The Results

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The Challenge

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.

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The Solution

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 optimisation

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 optimised 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.

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The Execution

A Mobile-Native Journey Designed Around Real Parent Behaviour

From discovery to onboarding, the experience was engineered to feel natural, not like a banking campaign interrupting their day.

Awareness: In-feed, vertical, fast-moving formats

• YouTube Mastheads
• Instagram Reels
• Meta Stories
• TikTok-style vertical videos

These formats blended seamlessly into everyday parent scrolling but with an emotional hook: the MOA debit cards (Disney princesses, Marvel superheroes). A simple detail for kids, but a powerful “oh, they’ll love this” nudge for parents.

Consideration: Seamless paths with no friction

Every asset deep-linked to a mobile-optimised landing page. No long copy. No complex forms. Just clarity on:

• How MOA works
• How to set it up
• How it empowers kids without overwhelming parents

KOL walkthroughs and real family demonstrations strengthened authenticity and answered unspoken concerns (“Is this safe? Is it worth it?”).

Conversion: Performance engines doing the heavy lifting

As parents moved deeper into the funnel, automated precision took over:

• Meta ASC retargeted visitors with dynamically optimised creatives
• Google Performance Max captured high-intent searches
• Search ads drove action from parents actively looking for kids’ financial tools

We also ran dual Performance Max streams, one for festive promotions and one for always-on stability, enabling adaptive budget optimisation throughout the campaign.

Creative variants were refreshed and A/B tested continuously, ensuring zero fatigue across platforms.

Added momentum through tactical spikes

We layered short bursts during cultural moments (CNY cashback, Disney-themed giveaways) to drive repeat engagement and give parents a timely reason to convert.

Across every touchpoint, the message remained consistent: This isn’t about banking. It’s about giving your child a smarter start through an app you already trust.

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The Results

The campaign didn’t just resonate, it converted, turning a regulatory challenge into a mobile marketing success.

Brand Interest & Awareness

• 4.6× increase in branded search between October and December
• Steady, month-on-month growth in web traffic and engagement

Performance & Acquisition

Through ongoing optimisation and AI-powered signal learning:

• Conversions increased by 33%
• CPA dropped by 89%
• Direct traffic surged by 471%, reflecting stronger trust, recall, and word-of-mouth

Media & Strategy Impact

• High-impact formats delivered scale across parents’ daily digital touchpoints
• Parenting communities and KOL recommendations built credibility and mid-funnel momentum
• Meta ASC became a standout innovation, outperforming manual campaigns and proving viability for financial services
• Dual PMax streams delivered a 45% uplift, thanks to smarter segmentation of promotional vs. always-on periods

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