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Card activity goes up, and stays up

Across 100+ activation campaigns at retail banks in Northern Europe, cardholders spent more and paid by card more often in the week after a campaign than cardholders at the same bank who were in no campaign.

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+23%
more card spend1
+18%
more card payments1

The lift lasts

In the third month after a single campaign, cardholders were still spending around 20% more than expected, almost as much as in the first month. Cardholders who went on to further campaigns were spending 39% more by the third month.2

Spend uplift week by week for 12 weeks after the campaign. After one campaign it falls from 29% in the first week to between 14 and 22% from the fourth week on. With campaigns continuing it rises from 24% to 39% by the twelfth week.

Weeks after the campaign

Incentives cardholders want

Reward cardholders with cashback or a waived card fee from your bank, or with a code from a partner for a coffee, a cinema ticket or a month of streaming. We help you set the partners up. Engagement Studio lets cardholders know the moment they earn it.

  • Cashback

  • Card fee waived

  • Coffee

  • Cinema ticket

  • Food delivery

  • Streaming

  • Gift card

  • Audiobooks

  • Travel discount

Questions about the results

How is the uplift measured?

For each campaign we compare the cardholders it reached with cardholders at the same bank who were in no campaign, from the week before the campaign to the week after it. The figures are the average across campaigns.

Does the effect wear off?

Some of it does in the first weeks, and then it holds. Twelve weeks after a single campaign, cardholders were still spending clearly more than before, and more again when further campaigns followed.

Will we see the same on our own cards?

That is what the pilot is for. Campaigns go to one segment of your real cardholders, and Engagement Studio shows their spend and payments against the same cardholders before the campaign, while it runs.

Measure it on your own cardholders

Start with a free proof of concept, then run a pilot on one segment of real cardholders to see the uplift on your own portfolio.

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Notes

  1. 1Based on 100+ campaigns at retail banks in Northern Europe. Results are measured against cardholders at the same bank who were in no campaign.
  2. 250+ campaigns, followed for twelve weeks. After one campaign means no further campaign message.