Home Credit Philippines (HCPH) recently won two prestigious awards at the Marketing Excellence Awards Philippines 2024, receiving a gold award for Excellence in Viral Marketing for its Home Credit Transition Videos and a silver award for Excellence in Multilingual Marketing for its Hottest Summer sa Pinas! Geo-Based and Localized Programmatic Campaign.

“At Home Credit, we continuously refine our marketing strategies to connect with our diverse Filipino market wherever they may be in the country. We make sure that our campaigns not only help educate our customers to make informed decisions about our products, services, and promotions but likewise entertain them in platforms relevant to them, using formats that deliver the message in a meaningful and engaging way," said Sheila Paul, HCPH Chief Marketing Officer.

“We’re incredibly grateful for these recognitions as we continue to innovate our campaigns to reach and resonate with more Filipinos, Para sa Life,” Paul added.

DataReportal’s Digital 2024 reveals how the Philippines boasts 86.75 million social media users spending an average of three hours and 34 minutes on different social media platforms. This presents a ripe opportunity for brands to engage particularly for a country that leads the world in online video consumption, with comedy and viral videos among the top content consumed online.

But with hundreds of thousands of content posts shared daily on social media, capturing and retaining audience attention has become increasingly challenging. Traditional marketing strategies often struggle to break through the noise, delivering brands in different sectors a median engagement rate of 0.60% on Facebook and 0.47% on Instagram, according to SocialPilot. 

HCPH's gold-winning campaign, "Home Credit Transition Videos," showcased the company's ability to leverage popular social media trends and create engaging content. Home Credit Philippines recognized the power of user-generated content (UGC) to create a unique brand personality. 

Transition videos, a popular social media trend, proved to be a particularly effective strategy for achieving virality. Leveraging this format, Home Credit produced relatable and humorous transition videos; incorporating its brand message into the content and amplifying it via its network of employee social media ambassadors. The videos proved to be both entertaining and effective, gaining over 40 million organic views in just two weeks.

This innovative approach demonstrates the company's deep understanding of the Filipino audience and its ability to adapt to rapidly changing digital landscape.
 

Beyond its viral success, HCPH also excelled in multilingual marketing. The company's "Hottest Summer sa Pinas!" campaign, which featured localized assets in regional languages, earned the company a silver award for Excellence in Multilingual Marketing, underscoring its efforts to connect with Filipinos on a hyper-local level. 

In 2024, Home Credit Philippines set out to increase brand awareness and customer engagement in key growth areas, including Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, the Cordillera Administrative Region, Central Luzon, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, CARAGA, SOCCSKSARGEN, and the Administrative Region of Muslim Mindanao.

Home Credit employed a targeted approach to reach its desired audience. The company increased ad frequency in specific regions while also customizing its marketing materials to appeal to local preferences and highlight local partnerships.

These strategies were first applied in Home Credit Philippines’ 2024 summer campaign, Hottest Summer sa Pinas! Launched on March 15, 2024, and ran until May 31, 2024, the campaign offered 0% interest deals on cooling appliances like air conditioners, electric fans, and refrigerators, as well as smartphones and laptops.

The targeted marketing approach yielded impressive results. Home Credit's localized assets were highly effective, outperforming generic materials. By tailoring its messaging to specific regions, the company achieved significantly higher click-through rates and increased engagement. This ultimately led to more store visits and loan applications, underscoring the power of multilingual marketing especially in an archipelagic and culturally diverse country like the Philippines. 

The Marketing Excellence Awards is an annual event organized by Marketing-Interactive. This program is dedicated to recognizing and celebrating remarkable achievements in marketing across the country. With 42 various categories, the awards honor individuals and businesses that create exceptional campaigns, which continuously shape and advance the industry.

In addition to its two wins, Home Credit Philippines was a finalist in six other categories, including Excellence in Location-Based Marketing; Excellence in Marketing Innovation; and Excellence in Digital Marketing for the 'Hottest Summer sa Pinas!' Geo-Based and Localized Programmatic Campaign; Excellence in Marketing for a Specific Audience and Excellence in Performance Marketing for Home Credit Cash Loan; and Excellence in Anniversary Marketing for Home Credit Philippines' 10th Anniversary.