In New Zealand, the competition in mortgages had become intense, which had taken its toll on the biggest banks.

Market share for ‘the big three’ had declined for five straight years. Smaller banks were winning. Bigger more established banks were struggling.

As the biggest bank in the market, New Zealanders saw ANZ Bank as the ‘big, cold, corporate one’, which was a barrier to consideration and growth.

Amplifying this image problem was some high-profile reputational issues. ANZ’s parent company in Australia was caught up in a Royal Commission into banking, and we lost our local CEO due to a personal expense scandal.

Finally, with interest rates at historic lows, it was hard to stand out through rates alone. And with media spend increasing through greater competition, we couldn’t keep spending our way out of the problem.

We needed to find a new way to earn share of mind in home loans.

In 2018, ANZ introduced a series of product features that allowed customers to make improvements to their homes for things like heating and insulation, via interest-free home loan top-ups.

The ANZ board had approved up to $100m in interest-free lending.

These features hadn’t been communicated widely and were typically used as ‘sweeteners’ for existing customers.

We needed something to turn around the fortunes of ANZ’s mortgage business. Our strategy was to elevate this suite of features to package and position a new home loan offering.

To do this effectively we applied the following principles:

Principle #1. Use ‘Healthy Homes’ as our unifying proposition to customers

Package these disparate features and offers into one holistic product package called Healthy Homes.

Principle #2. Raise our initiative to a bigger, social level

Used the emerging issue of New Zealand’s poor-quality housing and resulting health issues in PR and communication to build relevance and impact in culture.

Principle #3. Educate New Zealanders about this issue with empathy and warmth

New Zealand has the highest rate of respiratory illness in the developed world. This was a serious issue, but it was a sensitive one, as it related to people’s health.

We had a product with the potential to transform how people thought about, and bought, mortgages, as well as helping to solve one of New Zealand’s most serious but unaddressed social problems.

To get this issue spoken about across the country, we needed an approach that surprised, that positively challenged how people understood the issue, and got families talking.

Introducing Mr Humfreez.

Mr Humfreez is a nature-powered device that could sit pride of place in any home.

A loveable ram, Mr Humfreez was designed to help Kiwis understand the issue of healthy homes, by alerting them when their homes were too cold or damp.

Named after Hum (for humidity) and freez (for freezing) – Mr Humfreez was designed to capture people’s imaginations and land a ‘healthy’ message in a warm, engaging way.

Developed with the University of Waterloo in Canada, Mr Humfreez was created using natural hygroscopic materials – substances that react to moisture in the air.

His horns uncurled in response to humidity. And his nose, painted in thermochromic ink, turned blue when cold.

He was calibrated to WHO standards for the home (65% humidity / 18°C) and was sustainably created using New Zealand materials.

The success of Mr Humfreez by ANZ has far exceeded our wildest expectations.

He has helped turn long-term decline into market share growth for ANZ in Home Loans.

Using independent econometric analysis through Analytic Partners, the campaign has led to a revenue return of $30.80 for every dollar spent on media – a 24.5% increase on all previously tracked home loan advertising.

The initiative has also helped reverse declines in corporate reputation and brand consideration.

And from a parity start-point, three times more New Zealanders now link ANZ with the issue of ‘warmer, more efficient homes’.

Mr Humfreez drove 5X more search volume than any other ANZ campaign.

Government agencies and NGOs have reached out to seek potential partnership opportunities - including Housing NZ, EECA (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority), The Asthma & Respiratory Foundation and Habitat for Humanity.

Mass production is underway in phase 2 due to global demand.

Mr Humfreez is being trialled as a teaching tool to become part of the NZ school curriculum.

94% positive social media sentiment during the campaign. Incredible for ANZ bank at a time of significant reputational challenges in New Zealand and Australia.