How can non-bank lenders increase consumer awareness?

MPA asks leading non-bank lenders how they plan on increasing consumer awareness.​

“As a non-bank lender, it is important not to assume that consumers will understand the benefits of a non-bank offering. Non-banks have the advantage of being able to be more nimble and flexible, and in many cases, can provide a superior service delivery.

Unfortunately, until consumers start to recognise the value proposition of a non-bank lender, we will continue to struggle to successfully compete with the majors. The only way to do this is to raise the profile of non-banks by advertising and raising awareness/profile in the market.

In an effort to increase consumer awareness, Pepper has recently launched an educational campaign, ‘Absolutely Positively Pepper’, aimed at helping more Australians understand how a specialist loan from a non-bank lender can help them to achieve their financial goals, whatever their circumstances.

To deliver this message, Pepper has adopted a multimedia strategy, from local print and online advertising to strong community sponsorships (Western Sydney Wanderers and Pepper Stadium in Penrith).”


“There are two elements to mortgage managers raising consumer awareness: promoting the sector overall, as well as the individual brands within it.

Collectively, mortgage managers need to do a better job at promoting their offering to enhance borrowers’ awareness and understanding of the sector. We need to be consistent about the message that we are communicating to the market. Are we non-banks? Are we mortgage managers? We need to ensure that the messaging we all use resonates with consumers.

Consequently, as the individual brands promote their respective propositions, they also promote the mortgage management sector as a whole.

Homeloans largely conducts its consumer promotion via sponsorships, such as our sponsorship of the Perth Scorchers in the T20 Big Bash League and a number of smaller sporting clubs and associations around the nation. We believe that our promotional activity would be more effective if the consumer market had a greater understanding of the mortgage management sector.”


“To increase consumer awareness, non-bank lenders should identify their preferred markets and then communicate to them on the platforms where they already spend most of their time.

At Australian First Mortgage, we understand that the majority of property buyers in Australia use platforms like Facebook and Twitter for something like 20 minutes a day – every day. These platforms have a diverse geographic and demographic reach, and have become significantly influential in guiding popular opinion.

Another effective way to build brand with consumers is through sports and community sponsorship. Some well-known mortgage managers and non-bank lenders have had success with mainline sponsorships with high profile AFL and other football teams.

Don’t forget about the opportunities that both traditional and digital media still provide. Digital media in particular provides some inventive opportunities for direct consumer brand building with innovations like remarketing, audience lookalike and recent purchasing options.”