News Analysis: In pursuit of the Polish pound

More than 100,000 accounts were opened with Lloyds by Polish customers
over the past year, according to Caroline Brady, the bank's head of
segments. 'The expanding Polish community is having a major impact on
the current account market,' she adds.

A glance at the statistics on these new arrivals, believed to total
about 600,000, illustrates why they have become UK marketers' new best
friends. Polish migrants, who have flooded into the country since the
expansion of the European Union in 2004 have a disposable income of more
than £4bn a year, according to the Centre for Economics and
Business Research, and government figures show that 82% are aged 18 to
34. 'It is a very attractive target segment. They are hard-working and
have money to spend,' says Saad Saraf, chief executive of multicultural
agency Media Reach.

The supermarkets, sensing an opportunity, have begun stocking Polish
foods, while financial-services groups have been quick off the mark to
set up initiatives targeting Poles.

HSBC was one of the forerunners when it launched its Passport account
for immigrants, supported by Polish-language outdoor advertising. The
bank now has Polish advisers in areas with high numbers of Poles and
next month it will launch full-service 'pop-up branches' once a week at
two Polish centres in London.

'It fits in with HSBC's proposition of being the world's local bank,'
says David Walsh, who oversees the HSBC account at MindShare. 'It is
about trying to be part of their community.'

There are even pushes targeting Poles in Poland who are planning to come
to the UK. CultureCom, MediaCom's ethnic minority unit, has run
campaigns in partnership with MediaCom.

Poland for its client NatWest. The agency's director, Sanjay Shabi, adds
that services that people need straight away in a new country, such as
banking and utilities, are set to benefit the most.

Eager to exploit the Poles' heavy involvement in the building trade, B&Q
and Wickes have made efforts to employ Polish speakers, while low-cost
airlines such as easyJet have promoted their increased number of flights
to Poland. There are also opportunities for domestic travel firms, as
Poles need to be able to get to where the work is.

UK-based Polish language media have also sprung up, offering brands the
chance to target the community directly. Krzysztof Chowaniec, marketing
manager of lifestyle magazine Cooltura, says all the major banks have
advertised their financial products on its pages, such as mortgages and
pre-paid credit cards, alongside insurance firms and lawyers. However,
while O2 has run ads, other big-brand advertisers have been less quick
off the mark.

Banks and supermarkets, particularly, could be missing a trick, as they
can take advantage of their status as local retailers, which puts them
in a better position than national brands to marshal resources in areas
with high numbers of Polish immigrants.

DATA FILE - Polish population breakdown (%)

LONDON AREAS MOST POPULATED BY THE POLISH COMMUNITY

AREA %

1 West London 2.7

2 North-West London 1.9

3 North London 1.7

4 South-West London 1.6

5 East London 1.2

6 East Central London 1.1

7 Twickenham 1.1

8 Croydon 0.8

9 South East London 0.8

10 Kingston-Upon-Thames 0.7



TOP AREAS OUTSIDE OF LONDON

AREA %

1 Uxbridge 1.7

2 Slough 1.2

3 Luton 1.0

4 Cambridge 0.9

5 Southampton 0.8

6 Reading 0.8

7 Crewe 0.8

8 Peterborough 0.8

9 Milton Keynes 0.8

10 Bradford 0.8

11 Oxford 0.8

12 Northampton 0.8

13 Huddersfield 0.8

14 Bath 0.8

15 Swindon 0.7

16 Edinburgh 0.7

17 Nottingham 0.7

18 Halifax 0.7

19 Manchester 0.7

20 Leicester 0.7

EMILIA SHIEZEK

Shiezek arrived from Warsaw 18 months ago. She doesn't really like
English food, but is impressed with the fashion retailers, citing H&M as
her favourite. The 21-year-old would like to see more Polish-language
advertising, but she adds that in terms of social cohesion, 'I'm not
sure that English people would be too pleased about this'.

MARIA DANEVA

Daneva came to the UK two-and-a-half years ago and works as a waitress.
She prefers unbranded staples such as fish and vegetables to branded
food and enthuses about cleaning products such as Fairy Liquid. Daneva
shuns Polish magazines. 'English magazines are better quality and I want
to improve my language,' she says.

ANDRZEJ KUTIAK

A 32-year-old building site worker, Kutiak says he always buys
supermarket own-brands because they are cheaper. He signed up to O2
because it offered cheap calls to Poland, and he banks at Barclays. 'If
firms want to grow, they should do more Polish advertising. Many people
who come here can't speak English,' he says.

PRZEMEK ZANDECKI

Zandecki works in a Polish-centre cafe and has been in the UK for two
years. He banks with Lloyds TSB, a choice he made based on its easy
application process. Zandecki has seen Polish-language ads in West
London and thinks they are a good idea. His buying habits are largely
dictated by price: 'If there is a sale, I go,' he says.

- Ordnance Survey mapping. Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Media
licence AM27/07.