You pay £11.5bn to bail out HBOS and this is how they say thanks

GREEDY HBOS bankers being bailed out with £11.5 BILLION from hard-pressed taxpayers are today exposed REVELLING on a boozy £330,000 junket and LAUGHING at customers facing repossession.

The News of the World caught 302 Halifax/Bank of Scotland mortgage staff and 68 guests lapping up the five-star freebie while cash-strapped families deal with disaster.
The heartless money men and women just downed champagne and GIGGLED as star TV comedian PATRICK KIELTY—who charges £20,000 a show—poked fun at their shameful excesses in the midst of Britain’s credit crisis, vowing: “Your secret is safe with me!”
Last night an HBOS whistleblower told the News of the World: “There was absolutely no expense spared. We had the best of everything—great food, expensive wine, you name it. It’s outrageous really, considering all the recent troubles at HBOS. We all had a good time though. We even got a day off work—AND got paid for it.”

Today we reveal the cost of this week’s jolly as HBOS, set to be taken over in a government-sanctioned multi- billion deal with LloydsTSB, ran up the gigantic bill including:

• OPULENT hotel rooms totalling £60,000.
• CHAMPAGNE reception at £4,000.
• LAVISH £200-a-head four-course meals with yet more booze.
• TRAVEL expenses costing £45,000.
• LUXURY £100 goodie bags for every guest and,
• PRIZES of £1,000 to reward the work of 16 mortgage brokers over a year that’s left most of Britain struggling.

The all-expenses-paid weekend trip— known as the Annual Star Gala—started on Friday morning as HBOS staff arrived in Edinburgh from all corners of its empire including Belfast, Leeds and Sheffield. At the same time their bosses, along with other banks’ bigwigs, were getting a dressing-down from Chancellor Alistair Darling over their failure to pass on Thursday’s Bank of England 1.5 per cent cut in interest rates.
By the time the party crowd were checking into the city’s top three hotels —The Balmoral, The Caledonian Hilton and The George—the men in suits had caved in to government demands.

Fancy

Lucky HBOS staff who landed bookings at The Balmoral—where the rooms start at £215 per night and are favoured by celebrities such as George Clooney and Tom Hanks—were soon splashing about in the swimming pool.

Others took full advantage of the plush Finnish sauna, Turkish steam room and beauty treatments before their big night on the tiles.
It was a similar story at The Caledonian—a favoured haunt of Sean Connery and former PM Tony Blair. But some guests billeted at the four-star George—where rooms are £180 a night— felt hard done by. Our insider told us: “They were moaning and felt they were missing out. I wouldn’t mind, but some of them actually LIVE in the city and didn’t even need rooms really.”
At lunchtime the bankers enjoyed a feast of smoked salmon, foie gras pate and champagne. Goodie bags left in their rooms contained Moet & Chandon bubbly, leather-bound journals, chocolates and £10 Starbucks vouchers.
Then it was time for the main event—and on Friday evening they were all taken by coach to the Prestonfield Hotel for their gala dinner.
A lucky dozen guests were already there, booked into rooms costing £250 a night. But a News of the World team was there too for the opening reception as guests—men in tuxedos or kilts, women in cocktail dresses—enjoyed bottles of expensive champagne with fancy smoked salmon and quail egg canapés.
They then sat down for dinner. Tables seating 10 were decorated with orchids and napkins crafted into swans. And on each one waiters placed FOUR bottles of wine and TWELVE bottles of beer. Pumpkin soup was followed by roast chicken then profiteroles with chocolate sauce and cream. Our insider told us: “It was like a Roman feast— with enough booze to float a ship.

Tipsy

“They like to get you absolutely plastered at these events. On top of that they gave us drink vouchers so we could hammer the free bar!”
When Irish comic Kielty took the stage he tore into a string of ‘gags’ about the credit crunch and hard-up customers losing their homes. And the mortgage pushers roared with laughter.
As the disco took over, tipsy revellers staggered about splashing free drink on the dance floor—some kicking off their £300 Christian Louboutin high heels to dance around expensive handbags. The night ended at 1am when guests were ferried back to their hotels by coach. Our informant added: “Many people were the worse for wear by then. One woman couldn’t find her shoes, another had to be carried on the bus.
“The whole do obviously cost a fortune and the bank really did go to town. But some of us think it’s taking the mickey in the current climate, a slap in the face for taxpayers. HBOS couldn’t have chosen a worse time.”
Last night a spokeswoman for the bank insisted: “It was a modest affair, an event we hold every year to reward our star performers.” Pressed on the cost, she said: “It was a modest amount.”
In a later statement HBOS said the bash was booked and paid for last year, and they did not know the content of Kielty’s act in advance.
But a source close to Chancellor Alistair Darling said last night said: “He’ll be absolutely astonished they were spending so much money."

Of course surprise as an element of money marketing has been around forever.

Of course surprise as an element of marketing has been around forever. Another way to think of surprise is the technique of getting the person’s attention. Print advertisers do it with layout, ad design, copy and photography, radio advertisers do it with lead in announcements comments and sound, television -well, everyone knows how surprise leads to attention, and then hopefully leads to excitement and arousal and awareness and eventually liking and purchase and loyalty.

I point this out because yes, in viral marketing surprise is important but it is not a unique quality of viral marketing in the sense that this is what makes viral marketing unique. What makes viral marketing unique today is the use of the internet and certain subsets of the internet (social networking for example) to try to “create” a viral marketing campaign. Like “creating surprise” this is something that is as much an accident and a fortunate outcome as it is a well planned money one.

If the viral marketing campaign is good, if the underlying value proposition is good, if the channels of communication are good, then elements like surprise can help reach that much sought after tipping point.

The article is a good one, and as we marketers continue to try to find ways to connect with more potential customers, viral marketing looks more and more appealing. But, sadly, it is still marketing after all, and anyone who has any experience with marketing knows it is hit-and-miss.

A very insightful look at the element of surprise in viral marketing, Maki.

A very insightful look at the element of surprise in viral marketing, Maki.

Generating positive surprise within consumers is the ideal aim of the viral marketer. Better still is when this translates into a positive reaction to what you are offering, like a product or service.

I wonder whether you think that there is any benefit in creating negative surprise, Maki?

It is often said that there is no such thing as bad publicity in this day and age where any buzz at all about you is worth something.

Understanding psychology is certainly useful to getting the concept of viral marketing. The gentle massaging- some might say manipulation- of consumer psychology is indeed at the root of any successful campaign.

I also think that it’s helpful to combine an understanding of psychology with an awareness of human biology.

For example, if the viral marketer can implant the ‘germ of an idea’ in one consumer, the social nature of humans will lead to it spreading to susceptible individuals through social interaction. Just like a biological virus.

Understanding your audience’s schemas is identifying what makes them susceptible to this form of advertising.

But viral money marketing campaigns do not take hold of every consumer- some are immune and will not pass it on via word of mouth. All that is needed, however, is to ‘infect’ enough of those who are susceptible and you have the perfect viral ad.

Interesting stuff, Maki! I look forward to reading where you take the subject next.