NatWest Pigs etc.

PiggyBankCollector

Some of us will remember the NatWest pigs issued by the bank almost 40 years ago.  Probably one of the most successful bank savings campaigns which encouraged so many of us to save over a period of years in order that we might receive Woody, Annabel, Maxwell, Lady Hilary and Sir Nathaniel if we managed to save £100+.  NatWest have run similar savings campaigns including the limited edition gold Woody (2006), Annabel (2007) & Maxwell (2008) pigs but nothing significant since the global financial crisis.  Do you think savings campaigns of this nature could be successful these days ? 

MSE_Laura_F

I've moved this to the Savings board.

Great pic!

eskbanker

PiggyBankCollector said:

Some of us will remember the NatWest pigs issued by the bank almost 40 years ago.  Probably one of the most successful bank savings campaigns which encouraged so many of us to save over a period of years in order that we might receive Woody, Annabel, Maxwell, Lady Hilary and Sir Nathaniel if we managed to save £100+.  NatWest have run similar savings campaigns including the limited edition gold Woody (2006), Annabel (2007) & Maxwell (2008) pigs but nothing significant since the global financial crisis.  Do you think savings campaigns of this nature could be successful these days ? 

Personally I think that today's personal finance world is entirely different from that of forty years ago, with instantaneous access to online products and a wealth of comparative data available to identify best rates, service experiences, etc, so IMHO today's (adult) consumer is much less likely to be swayed by gimmicks and would simply prefer that financial institutions offer decent rates and customer services.

I'd imagine that if NatWest (or any other bank) felt that it was worth doing, they'd have done so by now, but how would you define and measure the 'success' of such campaigns?

MovingForwards

A few years ago I rescued a few pigs from a skip and they've sat proud on my shelf ever since.

PiggyBankCollector

MovingForwards said:

A few years ago I rescued a few pigs from a skip and they've sat proud on my shelf ever since.

Bargain !!!

zxspeccy

I used to work for NatWest and a child would receive a Woody (the baby) piggy bank just for opening the account with us. When we stop the piggy accounts (I believe they were replaced the WWF World Saver coins) I was asked to get rid of a load of Woodys we had in storage as we would no longer be handing these out. A few of the staff took some home with them, but at least 50 that were mint in box were thrown away. Looking back I wish I had taken all them home with me, but was not sure how I was going to get them all home on the bus. Seems such a waste as we could have donated them to a school or something. However, I was presented with a Sir Nathanial piggy bank (a spare display module we had at the branch) back in the day (late 80’s), as I was the only one foolish enough to wear the Sir Nathaniel costume when we had promotional days. I would be in the banking hall, sporting my bow tie and suit, handing out balloons and stickers to the young (and not so young) children, which I believed was better that sitting behind a till all day long.

Kat78MFW

Nottingham Building Society ran a similar scheme about 10 years ago when my children were small. The ceramic money boxes were Robin Hood (for opening the account), Friar Tuck (£500), Sheriff of Nottingham (£1000) and Maid Marian (£1500). My parents helped me save for all the Natwest piggies in the 1980s and did the same for my girls with this Nottingham scheme. The girls weren't all that interested though! 

PiggyBankCollector

zxspeccy said:

I used to work for NatWest and a child would receive a Woody (the baby) piggy bank just for opening the account with us. When we stop the piggy accounts (I believe they were replaced the WWF World Saver coins) I was asked to get rid of a load of Woodys we had in storage as we would no longer be handing these out. A few of the staff took some home with them, but at least 50 that were mint in box were thrown away. Looking back I wish I had taken all them home with me, but was not sure how I was going to get them all home on the bus. Seems such a waste as we could have donated them to a school or something. However, I was presented with a Sir Nathanial piggy bank (a spare display module we had at the branch) back in the day (late 80’s), as I was the only one foolish enough to wear the Sir Nathaniel costume when we had promotional days. I would be in the banking hall, sporting my bow tie and suit, handing out balloons and stickers to the young (and not so young) children, which I believed was better that sitting behind a till all day long.

Do you still have your Sir Nathaniel pig ?

noitsnotme

zxspeccy said:

I used to work for NatWest and a child would receive a Woody (the baby) piggy bank just for opening the account with us. When we stop the piggy accounts (I believe they were replaced the WWF World Saver coins) I was asked to get rid of a load of Woodys we had in storage as we would no longer be handing these out. A few of the staff took some home with them, but at least 50 that were mint in box were thrown away. Looking back I wish I had taken all them home with me, but was not sure how I was going to get them all home on the bus. Seems such a waste as we could have donated them to a school or something. However, I was presented with a Sir Nathanial piggy bank (a spare display module we had at the branch) back in the day (late 80’s), as I was the only one foolish enough to wear the Sir Nathaniel costume when we had promotional days. I would be in the banking hall, sporting my bow tie and suit, handing out balloons and stickers to the young (and not so young) children, which I believed was better that sitting behind a till all day long.

Ah, a kindred spirit.  I used to parade up and down the local high street in a Barclay Bill parrot costume handing out leaflets for childrens savings accounts.  I still have the money box version somewhere.

Section62

Kat78MFW said:

Nottingham Building Society ran a similar scheme about 10 years ago when my children were small. The ceramic money boxes were Robin Hood (for opening the account), Friar Tuck (£500), Sheriff of Nottingham (£1000) and Maid Marian (£1500). My parents helped me save for all the Natwest piggies in the 1980s and did the same for my girls with this Nottingham scheme. The girls weren't all that interested though! 

The Nottingham ones were (still) available in 2019. I have a feeling the Young Saver account was pulled around that time.

george4064

When I first read the thread title I initially thought it was going to be a scathing post about NatWest, glad to say I was surprised when I saw it wasn’t that at all!