“Life’s too short for a long home loan”: that’s the message from Australia’s newest home loan provider, Athena, which has kicked off a national launch campaign via indie agency The Royals.
The new challenger brand is taking on the big banks and inviting Aussies to free themselves from mortgage bondage.
The campaign announces Athena’s arrival as a genuine alternative to the big banks in the $1.7 trillion mortgage market, positioning the newcomer as a home loan wrecker.
Athena CMO Natalie Dinsdale said: “Our proposition is that we will give you a great home loan, then we will help you get rid of it. That’s why we want you to love us and leave us”.
“Research has told us that nearly all borrowers (93 per cent) want to pay off their home loans faster, but fewer than 1 in 5 think their lender wants them to succeed.
“The campaign has been in market for one week and has already generated $345 million in application pipeline”.
Dinsdale added: “Australians are taking 10 years longer to pay off their home loans than a generation ago and collectively, they’re paying an estimated $10 billion more than they need to each year.
“Athena’s mission is to change home loan lending in every way so that Australians can achieve financial freedom faster”.
In a market that is ripe for disruption following the fallout of the Royal Commission, Athena has been on a two-year journey to build a very different home lender on different foundations, focused single-mindedly on homeowners and their needs.
Athena’s innovative digital platform creates customer efficiencies with technology – avoiding the costs of bankers, branches and overheads – so that they can pass on the savings to customers via lower interest rates.
The Royals creative partner Nick Cummins added: “Athena has created a model that is simple, focused on customers, and uses funding and technology in the smartest way – our work sticks to the same principles.
“‘Love us and leave us’ is a no-nonsense message that demonstrates Athena’s customer-centric DNA”.
The first phase of the campaign includes executions across digital, social, out-of-home and PR.
