Kiwibank imitates spy film to urge online switch

Matt Damon in The Bourne Identity. Photo / Supplied

Kiwibank is launching a "Bourne Identity-style" interactive internet campaign today, where potential customers will be able to switch banks online.

The New Zealand-owned bank's new marketing push is based around a YouTube video that portrays an "elite-team" of Kiwibank staff who want to rescue customers from bad banking experiences.

The campaign echoes Kiwibank's 2008 "Join the Resistance" television adverts, encouraging customers to make the switch from its Australian-owned competitors.

The new online video fuses the look and style of spy-comedy Get Smart with the thriller Bourne Identity, said Kiwibank's head of brand and marketing Nicky Ashton

Throughout the video, customers will be prompted to click through to a website where they can begin the switching process. The bank will then send out forms to get the customer's signature and verify their identity to complete the process.

Customers should not be concerned about security or privacy breaches as the bank's verification procedures were tried and tested, Ashton said.

The online campaign will give customers the choice to come into a branch to finalise the switch over.

Ashton said the campaign was about the company maintaining momentum and attracting new customers who might be "apathetic" towards their current bank.

The campaign is part of a wider trend in banking to connect with customers using less-traditional avenues, such as social-networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.