HSBC new Business without Borders site is brand journalism done right

In the mid 1990s, I lived in Hong Kong and worked for an American company while married to a Japanese citizen. We had income and outgo in multiple currencies which was really complex. I did my banking with HSBC in their amazing Central Hong Kong building. I always remember the international aspect of the bank.

Fast forward to the past year or so. As I travel the world delivering talks and have the opportunity to travel through airports in places like Sydney, London, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Amsterdam, and other locales, I keep seeing HSBC advertising at the airports. They’re everywhere around the world. This reinforces my image of HSBC as a global bank.

Now I learn from Russell Working that HSBC has launched the new US version of Business without Borders, a brand journalism site created for the banks existing and potential clients.

Business without Borders is a terrific example of brand journalism at work. It is a site specifically designed for an important HSBC buyer persona -- people responsible for expanding U.S. businesses into international markets.

Unlike in-your-face product advertising that you see from most financial institutions, HSBC is actually supplying valuable information that their customers and potential customers can use to drive success. Bravo HSBC.

If you take a look at the site, it looks remarkably like a media property such as WSJ.com (see the two screen shots below). I’ve said for years that corporate websites of the future will be focused on brand journalism and the content driven approach and will look more and more like media sites such as WSJ.com. Here is a great example.

With a dedicated editorial staff, Business without Borders offers valuable free content with premium stuff available to those who register.

Besides the original content written by the brand journalists at HSBC, there is content from The Economist Intelligence Unit, The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg Master Class.

The site also includes a member section with resources such as video testimonials from businesses that have successfully expanded internationally and access to corporate governance best practices, internationally recognized business customs and exchange rates.

This is great stuff. While other banks run television commercials, HSBC is educating and informing their market.

Airport image courtesy of HSBC

Comments

[Adele Revella]

Inspiring story David. I see so many companies that have some knowledge of their buyer personas, but almost all lack the insights that are needed to define a strategy and convince internal stakeholders to invest in it.

Key to this story is that HSBC hired the "dedicated editorial staff" needed develop "valuable free content" and "premium stuff". And they also worked out an agreement with Wall Street Journal.

It's clear that someone did their homework before they tried to sell this strategy to management. Good work HSBC.

[David Meerman Scott]

Thanks for jumping in Adele. I really love what HSBC is doing because it is based on buyer personas. It's as if they read your blog!

[Emiel]

David, great example. Isn't there another trend hidden behind this one? The trend that when news nowadays is coming to us so fast and with so much content (sometimes repeated like in an echoing well), consumers will be looking for websites that provide news on more specific items? Corporate sites (with focus on brand journalism) jump into this trend. Or at least, they can..
Emiel

[David Meerman Scott]

Emiel -- I think you have identified something important. Yes, people are looking for news about specific things that interest them and they will do business with the companies that provide it. Thanks

[Barbara Grace]

Just wanted to say thank you. Every time I read your blog I realise what a blog should be - your links to either past blogs or people with a story to share are always worthwhile. Go the content-rich information-sharing community-minded person you are! Thank you - your work and blogs are always enriching.

[David Meerman Scott]

Thanks Barbara. I'm fortunate that there are so many people doing great stuff (like HSBC) that I can talk about.

[Avil Beckford]

David,

I signed up with Business Without Borders over a year ago. I am in Toronto and I went to an event on doing business in Brazil and it was outstanding. It was not focused on HSBC and its services, the event really was about telling you what it really is like and the things you need to do if you want to expand to Brazil. They brought in some of their clients who are doing business there and you got honest feedback. Also, one of the panelists worked for the Economist and they shared some relevant research.

Avil

[Patrick Willemarck]

What they miss is the integration and eventually amplification of converstaions held elsewhere.
Look at Dialogfeed.com. Think about the survey done by altimeter: 140 social media strategists want integration because a media needs an audience and customer generated content too. No?

[David Meerman Scott]

Glad to hear you had a good experience Avil.

Patrick - I hear you. But I don;t think that's their goal. They are running this as a member portal that people register for.

[Brenda Christensen]

If you knew the guy who was behind this, you would understand why it's done so well. He also understands journalism better than any billionaire CEO or publisher I've ever worked for - was a pleasure handling his PR and being his corporate officer, as well. His encounter with Mike Wallace of "60 Minutes" during an interview put him on a trajectory to understand our business, as well as Mao's successful use of a newspaper column to start a revolution.

[Shel Holtz]

Another one to look at that just launched is from SunLife Financial in Canada called Brighter Life. It's at http://brighterlife.ca. I've been speaking about this (in fact, my talk at the IABC conference on content marketing/brand journalism wound up the top-rated talk) and am convinced we'll see more and more of it. What that means is that each company is going to have to continue to innovate in order to stand out from the crowd.

[Jade]

Great and informative post, thank you.

[Pam_mcnamara]

BeSmartBeWell.com is another good example of a content marketing initiative being done right from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois -- (http://besmartbewell.com). I've been involved with BSBW for last 18 months helping them understand strategically the value of the assets they are creating, expanding the distribution of the assets beyond their web site, and building up a subscriber base. The site has a dedicated editorial/video creation team. It's been exciting work.

[virtual office]

These are good examples of brand journalism that contributes. Readers need to be informed on relevant content.

[business consultant]

Journalism swears to disseminate information that is comprehensive and proven. Kudos to this company for doing it right.

[Xtreme Lashes]

They brought in some of their clients who are doing business there and you got honest feedback. Also, one of the panelists worked for the Economist and they shared some relevant research.