Date: 19 October 2017
Disclosure:
The Bank of England (the ‘Bank’) has an obligation to ensure that there is confidence in our currency which is important for keeping the economy functioning and our aim is to increase the public’s awareness about banknotes. As part of a larger social media and public campaign to raise awareness of the new £10 banknote across as broad a section of society as possible the Bank used a Snapchat sponsored geofilter and video advertisements. This was an educational campaign to increase awareness, not a marketing campaign.
The overall spend on public awareness, education and third party awareness about the new £10 banknote was £159,780. This included working with - and providing materials to - financial institutions and retailers, and liaison with third party special interest groups, in particular the Royal National Institute of Blind People (‘RNIB’).
The cost of the Snapchat sponsored geofilter which was used as part of the educational launch of the new £10 banknote was £2,819.28 (excluding VAT). The public were invited to “snap yourself with the #NewTenPoundNote” at selected locations in seven cities across the United Kingdom. The locations included the Jane Austen Centre in Bath, Winchester Cathedral (where Jane Austen is buried and the location of the launch of the new £10 banknote by the Governor) as well as the area surrounding the Bank of England’s Cash Centre in Leeds. Other cities were Birmingham, Cardiff, London and Manchester.
From 1 March 2015 (the start of the Bank’s 2015/16 financial year) until 15 September 2017 (the day following the launch of the new £10 banknote), the total cost of advertisements and promotions using Snapchat was £8,858.52 (excluding VAT). The Bank undertook two promotional campaigns using Snapchat in this period, both of which related to the launch of the new £10 banknote: one using a sponsored geofilter as mentioned above, and the other using video advertisements.