Nationwide For Intermediaries is the broker-facing division of Nationwide. The name isn’t just descriptive; it’s also a statement of intent. Nationwide For Intermediaries exists to serve the needs of mortgage intermediaries and is always seeking to add value to its proposition.
Engaging mortgage intermediaries is one of Nationwide’s ongoing challenges. Because they are based all over the UK and tend to work independently, it’s hard to engage them as a group. Nationwide For Intermediaries has a team of Business Development Managers to support intermediaries in each region of the UK. Our challenge was to create something that would involve intermediaries at national level.
mark-making* proposed the idea of a fantasy football league, as a way to engage intermediaries in a non-salesy way. It would add value to the Nationwide For Intermediaries brand by providing a fun distraction for hard-working intermediaries to do during breaks. mark-making* created a bespoke branded look and feel for the Nationwide For Intermediaries Fantasy Football League website, complete with animated sequences. The interface design was developed to make sign-up as straightforward and quick as possible.
Intermediaries threw themselves into the game, in many cases forming leagues to battle each other for the top prize. Nationwide hoped that the league would attract 1,500 users in its first season (09/10). This target was comfortably exceeded, with 2,652 intermediaries signing up to be team managers.
This summer mark-making* also created the Nationwide For Intermediaries World Fantasy Football League in time for the World Cup. This attracted 1,674 managers for the duration of the championship. The average length of time spent on the site was over 6 minutes, an above-average time that suggests deep engagement with the content.
The second season of the Fantasy Football League is now under way and early statistics indicate that it will be even more successful than the first season.