Daniel F. Beer

STRATEGIST: Media, BRAND, & Analytics

Markets: Global

PROBLEM...

"A mile wide, but an inch deep."  Citi is the world's largest consumer business, yet it's brand lagged behind, occupying a fraction of the space in consumers' minds of global icon brands like Nike, Coke and McDonald's. Consumers see banks as transactional, low-interest commodities. In many countries, you're more likely to get a divorce than you are to change banks. How could Citi start being seen as a household brand?

SOLUTION...

The campaign used a global governing insight as a fulcrum for communications. The overall objectives were: (a) build the Citi brand, (b) sell more products, and (c) build customer relationships with more people. Goals were set for both brand and product, with the advertised products themselves chosen through research to be both compelling and new to the market, as well as best delivering and supporting the overall brand promise. Through research, a main insight surfaced: money is a means, not an end. This insight offered us an opportunity to differentiate Citi by running counter to the expected category conventions of bank communications, and led to a Balance Seeker target. The creative strategy was based on the fundamental truth of how consumers relate to money, and executed in a strategically and creatively "un-banklike" fashion. The media and creative strategy were tightly aligned, with media connecting with Balance Seekers around their passion points and catching them when they weren't thinking about finance or money.

RESULTS...

Bank: Advertising awareness increased 44% from May-Dec.

Card: Advertising awareness increased by 112% from May-Dec.

Relevance increased 23%

Preference increased 79%

Total balances (card usage) increased above a rate of 29% for 11 straight months

Total gross balances per account increased 227%

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