Western Union money transfers are mainly used by emigrants living abroad who want to send money back to their families in their homelands. In 2015, after observing the rapid rise in Ukrainian workers and students in Poland, WU asked us prepare a dedicated strategy and plan of action to engage this new, potential client base.
How do you speak to a constantly growing group of guests in your country from across the Eastern border? What is most important to them and how to you reach them in the most effective way?
When working on our strategy, we reached out to dozens of Ukrainians who are active in their community. We also worked with organizations supporting immigrants from the east and made a map of the key locations and touchpoints for the group, such as churches, train stations, and civil offices in both Poland and Ukraine.
From the beginning, we wanted to take advantage of the fact that WU was known to many Ukrainians living in Poland before the main wave of migration started in 2014. “This is the choice of thousands of Ukrainians in Poland” was the umbrella slogan for this action which we found to be consistent with the global “This is WU” platform.
The heart of the campaign, which was conducted on carefully selected digital and outdoor channels, was an extensive website dedicated to Ukrainians. It outlined the services and enabled transactions, as well as offering valuable information about life in Poland.
The campaign had several stages, each of which focused on a different element of the wider campaign and called out its benefits.
Field marketing was one of the more important parts of our activities. We welcomed Ukrainians who were just arriving from across the Vistula River and helped them acclimatize during their first weeks in Poland with a specially-prepared guide book.