income was losing. But also so that they knew how much they could earn and protect it by depositing it in the Itaú.

The launch was a success. The number of accounts opened went up by 32% in a country context in which nobody opens accounts, but rather closes them. The image of the bank grew strongly meaning it could position itself among the market leaders. But most importantly, we managed to set ourselves apart from the other banks, with an unbeatable proposal anchored in reality, offering an immediate response to an urgent need. Consumers understood the proposal and recognized it was a product that was really going to solve their everyday problems, and the account could be opened on their cellphone in just 5 minutes.