Switch - How advertising helped change the nation's spending behaviour

John Atmore

1992-5 advertising for Switch, one of the two debit Card schemes in the UK run by banks (the other is Visa Delta).
Agency: CDPAuthor: John Atmore

Switch - How advertising helped change the nation's spending behaviour

INTRODUCTION

Debit cards were launched in the late 1980s. Their product rationale was so strong that they were almost bound to succeed, but what this paper will argue is that a great deal of Switch's success has been down to its advertising. Not high spend, TV advertising which is typical for financial products, but relatively low spend, poster advertising (in addition to a regional TV launch). As a result, Switch is now established as the generic for debit cards. The advertising has also...

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