OCBC Securities needed to deepen brand consideration and drive higher-quality conversions among financially savvy investors aged 30 to 55+. Despite strong brand awareness within this demographic, the campaign faced two immediate barriers: capturing attention in an already saturated financial landscape and converting high-intent users efficiently. Early campaign results reflected this gap, conversion volumes were low, bounce rates were high, and existing media channels were not delivering sufficient impact. The challenge was clear: build trust, elevate relevance, and improve conversion outcomes with a more insight-driven, audience-first strategy.

Grounded in deep audience insight, ADA designed a holistic full-funnel strategy that mirrored the behavioural traits of our target investors, data-driven, strategic, and trust-oriented.

To build top-funnel awareness, we deployed high-impact formats across premium financial publishers such as Zaobao, The Business Times, and The Straits Times. These placements elevated OCBC Securities’ presence in environments the audience already trusted.

We strengthened thought leadership through content partnerships with Bloomberg and Seedly, positioning OCBC Securities alongside respected financial voices to build credibility and authority.

To guide users through consideration, we activated a diversified mix of interactive and educational mid-funnel formats such as mCanvas Push Notifications, Facebook LPV campaigns, YouTube, and Google Demand Gen, nudging users deeper into the funnel with relevant, high-value content.

At the bottom of the funnel, the strategy focused on performance-driven channels: SEM, Google Performance Max (Pmax), Meta, and LinkedIn. Continuous optimization through A/B testing, creative refreshes, and refined audience signals ensured sustained efficiency.

A key innovation was the transition from manual campaigns to Meta’s Advantage+ Shopping Campaign (ASC), a first-of-its-kind approach in the trading vertical. This allowed us to leverage Meta’s AI to automate targeting, personalize creatives, and optimize budget distribution.

Across the funnel, the strategy remained rooted in a core insight: investors respond best to brands that demonstrate the same analytical discipline they value in their own decision-making. The solution aimed not only to reach them, but to resonate with them.

To bring this strategy to life, we created a connected, insight-led user journey that delivered relevance and value at every stage.

Awareness:

We launched premium, high-impact takeovers across Zaobao, The Straits Times, and YouTube, driving strong visibility among our core financial audiences. These placements helped establish OCBC Securities as a credible and trustworthy brand.

Thought Leadership:

Partnerships with Bloomberg and Seedly amplified the brand’s presence among reputable financial authorities. This reinforced brand legitimacy and drove uplift in branded search interest and top-funnel engagement.

Consideration:

Interactive mid-funnel formats such as mCanvas and Facebook LPV campaigns maintained user engagement and encouraged deeper exploration of OCBC Securities’ offerings.

Conversion:

Lower-funnel efforts focused on SEM, Pmax, Meta, and LinkedIn—channels optimized through A/B testing, diverse bidding strategies, creative refresh cycles, and refined signals.

• Meta ASC, launched in August, proved to be a breakthrough. After the learning phase, ASC delivered significant gains in both efficiency and volume, demonstrating its viability beyond retail.
• Pmax performance was enhanced through progressive budget scaling, better creative assets, and improved signal quality. Sitelinks and visual extensions increased relevance and click-through behaviour.

Throughout the campaign, ongoing performance analysis informed agile budget allocation. High-impact channels were scaled up, while underperforming placements were deprioritized, ensuring efficiency and sustained growth.

Launching a banking product for kids sounds simple until you realise you can’t speak directly to them. OCBC’s MyOwn Account (MOA), designed for children aged 7 to 15, lives entirely within the OCBC Digital app and empowers young users to learn money management under their parents’ guidance. A strong product, with a big ambition but one fundamental roadblock.

We couldn’t target the very audience the product was built for.

1. Regulatory restrictions

Advertising directly to children was off-limits. No kid-focused creatives. No direct targeting. No messaging that felt even remotely child-directed. Our entire core audience was legally unreachable.

2. Teen resistance

Teens (13–15) were technically targetable, but creatively a tough crowd. They reject “financial education” content, respond poorly to parent-driven messaging, and seek autonomy, not instruction.

3. Parent fatigue

That left parents as our primary gateway. But today’s digitally savvy parents are overloaded with advice, ads, and expectations. Convincing them to open a banking app for someone else posed its own challenge.

But within these constraints lay the opportunity: MOA wasn’t just a banking product, it was a shared experience. A practical, confidence-building journey between parent and child. We didn’t need to sell features. We needed to spark recognition:
“This makes sense for us.”

So we reframed the problem into something solvable:

• Not “How do we advertise to kids?”
  But “How do we empower parents to start the conversation?”
• Not “How do we simplify a digital product?”
  But “How do we show this app fits into their everyday life?”
• Not “How do we drive downloads?”
  But “How do we build trust in a mobile-first experience for two very different users?”

And with that clarity, ADA got to work.

A Mobile-First Strategy Built for Busy Parents Powered by Real Insights and AI Precision

MOA lives inside a mobile app, so our campaign had to be mobile-native in mindset, format, and journey. Our audience? Digitally fluent parents who toggle between apps, make decisions on the go, and scroll at speed. The campaign had to move at their pace.

We built the solution around three pillars:

1. Mobile-first creative that feels familiar, not “ad-like”

We showed up in the platforms parents actually live on: TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Meta using vertical, scroll-native videos that looked more like relatable parenting content than financial advertising.

2. Trust-building through parent-led storytelling

Awareness alone wouldn’t move parents to onboard their children. So we partnered with parenting influencers, community groups, and family-focused forums to spark real conversations. Parents didn’t just hear about MOA, they saw other parents using it.

3. Performance precision through AI-driven optimization

We adapted Meta’s Advantage+ Shopping Campaign (ASC), typically used in retail for a financial product. ASC automated targeting, matched parents to the right creative moments, and optimized spend based on real-time behaviours.

Google Performance Max and Search captured high-intent users, guiding them from interest straight into onboarding with minimal friction.

Every path led to a clean, mobile-first landing page that simplified MOA into one clear message: This makes financial learning easier for both you and your child.