A Company Recently Handed Out ‘Money Trees’ To Commuters, Their Reason Is Quite Inspirational
“Money doesn’t grow on trees.” Haven’t we heard that expression countless times before? However, a company in London, took to the streets this week to hand out cash-laden “money trees.”
Peer-to-peer lending platform, Zopa.com, wanted to try something unique in order to jolt the people of Briton and make them aware of a bitter truth. But instead of a public awareness campaign, the company decided to take the eons-old adage and decided to flip it to drive its point home.
Commuters to one of Britain’s busiest stations couldn’t believe their luck when they passed a stall selling potted plants. However, these plants weren’t your ordinary indoor or garden variety. These plants seemed to have money growing on them. Quite a few Brits, travelling through London’s Victoria station on 17 September, were left pleasantly surprised when they were handed free “money trees” by an innocuous trader on behalf of the lending company, reported The Metro.
The living trees were laden with £10 notes and vouchers worth the same amount, redeemable through the company’s website, reported Event Magazine. They were handed out by a Zopa brand ambassador acting as a market trader, who was positioned in the central concourse of the station.
The campaign, which was produced and executed by brand consultancy agency Manifest, was designed to encourage the British public to safeguard and grow their savings. Speaking about the concept, Giles Andrews, chief executive and co-founder of Zopa>
“With the money trees we wanted to put a smile on the faces of busy commuters. It is not every day you encounter someone wanting to give you money on your way to work. The money tree campaign is all about encouraging Brits to plant a seed with Zopa and watch their money grow. We want to encourage people to be savvy savers and safeguard a more comfortable future for themselves.”
What does Zopa offer? Zopa is essentially a peer-to-peer money lending platform that encourages people to lend their money to those in need. The money is either pooled or lent directly, depending on the sum collected. Essentially it intelligently connects people requiring micro-loans, with people who have a small cash-pile and are interested to earn some extra dough. Explaining the platform, Andrews said,
“With Zopa, you can lend as little as £10 to get started, so it really is open to everyone. You will get a much higher rate of interest than you would with a bank so it really is a no-brainer. By making your money work harder through Zopa, lenders can look forward to a brighter future.”
Majority of the working class British are in deep trouble. Almost the entire middle-class population doesn’t have an adequate nest egg, while a third hasn’t even begun saving for a rainy day. Under such potentially disastrous situation, Zopa has perhaps attempted a simple, but effective marketing campaign that is telling people, “Money doesn’t grow of trees,” through irony.
[Image Credit | Zopa]
