- October 15, 2015
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What You Can Learn About Content Marketing From a Danish Bank
This is the story of a bank that turned itself into a bilingual media company (while still remaining a bank).
Jyska (pronounced You-ska) Bank believed so strongly in content marketing that it put its money where its message is: on the air. Based in Denmark, the bank’s integrated marketing program includes its own high-tech television studio, where it produces daily television and video shows under the banner of Jyskebank.tv.
Jyske Bank TV creates programs about finance and incorporates compelling stories aimed at its primary audience of younger consumers and small businesses.
Why Start a TV Station?
When Lasse Hoegledt joined the bank as a copywriter 25 years ago, he was assigned to the company’s first content marketing effort, a print magazine. But it was becoming harder to reach customers through traditional advertising as media became more fragmented. On top of that, printing and distributing a magazine was becoming cost-prohibitive, despite its success. Meanwhile, Hoegledt noticed the rise of YouTube and saw an opportunity to reach a new audience while saving money.
Today, Hoegledt runs Jyske Bank’s communication department and is editor-in-chief of Jyske Bank TV. The station’s content (in both Danish and English) supports the bank’s two key values, as reported in the Content Marketing Institute:
- Staying true to founding principles of openness and honesty
- Good storytelling
Openness Leads To Sharing
Openness is not easy for many financial organizations. But Jyske Bank TV has followed through on its vision of openness by making its content shareable and viewable on other websites. Consequently, as much as 80% of the bank’s content is viewed on outside sources, instead of its own site.
The risk has paid off in surprising ways. For example, Jyske no longer needs to spend time or money looking for sponsorship opportunities, because organizations seek to partner with the bank for its reach and media expertise.
Enlisting Employees As Marketers
The policy of openness and honesty also extends to the staff. Employees are essentially recruited as content marketers, by providing all employees at Jyske with the opportunity to hold a live, full-access television program.
Now that Jyske Bank controls its own content and media distribution, it’s able to get its message out to customers in creative new ways.