Brand case study · Banking · Singapore
Maybank and 4 rivals lead with community, but money fears stall decisions
SOMIN read social and ad library content from Maybank, CIMB, Citi, HSBC and UOB. Community Support was the top interest, identified 1,815 times, and the content formed 5 segments and 6 pain points.
The challenge
Maybank against 4 Singapore banks on posts and ads
The study asked who these banks target, which pain points they address and which moments a brand could use, working from sparse, capped data.
The approach
From 10 top interests to personas, moments and stories
- Collected content for 5 banks.
- Ranked the top 10 interests.
- Sized segments and pain points by posts and engagement.
- Planned moments for one pain point.
- Wrote story-based insights for one segment.
Key findings
Community interest, ad-heavy rivals and personal-finance fears
Community tops the interest list
Community Support (1,815) leads Savings (1,570), Travel (1,240) and Loyalty Programs (1,147). Finance is fifth at 827.
UOB and HSBC lean on ads
UOB led with 593 posts and 955 ads, HSBC ran 757 ads to 88 posts, and Maybank had 520 posts and 244 ads.
Personal finance is the pressure point
Navigating Personal Finance Challenge covers money management, low financial literacy and economic uncertainty, linked to fear of financial insecurity and the desire for instant gratification.
What SOMIN delivered
Maybank's 5 segments, 6 pain points and moment plans
- Segments from Financial Stability Seeker to Community-Minded Advocate for Connection and Belonging
- Pain points such as financial scams and vulnerabilities in banking, and travel risks and financial concerns
- Broad and micro moments, each with an addressable tension
- Sociological and psychological reasons, each tied to an applied theory
- An imagined character and two sample stories
“Fear is a shackle; knowledge is the key”
From the SOMIN briefing
The outcome
Maybank can answer money fears with knowledge
Answer fear of financial insecurity with understanding and connection, timed to micro moments such as a month-end balance check, a pay rise or an unexpected bill.
FAQ
Maybank case study FAQ
About SOMIN
SOMIN is a Singapore-based AI marketing-intelligence platform. It turns real-time competitor and audience data into pre-scored propositions, briefs and creative concepts for brands, agencies and creator programmes across 11+ markets.
Built by seasoned marketers and an AI professor: the methods behind this study are peer-reviewed at AAAI, ACM Multimedia, SIGIR, WSDM and in ACM TOIS. See the research and talks.
Which banks were in the Maybank study?
Maybank, CIMB, Citi, HSBC and UOB, on Instagram, Facebook and ad library content from 2022 to 2024.
What are broad and micro moments?
Broad moments are occasions such as festive seasons or property fairs. Micro moments are instants such as late fees on a credit card bill, each with a tension and the consumer's thought.
Is the story character a real customer?
No. SOMIN imagines one for a segment and adds a pain point and a psychological reason.
Get the full Maybank case study
Every page of the brand briefing: the data, the whitespace, the personas and the creative. Free, straight after a short form.