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Bendigo Bank and Bank of Queensland - What are the Online Synergies?
March 23, 2007
Bank of Queensland's (BOQ) bid to merge with Bendigo Bank (BEN) has raised the possibility of an institution large enough to be a competitive threat to the majors. David Liddy, BOQ's Managing Director cites it as a, "clear opportunity for two of the top regional banks to come together as a merged entity to create Australia's 'big small bank' ". While comparisons have been drawn on the community-oriented synergies of the two banks' branch networks, how do they compare online and what can a merger offer each partner in terms of visitor demographics?
Audience Profiling
Understanding the key similarities and differences of online visitors to BEN and BOQ may inform the synergies of a partnership, as well as areas where either party stands to gain. While both banks have branches situated throughout Australia, each brand unsurprisingly attracts a high representation of visitors from its respective home state. BEN however, also has a good presence with online users in Queensland and Tasmania, while BOQ is under-represented in Victoria.
Both banks attract similar percentages of users in the 18-44 age bracket and have core volumes of users in the Hitwise Lifestyle - MOSAIC audience profiling group, "Domestic Appliance". Users in Domestic Appliance are described as better-off families in core suburban and rural fringe locations. The benefit of forming a partnership between two brands with overlapping core visitors means that marketing communications can be simplified to the same target audience, providing cost savings on advertising.
A key online demographic difference between BEN and BOQ is age composition in the later years. BOQ had a 13.48% positive swing against BEN amongst users aged 55+, and a negative swing of 9.02% amongst users in the 45-54 age group. BOQ also had a 20% swing to female users, which puts it in a stronger position for financial products that women are more likely to research online.
BOQ attracted a niche audience of users in MOSAIC Group B - "Rewarding Faculties", described as monied and accomplished stable families in mid to outer districts. A highly affluent group, they typically use the Internet or phone for their banking, and an adviser for their financial planning. BEN on the other hand attracted niche users from MOSAIC Group K - "Town and Country" described as families maintaining the rural economy. As BOQ and BEN do not overlap in these audiences, it represents an opportunity for each party to be exposed to new consumer segments.
Posted by Sandra Hanchard at 10:53 AM
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In Categories Banks and Financial Institutions
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Although not shareholders in Bendigo Bank, we are shareholders and customers of the Community Bank at North Richmond, NSW, 2754. Would the proposed merger affect our Community Bank in any way? What would be the name of the new entity, or would they each trade under their own name?
We realise that the decision to merge is that of your shareholders, through your Board. However we believe the offewr to merge should be rejected. Bendigo Bank has come a long way since the days of the Building Society. It has prospered, and continues to do so. Why jeodardise this ?
Posted by W.S. and Q.M.Hill | April 6, 2007 10:11 AM