GAP IN THE MARKET CAMPAIGN

Submitted by: Group 4

Arun Maithani 11A
Ritwik Singh 36A
Mihir Anand 27B
Nikunj Parasar 31B
Arpit Rathi 9C
Prasun 32C
Rajesh TR 36K
KBC bank – The Gap in the Market Campaign (2013)
• Founded in 1985 KBC Bank N.V. is a Belgian bank, that focusses on business accounts for small and medium-sized enterprises
• KBC positions itself as the ‘go-to’ bank for anyone starting a new business in Belgium; they wanted to make sure all current and
potential small business owners were aware of this and hence the campaign – Gap in the Market

Undiscovered Gap
• KBC focused on finding the gaps which are not catered by any competitors
• Small towns/ districts might not offer the biggest market; but even a small community is
likely to be missing some type of business from its infrastructure
• These gaps are everywhere. However, small businesses find it hard to locate their ideal place
in the market
• KBC’s approach was to find these gaps, mark them and make it easier for entrepreneurs to
meet real consumer demand by starting a successful new business, in the right place

“Whenever a business starts up, or expands and opens a second location, obviously
there are a range of banking products that are required in that equation.”

• KBC was already considered to be the bank for start-up entrepreneurs, but this campaign was
intended to strengthen its position
KBC: Gap in the market
 The Gap Finding Tool – We need X around here
• The campaign’s centerpiece was an online tool (www.thegapinthemarket.be), which enabled ordinary citizens to
find and mark the ‘gaps in the market’ in their local area

The process was very simple:

• Filling in the zip-code

• Marking the ‘missing business’ on the map
• Afterwards, budding entrepreneurs could study the map, compare different regions and types of business
• An additional feature allowed aspiring entrepreneurs to share (=pitch) their own business idea to their potential
customer base
• Special posters inviting people to use the online tool were set up in every major city in Belgium
• The message was reinforced via online banners, with IP-tracking helping to match this online display activity to
the correct audience
• To help entrepreneurs come up with ideas, KBC created short films featuring stories of successful entrepreneurs
• A special micro-site – nieuwsblad.be/extra/gatindemarkt – featured interviews with the participants, results by
region and top business opportunities based on third-party data and ordinary people’s submissions
• In the final phase, KBC launched a competition to generate even more interest around The Gap In The Market.
People who came up with the most popular business ideas from 16 regions of Belgium where KBC has a
presence, had a chance to win a ‘company car’ for 6 months. 20 cars were presented!
Media Strategy
• KBC gave TBWA\Brussels a budget of 500,000 euros
• The agency decided not to use TV advertising and instead to focus heavily on digital media and radio
• The agency estimated that to add TV to the mix with an effective weight would have required an additional
300,000 euros

“TV is good for storytelling but it is not that effective. If we want to activate people in general and give it a spark we
don’t use that much TV. We prefer online and direct media.”

How was it Received?

The campaign naturally generated lots of PR coverage. Almost every newspaper in Belgium covered the story.
Politicians and trade organizations took the idea on board. Several actually suggested making the tool permanent
to encourage entrepreneurship in Belgium
Results of the Campaign
Most successful The ‘missing businesses’ of Belgium Sentiment was
campaign KBC has became a national issue and found a up by 12 %
run for the last 16 place on the political agenda
years

Almost 1,500 fresh

On average 560
new business ideas
reports for every
were generated
town or city

The website is now the most popular database for everyone looking to start a new business in Belgium

“The campaign went beyond traditional goals – it touched and inspired people
in the post-crisis period. The ‘missing businesses’ of Belgium campaign not only
met the bank’s business goals, but actually influenced Belgium as a whole..”
KBC: Room For Improvement, June 2015