Page 43 - HKMA/TVB Awards for Marketing Excellence 2019-Dinner Souvenir Programme

Silver Award

“Humanizing a Humanless Experience - WeLend A.I. Loan”
WeLend Limited

WeLend launched its first branding campaign in 2016 and successfully created a blue ocean market targeting online savvy
c­ ustomers with a unique and disruptive Fully Online Loan product. However, this success attracted more and more new and
existing players to join the battlefield, gradually reducing WeLend’s competitive edge. Striving for a bigger piece of the pie in the
market, it became time to open up the brand to a wider segment – the non-online loan segment, who were used to applying for
loans at offline channels.

WeLend faced the critical challenge that non-online loan users were less motivated to make a move, and had greater hesitations
with technology. Therefore, WeLend adopted a “mind-and-heart” strategy to not only persuade consumers with reason, but also
motivate them through an emotional connection, to tug at their heartstrings and resonate with them in order to catalyse an
intuitive brand switch.

WeLend crafted a key proposition of “Seize the Moment (即刻就是最好時刻)”, which carried the double meanings of “Do It Now”
(heart) while still echoing WeLend A.I. Loan’s instant benefits (mind). The unique proposition created a more compelling and
d­ istinctive brand value, and synchronized perfectly with the product’s uniqueness.

To connect with the target consumers emotionally, a micro movie featuring a love story between Eason Chan and Min-Chen Lin
was shot. Subsequently, product TVC with print ads and online advertising elaborating on product benefits were launched to
c­ onvert brand awareness into sales, which captivated audiences across Hong Kong. It proved to be extremely successful, and
caused a tremendous surge in loan applications and sales volumes, pushing WeLend to become the third largest player in the
market in just 6 years since its establishment.

More importantly, the campaign successfully uplifted WeLend’s brand awareness and customers’ brand preference, which
­ultimately brought WeLab, its mother company, to another level and contributed to it being granted a Virtual Banking License.
Using the same determination and success in applying technology to financial products & services, WeLab is now setting its sight
on redefining the banking experience to bring joy to each customer’s financial journey.

Comments from the Judges:
It was commended as an insightful and groundbreaking marketing campaign, which uplifted WeLend’s brand equity by introducing
a revolutionary humanizing A.I. loan experience and successfully prevented the brand from falling into red ocean traps.

The first-moving humanless yet a more humanized experience coupled with the self-developed Cantonese chatbot was highly
impressive. Bases on an in-depth market study, WeLend tactically adopted a “heart-and-mind” strategy to fill the sentimental
gap of the untapped target segment. The subtle but memorable micro movie with the perfect choice of celebrities successfully
connected the brand and the target segment with a resonant and powerful message of “Seize the Moment”.

The campaign achieved remarkable results in terms of brand awareness and new application volume. It reshaped the online
loan market landscape magnificently. With the emerging technologies, the campaign not only elevated WeLend and its mother
company to the next level, but also contributed to the FinTech development in Hong Kong.

Parties to be Recognized for Contributing to the Success of the Programme:
1. Innovative Digital Media Limited
2. Metta Communications Limited
3. Mindshare Hong Kong

41HKMA/TVB AWARDS FOR MARKETING EXCELLENCE 2019