One mascot introduced by Singapore's national savings bank, Post Office Savings Bank, which started a national savings campaign for young children in the early 1980s, is a squirrel mascot named Smiley Squirrel who hoards food (acorns) for winter. Children who opened a savings account with a fixed amount were able to to take home a coin bank in the shape of Smiley Squirrel. This proved to be a good marketing move since the bank started building on their future customers. Many baby boomers today still have fond memories of Smiley Squirrel.
A squirrel, a pig and a saver puppet
In many other countries like China and Germany, the most common savings mascot is a pig. Often a "Piggy" bank is given to children at an early age to encourage them to start saving while young. Why a pig is used, is unknown. One common belief is that coins being "fed" into the piggy bank are like food given to a pig by the farmer. It is only when the pig is slaughtered for the meat (symbolized by breaking the piggy bank) which the farmer can sell, then the money is returned with interest (profit).
In Austria, the "Sparefroh" (Happy Saver) is a well-known mascot for World Saving Day, it was also the focus of a local savings campaign by major banks introduced in 1956. The little man in the red hat with a yellow coin in the middle of his body represents a shift in attitude: Savings is associated with happiness rather than hardship.
There was a large scale relaunch campaign featuring "Sparefroh" for World Savings Day 2006, marking his 50th birthday. The mascot is so endearing that even to this day; a thrifty person is fondly called a "Sparefroh" in German.
The Austrian "Sparefroh" (Happy Saver)
Allianz' focus on financial literacy
In alignment with various banks advocating the virtue of savings among young customers, Allianz hopes to promote "financial literacy". One particular community engagement program targeting school children was launched by the Allianz's Group Social Opportunities team in Munich in October 2009.
The program invites Allianz employee volunteers to teach young children, preparing them for "financial life" by learning good financial planning habits while young. One participant in the earlier pilot program highlights that "we can make a difference in young pupils' awareness and understanding of financial matters. And it is a lot of fun!".
A customer-oriented approach developed together with Time Warner (CNN, Time Magazine) was also launched in October 2009: "Finance from A-Z" is a web platform providing expertise for financial matters in different life stages such as marriage or retirement (www.financefroma-z.com).
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